A drug deal goes bad and the heroin is stolen. One mob boss doesn't have his drugs and the other doesn't get his money. People are going to die until they discover who double-crossed them. Into this backdrop, Inspector Dario Mauri (Luc Merenda) arrives from Milan to help clean-up Naples. His mission – find the drugs and stop the killing.

Even though I knew this was a first time viewing, throughout A Man Called Magnum, I had an odd feeling that I had seen the movie before. Then, it dawned on me – change the locations, take out the nudity and blood, and put in a few American actors and, voilà, what you've got is essentially the same as any number of American cop television shows from the 1970s. It's not that A Man Called Magnum is bad, there's just nothing spectacular about it. We've all seen it before. The gun battles, car chases, and fistfights are strictly by the numbers and lack originality. I also had problems relating to the main character, Inspector Dario Mauri. The movie gives less detail about him than even the most minor of characters. Not to mention that what we do know makes Dario seem pretty dull. And it's difficult for me to invest any real emotion in such a lifeless character.

There are a few highlights such as the camera work, the score, the locations, and the idea of the little girl drawing pictures to send to the police as clues. The movie presents a lot of images from unique angles. The camera work rises above the rest of this ordinary film. The score is full of those funky 70s sounds that I always enjoy. The locations are fascinating. You can't find places like that in America. It's distinctly Italian. Finally, the girl and her crayon are an interesting twist. It's too bad that A Man Called Magnum never takes full advantage of this plot point the way it could have.

When Naples steps out of line: EuroCRIME with Luc MERENDA

This film by Michele Massimo TARANTINI is certainly not the strongest crime film from the Italian heyday of the genre.

Luc Merenda plays an inspector who comes to Naples and has to get used to some of the drudgery. Enzo Cannavale plays his assistant, who is completely different from the dashing inspector. But he can drive like hell; it's not for nothing that they call him "Nicola Lauda." The way the unlikely team pulls together and sets their sights on their common enemy Don Domenico (Claudio Gora) is one of the film's strengths. It is also interesting that three complex female characters are introduced: the not so "eternal" victim Rosa (Sonia Viviani), the cunning lady boss Carola (Marianne Comtell) and the smart girl Luisa (Francesca Guadagno). Beyond that, only dozens of items are offered from the assembly line. There are more worthy representatives of the genre.

The Italian audience seems to have liked it quite a bit, with 999 million ITL sales in the domestic box office being decent. The film did not make it into West German cinemas.

Brutish, bold and fast moving Italian police thriller set in a decayed Naples. Characterful faces abound, as does the gang rivalry and bloody violence. Luc Merenda is so cool throughout you begin to wonder if he has noticed just what is going on, but then he is there ready around the corner. Probably about five car chases but there are not overlong and in fact work well amid the terrible street traffic. The chase against the city train is very well done, as are all the set pieces and elements of sleaze are provided for by the presence of a luscious Sonia Viviani. Always looking sensational and half the time nude she suffers a beating, a rape, forced drug injection and being shackled naked, all for our viewing pleasure and to underline the brutish element within Naples gangland. Tough, gritty and well worth a watch.