Sergio Martino has made many and different films silly, sexy, violent and serious. This one is the last type as long as you know here this is more a serious idea than the sometimes rather silly stuff. As Tomas Milian is in this one and you might not nearly even notice him. The Suspicious Death of a Minor (1975) is barely not a giallo but interesting and The Violent Professionals (1973) like these other ones a rather more thrilling political stories that are terrible films on what Italian's were rather like in the 70s. Luc Merenda and Mel Ferrer good as always and the great ride is also a very thinking about in Milan.

I'm a big fan of Sergio Martino, but it's quite clear that his main strength is in making Giallo's, not crime flicks. This genre is famous for high action sequences such as car chases and shootouts; but this film doesn't deliver that, preferring a more political standpoint and the results are disappointing. There's not a great deal of action in this film; despite some decent murder scenes early on, Silent Action soon becomes rather tedious as the story leans towards the central character uncovering a mystery and the mystery isn't all that exciting. The film starts by depicting the mysterious murders of various Government officials. The film then shows the central copper as he delves into the mystery, starting with finding a prostitute who is believed to be involved in the murder of an innocent man. However, the further he searches, the more it becomes apparent that the murders are all linked to a conspiracy that goes deeper than he first thought...

The film stars Luc Merenda, who gives a decent performance despite the film's shortcomings. Merenda is one of my favourite Polizi regulars, having seen him in a number of these films, you can always count on him to do a good job, and at least the film doesn't disappoint in that respect. However, Martino doesn't do a very good job when it comes the atmosphere or storytelling. For a film to move at this pace, the story really has be interesting, but it doesn't really manage to hold the audience's attention. We never really get a good feel for the "corruption" element of the story either, and when we start to realise how 'deep' it all goes, I just got the impression that it didn't really matter. Don't get me wrong, the film isn't all bad and it certainly has its moments; but I've come to expect more exciting films from this genre, and Silent Action just didn't live up to that. The best part of the film is the ending, though it's debatable as to whether or not it's actually worth waiting for, and again don't be expecting any action! Overall, I can't completely condemn this film; but I didn't like it much, and there are much better Italian crime flicks out there!

SILENT ACTION is a solid Italian crime film from director Sergio Martino, a man best known for making a series of stylish gialli during the 1970s. In fact, Martino was a man of many talents, just as happy making action and horror pictures as he was thrillers, and this is another string to his bow. It's not one of the best Italian crime films out there, but it's a perfectly acceptable piece of entertainment with an interesting story.

The star of the piece is Luc Merenda playing a detective doggedly on the tail of a gang of conspirators responsible for murdering a string of high-level officials. Merenda played roles like this loads of times and was always an asset to a movie, although not perhaps as energetic as others like Fabio Testi or Maurizio Merli. The opening string of murders is graphically portrayed and a real eye-opener, particularly the staged train suicide.

The film's pacing is occasionally a little slow and there are extraneous elements, like Delia Boccardo's pointless love interest. However, for the most part this is well-directed and never less than interesting. Mel Ferrer pops up in a role as a district attorney while Italian film star Tomas Milian is unrecognisable as another police captain. The plot veers and twists all over the place, ending in a downbeat but unsurprising fashion, and there are a couple of neat action scenes and vehicle chases added to the mix.