Vitals

Henry Silva as Dave Catania, swaggering Mafia hitman

New York to Milan, Spring 1972

Film: The Italian Connection
(Italian title: La mala ordina)
Release Date: September 2, 1972
Director: Fernando Di Leo
Costume Designer: Francesco Cuppini

WARNING! Spoilers ahead!

Background

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the death of Henry Silva, a screen stalwart whose credits included the Rat Pack-led Ocean’s Eleven (1960) and political thriller The Manchurian Candidate (1962) before his first leading role in the jazzy noir Johnny Cool (1963). The latter set a precedent that would characterize the next decade of Silva’s career as he would star in many “poliziottesco” films like Fernando Di Leo’s The Italian Connection, released 51 years ago this month. Continue reading →