The Valachi Papers (1972)

Directed by: Terence Young | 125 minutes | drama, crime | Actors: Charles Bronson, Lino Ventura, Jill Ireland, Walter Chiari, Joseph Wiseman, Gerald S. OLoughlin, Amedeo Nazzari, Fausto Tozzi, Pupella Maggio, Angelo Infanti, Guido Leontini, María Baxa, Mario Pilar, Franco Borelli, Allessandro Sperli, Natasha Chevelev, Anthony Dawson, Fred Valleca, John Alarimo, Steve Belloise, Giacomo De Michelis, Arny Freeman, Ron Gilbert, Frank Gio, Syl Lamont, Imelde Marani, Isabelle Marchall, Jason McCallum, Sabine Sun

‘The Valachi Papers’ is an unknown in the mafia genre. The film appeared shortly before ‘The Godfather’ by Ford Coppola and was completely overshadowed by the pre-eminent mafia film. ‘Valachi’ revolves around the story of a man who wants to blow his mind about the Cosa Nostra, violating the code of honor of one of the world’s most feared organizations. Despite the sometimes visibly limited resources, director Young makes a raw film out of it. Terence Young (‘Dr. No’) makes no bones about it at the beginning of the film. The director skips an introduction and takes you straight into Bronson’s harsh prison life as Joe Valachi.

In the beginning it is unclear why he is having such a hard time in the arena. Constantly challenged and threatened, Bronson (‘Death Wish’) has to deal with dark figures who want to kill him. Moments later, the answer comes: the leader of the American mafia, the capo di capi, thinks Bronson wants to betray the secret society. Then the director uses flashbacks to show how it could have come to this. Bronson tells the FBI about his career as a criminal from start to finish, revealing many tidbits about an organization hitherto barely accessible to outsiders. The chosen form to tell the story is simple and yet so clear. Every so often you come back to the present, to the Joe Valachi of today, and see how he worked his way from novice to respected member of the family. The casting of Bronson in the role of a mobster is striking.

It is difficult to get used to Bronson as a member of the Cosa Nostra, knowing that he was a child of Polish parents and does not have an Italian head. Anyway, he knows how to hold his own in an environment of criminals and wardrobes, as is often the case, and some of the many action scenes are downright impressive. It is clear, however, that Bronson does not belong to the A-class of actors. He lacks the talent of the greatest, which becomes all the more apparent in ‘The Valachi Papers’, in which he plays a part with a lot of text. However, ‘The Valachi Papers’ also offers a nice glimpse into the mafia’s business and behavior. In particular, the code of honour, the customs and traditions are extremely interesting to see. You can see how Bronson visits his wife-to-be and mother-in-law. According to good Italian custom, a senior member of the organization speaks, while the ‘lovebirds’ look at each other in love and have to keep their mouths shut. Mother-in-law reluctantly agrees to the arrival of the uncomplicated son-in-law who takes over her daughter. Perhaps the only scene that puts things into perspective, because ‘Valachi’ is otherwise a dead serious film. Everything comes raw and unadulterated into your living room, where humorous scenes such as in a film like ‘The Untouchables’ by De Palma are completely absent.

“The Valachi Papers” is less well known, but well worth a look, if only to note that quite a few of the scenes from the film later reappear in other movies about the mafia. The film covers a period of about thirty years, from Prohibition in the 1930s to the mid-1960s. The relatively long period of time does not affect the quality of the film. Interesting role by Bronson, who got more roles after ‘Valachi’ that take place in the criminal circuit. Mafia fans: watch this movie.