Set against the shadowy backdrop of elite Roman high society, finance and treasonous politics, The Salamander kicks off with the sudden, suspicious death of General Panteleone—a revered WWII hero and champion of democracy. Officially written off as natural causes, Carabinieri Colonel Dante Matucci (Franco Nero) isn’t buying it.
Assigned to the case alongside his mentor, Captain Steffanelli (Martin Balsam), Matucci discovers a calling card featuring the crest of a salamander left at the scene. As the body count of prominent figures begins to rise, Matucci uncovers a chilling pattern: a decades-long string of assassinations masking a clandestine neo-fascist conspiracy to execute a coup d’état and overthrow the Italian government. To untangle the web of corruption, Matucci must enlist the aid of Bruno Manzini (Anthony Quinn), a billionaire industrialist and former assassin who once went by the name The Salamander.
Plus, you get Christopher Lee as Prince Baldasar, a counterintelligence chief; Sybil Danning as Lili Anders, a mysterious operative and Matucci’s love interest; Eli Wallach as General Leporello and appearances by Claudia Cardinale, John Steiner, Cleavon Little and Anita Strindberg. Perhaps the craziest role is for Paul L. Smith as the Surgeon, a torturer who battles a jockstrap-sporting Nero.
The Salamander was the first and only feature film directed by Peter Zinner, an industry legend primarily known as an elite film editor, who won an Academy Award for The Deer Hunter and earned acclaim for The Godfather, The Godfather Part II and In Cold Blood. He was also the music editor for They Saved Hitler’s Brain, Deathwatch, King Kong vs. Godzilla and The Naked Kiss, amongst others.
The long-in-the-works screenplay originated as an adaptation by legendary Twilight Zone and Night Gallery creator Rod Serling. Serling left the adaptation unfinished before his passing in 1975; Robert Katz later reworked and completed it. It was based on the book by Morris West, who also wrote The Shoes of the Fisherman.
The production took place entirely on location across scenic Italy during the turbulent actors’ strike of 1980, and eventually faced a rocky, delayed release that kept it largely unseen in the U.S. until home video years later. Even when the narrative slows down, the film benefits immensely from a soaring, top-tier musical score composed by the legendary Jerry Goldsmith.
A big cast without much to do, but I mean, a half-naked Nero rolls around with Sybil Danning and gets belly to belly suplexed by Paul L. Smith. That’s worth watching.
You can watch this on Tubi.
