Mean Frank and Crazy Tony (1975)

The Worst Film Ever

A lot of fun.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

Although described as a comedy I found few laughs in Mean Frank And Crazy Tony. This continental production boasts a cast of Lee Van Cleef and Tony Lo Bianco and a bunch of players that most Americans will never have heard of.Van Cleef is a Mafia don on the order of Don Corleone and Lo Bianco is a young kid looking to make his bones in organized crime and tries way too hard to curry favor with Van Cleef. But when he saves his life after another family organizes a hit on him, Van Cleef and Lo Bianco become a team as Van Cleef looks for some payback.Highlight of the film is a car chase from Milan to Marseilles with the guys making fools of the cops of two nations. Lo Bianco overacts outrageously, Van Cleef is subdued and menacing. When is Lee Van Cleef not menacing.One these two definitely did for the money.

Tony (Tony Lo Bianco) is a likeable lower tier criminal. When noted crime boss Frankie (Lee Van Cleef) comes to town, Tony wants to meet him. Frankie ignores Tony as he has plans on his own, i.e. get arrested so he has an alibi. Frankie accepts Tony in prison after Tony saves his life. Things go horribly wrong for Frankie as his lawyer and brother gets killed, his empire crumbles, and he is stuck in prison. He must rely on Crazy Tony for help.The film is not top notch. It has some comedic elements that border on camp. Likewise the tough guy talk is more camp than serious. Because it was foreign, it is difficult to tell what was meant to be funny and what was accidentally funny. The production is not a timeless classic, and will only have a narrow audience.Parental Guide: Edwige Fenech- shower nudity

I scooped up this title by accident with the Grindhouse Vol. 1 collection of pure Euro-trash movies. But this movie has a nice stamp of approval and should deserve a better transfer than what is out there. Stupednous it is not... satisfying it is! Watching this movie I couldn't help to wonder... how come Sergio Martino didn't make this flick? This has his signature all over it and punctuated by Edwedge Fenech (alas not as well known as she should be but she did get a nice cameo in Hostel II). Double-crosses and triple-crosses underly and cement this film from beginning to end with Lee Van Cleef oozing coolness under pressure from the 1st second. Did this guy have to go to Italy to finally reach his potential or did the studio system let this guy slip through? Besides Lee's more recognizable films, film-goers should try this on for size and see how if Sergio Leone would've lowered his epic scale down on Once Upon a Time in America to half the running time (and 1/4 of the budget) this is what it would've turned out to be like. So refreshing, it should be taken in during the day at home and make it for an couch matinée

I was very impressed with this well made Lupo vehicle from 1974. Lee Van Cleef is Frank, a mean, cold, feared and respected crime lord. While Tony Lo Bianco is Tony, a street hustler who has some respect in his neighborhood, other than that not a nada. These two meet under odd circumstances, seeing that Tony's fascination with the Boss is borderline infatuation. Well let's say that Frank does not like Tony and tony adores Frank, until Tony saves Franks life in a mafia hit. I'm not going to keep on rambling, but if you like Italo Crime, Lee Van Cleef or Joe D'Amato (photography). Then you owe it to yourself to see this movie! I give it a very sturdy 8 out of 10