Mad Dog Coll
((U.S.-Russian--Gangster drama--Color))
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Vincent Coll ... Christopher Bradley
Peter Coll ... Jeff Griggs
Dutch Schultz ... Bruce Novick
Central characters this time round are the Coll brothers, "Mad Dog" Vincent (Christopher Bradley) and Peter (Jeff Griggs). Starting out as muscle for N.Y.'s Irish gangs, the teen siblings soon switch allegiances to old pal Dutch Schultz (Bruce Novick), running liquor during Prohibition. When Dutch won't let them start their own operation, the Colls take him head-on.
The script doesn't get much farther than lines like "Bring on the cement." But the action clips along at a merry pace that should keep genre fans amused, and Gothamites will have fun seeing Russian locations doubling for late '20s N.Y. Almost all of the pic's exteriors are nocturnal; interior sets are cheesy. Violence and language are restrained by current standards.
Bradley makes a fair stab at the title role, but he's wiped off the screen by Novick as the bumptious Schultz. Other perfs are standard, and Rachel York has her moments as Bradley's chantoosie wife. A final voiceover stresses the youthfulness of the period's mobsters, and in that respect at least the pic is accurate. Tech credits are OK, with a helpful symphonic score by Terry Plumeri.
Camera (Deluxe color), Janusz Kaminski; editor, Patrick Rand; music, Terry Plumeri; production design, Clark Hunter; associate producer, Galina Tuchinsky; line producer, Mark Slater; casting, Abigail R. McGrath. Reviewed at Cannes Film Festival market, May 10, 1992. Running time: 98 min.
With: Rachel York
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