Released in 1972, The Valachi Papers depicts the rise and
fall of Mafia informant Joseph Valachi, who became the first member of the
Mafia (otherwise known as Cosa Nostra) to acknowledge its existence in public.
Directed by Terence Young (Dr. No, From Russia with Love, Thunderball) and produced by legendary
Italian film producer Dino De Laurentiis The
Valachi Papers stars Charles Bronson in the lead role, alongside his
real-life wife Jill Ireland as well as Lino Ventura, Walter Chiari and Joseph
Wiseman.
The film covers five
decades of Valachi’s involvement in organised crime – from his burglaries with
the Minutemen to working under mob boss Vito Genovese from the 1930s – as the
film unceremoniously portrays life in the criminal underworld. Told from the
perspective of Valachi, the film begins with the ageing gangster in prison
fearing for his life after a contract for his killing is ordered by Don Vito
Genovese (Lino Ventura), who suspects him of betraying the Family. Determined
not to be silenced behind bars and avoid an inside hit, Valachi co-operates
with the U.S. Justice Department – unveiling the secrets of life in the Mafia
as the film follows Bronson’s on-screen Joe Valachi through voice-over and
flashback sequences.
The film is based on the
biographical book of the same name, written by Peter Maas in 1968. Nearly five
decades after the movie’s release, it’s difficult to truly comprehend the anticipation
surrounding a Hollywood picture based on Joseph Valachi’s tell-all testimony to
the FBI that was televised across the United States in 1963. Never before had
the public, or indeed the FBI, really been aware of the true extent to which
organised crime functioned in America. Valachi - who had been a former Mafia
‘soldier’ in the Genovese crime family – disclosed that the Mafia was called
‘Cosa Nostra’ in Italian – translating as “this thing of ours†in English.
Valachi’s public testimony divulged the structure of the Mafia, from its
hierarchy to the Five Families in New York City. This incredible true story was
always going to have golden Hollywood potential when being made into a motion
picture, but there would be two competing Mafia movies in 1972. One became widely
regarded as one of the best films ever made and the other would disappear from
popular culture…
Perhaps, The Valachi Papers is worthy of a
reappraisal in the modern era. Sure, there are some clunky edits that also
plagued director Terence Young’s early James Bond films – although they are
simply too good to care – and the jolty dubbing of certain supporting actors
also fails to go unnoticed. That being said, it’s to the film’s credit that you
can overlook its flaws, that the story and performances are simply too good to
worry about a few minor things that don’t hold up well fifty years later.
Charles Bronson starred in The Valachi
Papers at a time when he was finally achieving major international stardom.
Having enjoyed success in ensemble pieces in a supporting capacity – The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape and The Dirty Dozen – Bronson made his name
as a leading man in Sergio Leone’s epic spaghetti western, Once Upon a Time in the West opposite Henry Fonda, Claudia
Cardinale and Jason Robards. The Valachi
Papers would be Young and Bronson’s third and final collaboration together
after Cold Sweat and Red Sun. As Bronson’s popularity as a
leading man grew, he would carry forward his tough guy persona under director Michael Winner as vigilante
Paul Kersey in the Death Wish series,
among other collaborations with Winner.
There’s an argument to be
made that Bronson’s performance as Joseph Valachi is the most versatile
performance of his entire career. Bronson emits his trademark softly spoken
innocence packaged with his menacing cats’ eyes that tell a thousand words when
no dialogue is offered, which in itself is a contradiction in terms. Yet
Bronson’s appearance changes more in this movie than in any of his others
combined. He’s convincing as Valachi in young, middle and old age – long before
the days of CGI and de-aging techniques. From the colour of his hair to the
speed at which he moves, Bronson is totally believable as Joe Valachi, which alone
makes the film worth seeing. It’s Bronson who makes the film tick, as the
narrative jumps back and forth through time – a comparison that you can make
with Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman. As
good as he is, Lino Ventura doesn’t have the same on-screen magnetism as Marlon
Brando’s Don Corleone. Perhaps the author of ‘The Godfather’, Mario Puzo,based
Don Vito Corleone on the real-life Vito Genovese? Puzo certainly drew on the
real Valachi Papers for his best-selling book that was adapted for the screen
by Francis Ford Coppola.
Indeed, The Valachi Papers lacks the all-round
spectacle, pomp and grandeur than that of The
Godfather. It’s not difficult to analyse why The Godfather was so successful. Hoping to ride the wave of The Godfather’s success – The Valachi Papers bombed commercially –
critically shunned as inferior. Director Terence Young said of The Godfather: “It is the most expensive
trailer ever made – a trailer for our film! We are really much closer to The French Connection. We are the other
side of that coin – you could call us ‘The Italian Connection’!â€
Comparable with The Godfather, The Valachi Papers does feel like an old movie – it’s not a
criticism, but it’s overshadowed by Coppola’s timeless classic. With the
exception of Bronson, there isn’t an all-star cast with multiple Academy Awards
between them or an array of quotable lines. The best we get is delivered by
Joseph Wiseman who’s best known as Dr. No in the film of the same name: “We
cannot bring back the dead, only kill the living.â€
The Valachi Papers
ultimately failed. Failed because it was immediately compared with The Godfather. How could it win? It has
a stripped-down sensibility – The
Irishman meets Goodfellas but on
a tenth of the budget. It’s not a masterpiece, but with Charles Bronson giving
a career best performance – The Valachi
Papers is a forgotten gem in need of a polish.
(Readers are invited to share their thoughts with Matt Davey at 4davem12@solent.ac.uk )
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