The Knock-out Cop

The Knock-out Cop

Directed by

Steno

Year

1973

Genre

Crime Movie

Category

Cinema


Synopsis

The first chapter in the triumphal Piedone series, recounting the adventures of the famous inspector 

Bud Spencer, a whirlwind of punches and emotions, reshuffles the cards of the detective genre and invents an internationally worshipped legend

The first triumphal outing for Inspector Piedone, appropriately advertised on posters as a “whirlwind of punches and emotions”. This first chapter in what will eventually become a four-film series, is the instalment most-rooted in the tradition of the Italian detective genre; it dusts off the character of the detective disliked by his superiors, forced to go it alone by unorthodox means to defeat the criminals and challenge a deeply flawed system. However in his own unique and hard-hitting way, Bud Spencer (without forgetting about Steno’s wonderful direction) reshuffles the cards and deals an original and winning hand. In no way intimidated by the absence of Terence Hill, his habitual partner in madcap adventures, the actor introduces Franciscan goodwill and a comic sense of justice to his investigative work, dished out with his usual jaw-dislocating beatings. And as always, the city of Naples guarantees an anything but banal setting. Audience response to the film, both in Italy and abroad, is overwhelming. Proof of which lies in the film being immediately parodied by Franco Franchi in Piedino il questurino.

Inspector Rizzo, known as “Piedone”, is forced to hand in his gun and badge as a result of his unorthodox methods, which his superiors disapprove of. However, he does not give up his investigation into underworld activities that threaten the peace in Naples: criminals from Marseille are flooding the territory with huge shipments of drugs.

The first chapter in the triumphal Piedone series, recounting the adventures of the famous inspector 

Bud Spencer, a whirlwind of punches and emotions, reshuffles the cards of the detective genre and invents an internationally worshipped legend

The first triumphal outing for Inspector Piedone, appropriately advertised on posters as a “whirlwind of punches and emotions”. This first chapter in what will eventually become a four-film series, is the instalment most-rooted in the tradition of the Italian detective genre; it dusts off the character of the detective disliked by his superiors, forced to go it alone by unorthodox means to defeat the criminals and challenge a deeply flawed system. However in his own unique and hard-hitting way, Bud Spencer (without forgetting about Steno’s wonderful direction) reshuffles the cards and deals an original and winning hand. In no way intimidated by the absence of Terence Hill, his habitual partner in madcap adventures, the actor introduces Franciscan goodwill and a comic sense of justice to his investigative work, dished out with his usual jaw-dislocating beatings. And as always, the city of Naples guarantees an anything but banal setting. Audience response to the film, both in Italy and abroad, is overwhelming. Proof of which lies in the film being immediately parodied by Franco Franchi in Piedino il questurino.

Inspector Rizzo, known as “Piedone”, is forced to hand in his gun and badge as a result of his unorthodox methods, which his superiors disapprove of. However, he does not give up his investigation into underworld activities that threaten the peace in Naples: criminals from Marseille are flooding the territory with huge shipments of drugs.


The Knock-out Cop