Overview: Inspector Ingravallo has been called to a Roman apartment building to investigate a robbery. Once there he questions the tenants but soon realizes something is amiss. As the investigation progresses a simple robbery leads to a murder case.

Directed by and starring Petro Germi (The Railroad Man) as the growling Inspector, The Facts of Murder was loosely adapted from celebrated author Carlo Emilio Gadda’s novel and is shot with inky shadows reminiscent of film noir, while the mystery element prefigures the giallo.

Blu-ray Verdict: Featuring a cast of wonderful supporting actors including Claudia Cardinale (The Day of the Owl) and Claudio Gora (Il sorpasso), Un maledetto imbroglio (aka The Facts Of Murder) won multiple awards at Italian institutions including the Golden Globe for Best Film and has now loving been remastered for 4K Blu-ray via MVD Visual.

Although Pietro Germi has the distinction of having directed the prototype of the genre known as Commedia all’Italiana, his non-comedic films are strongly influenced by the cinema of North America and here he has given us a first-rate police procedural.

He and his excellent collaborators Alfredo Giannetti and Ennio de Concini have also faced the daunting task of adapting Carlo Emilio Gadda’s That awful mess on Via Merulina, which is a panorama of life in Fascist Italy of the late 1920’s. Granted, it involves a murder investigation but the author has not felt the need to tell us whodunnit!

The investigating detective in this loose, updated adaptation is played by Signor Germi who has once again opted to direct himself and has created a fascinating character. His skill with actors is legendary and he draws fine performances from Eleonora Rossi Drago, Franco Fabrizi, Claudio Gora, Claudia Cardinale, Nino Castelnuovo and of course the ubiquitous Saro Urzi.

Signorina Cardinale is again dubbed as her voice was considered too coarse for the roles she played. She is on the brink here of her greatest decade and we hear her own voice for the first time in Visconti’s Il Gattopardo in 1963.

The plot of this is convoluted to say the least, but we are carried along by Germi’s taut direction, sharp editing by Roberto Cinquini and well-drawn characterizations. Germi’s regular cinematographer Leonarda Barboni and composer Carlo Rustichelli contribute immeasurably.

Rustichelli’s score is particularly full-blooded and he has composed a beautiful and haunting canzona sung by his daughter Alida, entitled Otherwise I’ll Die which reflects the passionate relationship between the characters played by Cardinale and Castelnuovo.

Indeed, viewers will no doubt recognize in Cardinale’s frantic run after the police car a distinct echo of Anna Magnani’s iconic dash in Rome, Open City.

Opinions differ as to whether Germi should be counted among the great Italian directors. I suppose it depends upon one’s criteria. His most popular films, of course, have been his beautifully observed satirical comedies, as noted, but from his directorial debut with the melodrama Il Testimone he has never ceased to show a capacity to tell a story, engage our emotions and to get the very best from his actors. Thus he is sorely in need of reappraisal, in my humble opinion.

Special Features:
New 4K restoration of the film by L’Immagine Ritrovata at the Cineteca di Bologna, world premiere on High Definition Blu-ray (1080p) Uncompressed mono PCM audio
New interview with Pietro Germi expert Mario Sesti (2023)
The Man With the Cigar in His Mouth - a documentary about Pietro Germi featuring interviews with his colleagues and collaborators including Mario Monicelli, Claudia Cardinale, Stefania Sandrelli, Giuseppe Tornatore among others (Mario Sesti, 1997, 41 mins)
What’s Black and Yellow All Over? All Shades of Italian Film Noir - visual essay by Paul A. J. Lewis on the presence of noir trends in Italian cinema and the evolution of the genre (2023)

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