Massacre Mafia Style (1974)

"The Executioner" a.k.a "Massacre Mafia Style" – which obviously is a much more apt title – was promoted to me by fellow genre fanatics as THE ultimate must-see cult exploitation classic of the seventies. It took me quite a while to track down (apparently it's also one of the most obscure cult exploitation classic of the seventies) but eventually I'm very glad that I took the effort. Not because this is such a great movie, quite the contrary in fact, but the least you can say is that "Massacre Mafia Style" is truly a unique accomplishment and definitely unequaled in terms of ineptitude and entertainment value. This is somewhat the one man project of a good old pal named Duke Mitchell. Duke produced, wrote the screenplay, composed the soundtrack, sat in the director's chair and depicted the anti-heroic lead character in this unsung grindhouse variation on the immensely popular "The Godfather". Duke Mitchell was a godfather, all right… The godfather of absurdity and sheer incompetence! The film is a non-stop series of pointless shotgun assassinations (the craziest you'll ever see), altered with incredibly overlong and wannabe philosophical monologues about how traditional Italian families in America are dishonored by the mafia's vicious reputation ("you see this old woman's hands? They smell of oregano and gave us pizza, lasagna and some of the most appreciated foods in the world! But what did we give her in return? We gave her violence, death and dishonor!"). What the hell, indeed! Mitchell's character Mimi Miceli returns to the US, many years after his father got exiled. Together with his childhood friend Jolly Rizzo he intends to work his way back to the top, but he merely only succeeds in becoming an efficient hit man and raising a couple of family feuds. The opening sequences of "Massacre Mafia Style" are legendary, with Duke Mitchell and his buddy Vic Caesar strolling around an office building and liquidating everyone in sight (including secretaries, black guys with immense Afros and a crippled man in a wheelchair) to the tunes of a cheerful Italian party song. This scene as well as all the other massacres in the film, are supposed to be extremely violent and nihilistic, but they're actually downright hilarious and the complete opposite of shocking. The poor people who volunteered to appear in this mess of a movie are just standing around, not looking the least bit surprised by the sounds of screaming and heavy shotgun fire, waiting to be killed next to the elevator or behind their desk, and the next shot shows their exaggeratedly bloodied body. I have a lot of admiration and respect for Duke Mitchell, because he made this movie even though he probably realized himself that it is spectacularly awful in all possible departments, but I can only recommend this to a very limited number of people. Crazy cult fans, rejoice!

Ed Wood comparisons are inevitable. A truly Personalized, Visionary Style emanates from the Id of Writer/Director/Producer/Actor/Singer/Lounge Performer, Duke Mitchell. This Movie one of two He helm-ed, the other Gone With the Pope (that was shot but not edited before His death) finished by Fans and Friends and finally released.The Thing is, like Ed Wood, Duke Mitchell had much more Energy and Aspirations than Talent. But that didn't stop Him from making a Living doing what He Loved. Performing as a Martin and Lewis Rip-Off with Sammy Partillo that was stopped by a Lawsuit before it could cause much Damage, singing at a Lounge in Palm Springs, and making Movies.This one is a sight to behold and Fans of Grindhouse, Bad Movies, and Inept over the top Fun Films, have touted this very Personal Film as an Underground Masterpiece. It is straight-faced (tongue nowhere near the cheek) and in your face, Didactic Dumbness, Ultra-Violent, almost incomprehensible in Plot, and full of one Bizarre Scene with Dizzying Dialog after another.It is almost Breathless if not Breathtaking watching this Thing unfold in all its Audacious Splendor. The Opening Scene is enough to Hook the Curious and the rest is nothing Less than Mind Altering in its Display of almost incompetence. But it is Ultimately Magnetic and Magnificently Moronic.

First off, this movie has the greatest opening ever! Its a classic B-movie and I can't believe it is so neglected by modern audiences. Duke Mitchell's wrote, directed and starred in this mafia classic. Mitchell is mostly know for his pairing in comedy group where he was the Dean Martinish character. He appeared as this character in the horrible B-film Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla. A must see for those who love films so bad, they're good.But The Executioner (aka. Massacre Mafia Style) isn't a horrible film that is good. The movie itself is fun. And seems not to take itself too serious. The acting isn't good, but its enjoyable. The clichés are full blown. And ultimately, the story is a tragedy.The son of a mafia boss (Who was exiled from America) returns to California, to reclaim his family's honor and position in America. he is ruthless and starts wars with reigning mafia, At first planning to gain control of the pimps and pushers. Later getting involved with the porno industry.Spoiler: I enjoyed the motif of Italian tradition involving the breaking of bread with items in it. Its use at the end, hiding the gun that will kill our hero in the bread, was a great touch. Representing the tradition and tragedy within one family .i can't wait to see Gone with the Pope. its trailer looks amazing.

A DVD release of this has been promised for a longtime, though old video releases can still be found (usually under the a.k.a. title The Executioner) for those who want to see what all the fuss is about. More than living up to both its name and reputation, Massacre Mafia Style opens with two tough guys played by Vic Caesar and the film's director Duke Mitchell electrocuting a wheelchair bound mob boss in a urinal. Just for the hell of it they also shoot everyone who happens to be in the same building at the time, and I do mean everyone, office workers, secretaries, even the cleaners, all of which is scored to a Dean Martin-like song about being in love.It transpires that Mitchell's character, nicknamed 'Mimi', is the son of a mob boss who wants revenge on the American Mafia for exiling his old man 16 years earlier. Teaming up with buddy Vic to form "a small army of guts, balls and trust", in order to raise cash they kidnap a mobster and demand a ransom, sending his thumb through the post to show they mean business ("That's Chucky's thumb all right, I've seen it on him a million times"). The pair also make money by shooting porno films on a boat, a subplot that seems to be a sly reference to a certain Italian family's involvement in porno smash hit Deep Throat. To say that Vic n' Duke's exploits are action filled is putting it mildly, they go on to impale a gangster on a meat hook (which comes out of his eye!), crucify a black pimp on Easter Sunday, as well as numerous reprises of the 'Vic and Duke shoot everyone and their barber' opening. A particularly hilarious moment occurs when during a montage of people being gunned down we cut to someone minding their own business reading a newspaper (headline "13 LA Bookmakers and Procurers slain!") who is then also shot, presumably making it 14 LA Bookmakers and Procurers slain.To give a bit of background on Director/Lead man Mitchell, he had began his career as a singer, Americanizing his real name Dominic Miceli to Duke Mitchell, then teamed up with comedian Sammy Petrillo to form an act that was errr not dissimilar to Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis'. The duo were immortalized on screen in the career end Lugosi vehicle "Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla", though by the time he made Massacre Mafia Style, Mitchell looked less like Dean Martin and instead bears a curious resemblance to the notorious Porn/Broadway actor Zebedy Colt. Mitchell wasn't a bad actor actually, and equally shifty and violent on screen one of the films main strengths is his no nonsense persona. At one point threatening to not only strangle one character's entire family but everyone in the phonebook with the same name. Suffice to say, after seeing the film, you probably wouldn't want to spill Duke Mitchell's drink.Making up for its lack of professionalism (as well as a sneaky sense of family members/buddies being passed off as cast members), with admirable low budget energy. There are even moments that take Massacre Mafia Style from simply being a blood and guts B-Movie into something more personal. A far more complex character than the 'rise and fall' narrative suggests, Mitchell's Mimi ruthlessly murders his way to the top but seems haunted by disillusionment every step of the way. By the end the pride and respect for the old ways he was brought up to believe in have been eradicated by a sense that contemporary society is sufficiently depraved to render the Mafia antiquated. Especially powerful is Mimi's speech about his mother "What did we give her, We gave her violence. We gave her death. We gave her dishonor!" and the back story about his father's impoverished beginnings in America in which he even lends his own Miceli/Mitchell names to the character. A true labour of love, as they say. Mitchell also made a follow up called Gone with the Pope, which has never been released though a trailer for it has surfaced on the internet. Do try and watch it, given the premise (Duke kidnaps the Pope), a scene where Duke gets it on with massively obese woman, and THAT opening line of the trailer its looks as if may even outdo Massacre Mafia Style for outrageousness.