Most giallo-poliziottesco hybrids don't balance the two genres quite like this one. The mystery and whodunit aspect are quite interesting. Stuart Whitman plays a believably tough cop on the case to investigate who killed his younger sister, giving this movie some pathos as well. The ten minute car chase supervised by the great Remy Juienne is one of the best car chases ever. In addition to that there are some great fistfights where Stuart Whitman seems unbeatable. The biggest flaw with this movie, and it is big is how convoluted the plot is. I can usually understand all of the plot threads in most giallo movies upon rewatch but there are characters who have no part in this story being a part of the buildup to the reveal. While the ending mystery reveal is good and the final chase is great some of the links to the main reveal feel completely unnecessary. The Canadian location work is good and different for a movie like this, and the pacing is quite good. It's never boring.
Synopsis: When Louise Saitta dies in Montreal, her brother Tony an Ottawa police captain, finds out his sister was murdered and tries to find out who did it. Along the way he finds out some things about his sister he didn't expect.
The film starts with cop Tony Saitta chasing down some criminals and getting into a shootout with some in a store. Just like Dirty Harry he carries the Smith and Wesson Model 29 .44 magnum. There are some good blood squibs after he chases down the suspects and shoots them. Meanwhile Tony's younger sister Louise (Carole Laure) who goes to school in Montreal is seen arguing with the school doctor, George Tracer (Martin Laudau) by her ex-boyfriend Fred (Jean LeClerc). Louise is later poisoned at a party. John Saxon's character, a cop who works with Tony later confirms this. The movie does a good job showing who everyone in the room is and making you think any of them could be the suspect.
Tony goes to investigate the case. They hold Tracer for the murder. Tracer was having an affair with Louise apparently so that is why Tony suspects him. He tries to prove he didn't have anything to do with it by getting drugs he used to help Louise but he can't find them in his bag. Another person who works at the school Margie (Gayle Hunnicutt) saw him give the drugs but can't prove they were in the original seal. After this is when all the plot threads start. A woman is beaten and is later found in a junkyard crusher. In their car a photo is found of Louise wearing a necklace. Apparently the person is transgender. Tony finds out where these people are after going to shop where the necklace was. This starts the recurring thing in this movie where people who barely have anything to do with the plot are investigated because they had something to do with this necklace.
The transgender people lead Tony to an informant who eventually leads them to another guy involved with the necklace, that leads them to another guy. All of the action scenes involving these characters are great. The fight with the trans people is fun. The chase with the second guy at a train station is fun. There is a part where Whitman or his stunt double does a great fall on the side of an escalator and drops down about 10 feet. The scene ends with him interrogating the guy by drowning him in a bathroom sink. The next guy gets to his car and an awesome 10 minute chase scene starts with some sports style replay angles of certain moments. The chase goes from busy streets to a gravel like pit. It is eventually found out that Louise was blackmailing Tracer and he is let go. The guy in the car chase who Tony chases down says Louise had the necklace.
Spoiler Section
Louise had a blind roommate named Julie (Tisa Farrow). There are a couple of thrilling scenes with her character. One early on when she thinks she hears someone in the room and is tricked into going outside and nearly walking off the building as the overpass near her room is being repaired. Later Margie wants to tell her something and is killed in her room. Julie is pursued down the stairs and eventually gets outside where she is almost ran over several times before Tony gets there. At first it seems as if Terence (Jean Marshand) is the killer as he is found hung but is eventually revealed that Fred is the killer. Him and Louise had stolen the necklace and had killed the woman who had it. This leads to an exciting final chase through the hospital and Tony shooting down Fred in a helicopter. While this movie has some great fistfights and one of the best car chases ever, mystery is good but the payoff isn't so great. There are too many characters with links to the mystery that have nothing to do with Louise's murder. While this movie has a whodunit aspect it is more linked to the object of the necklace itself rather than Louise's murder which I think takes something away from this movie. The performances are decent and I do enjoy Stuart Whitman as he is both tough and somewhat human. The score is great as well. It has that brass instrument combined with funk sound that a lot of the great Eurocrime movies have.
Rating: 8/10 The action more than makes up for the convoluted story.
Trivia: Clips of the car chase are used in the Geico commericial "does a dog chase cats?" Keir Dullea was offered a major role.
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