Spaghetti Killer (1971)

Spaghetti Killer: Directed by James Goldstone. With Jerry Orbach, Leigh Taylor-Young, Jo Van Fleet, Lionel Stander. This is the funny story about two warring Mafia gangs in New York City. The weaker gang uses a lion to blackmail the opposite gang’s “clients”. The police succeed in stopping one of the gangs, while the other remains without the boss.

“I bought this film because itu0026#39;s one of DeNirou0026#39;s first roles. Based on a book by Jimmy Breslin, the movie has a dated flavor to it that renders it rather stale; my kids didnu0026#39;t care much for it. However, it can still charm at times and the cast was very good overall. Orbach, without a drop of Italian blood in his veins, does a first-rate penny-ante mobster. There are plenty of sight gags, some more subtle than others, and many do make the viewer groan. The real problem is this type of movie requires a serious attention span on the part of the viewer, something sadly lacking in the modern era. DeNiro was no disappointment—he was fresh, funny and charming. The price of the video was worth every cent just to see him in such an unusually lightweight role. Who knew from watching this that heu0026#39;d end up as one of filmu0026#39;s toughest dramatic actors? In summary, not a great movie, but not awful, either.”