Rating: **
Review Date: 4/16/23
Cast: Antonio Sabato, Barbara Bouchet, Victor Buono, Keenan Wynn
A senator is murdered and a Mexican named Carlos Valdes is conveniently charged with the crime. Newspaper journalist Eddie Mills (Antonio Sabato) seals Valdes's fate when he finds a stripper (Barbara Bouchet) who testifies against him, but is she telling the truth? As new evidence comes to light, Mills has less than a day to save Valdes from the gas chamber, and his own life is on the line as well.
The film is definitely an oddity in that it's an Italian film that was shot in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The story is laughably disjointed and the dialog is cringe-worthy, partly because it was the 1970's and partly because the writing is just plain bad. Eddie isn't a particularly likable guy, and he likes to act tough and slap women around. Barbara Bouchet's role is demeaning and unflattering, but she's lovely throughout and has an obligatory topless scene. Victor Buono and Keenan Wynn add a touch of class to the low budget production, but they can't lift it above its trappings. The film throws plenty of diversions at the viewer to keep you guessing, including a ridiculous life insurance salesman that relentlessly follows Mills around and a menacing astrologer who foretells Eddie's doom and seems to show up wherever he happens to be. The final race to save Valdes's life is hilariously nonsensical and involves Eddie and John (Victor Buono) breaking enough laws to end up in jail themselves. It's a mildly entertaining thriller if you're a fan of the genre and the era, or if you just want to ogle the beautiful Barbara Bouchet.