Street People (1976) - Maurice Lucidi

Salvatore Francesco, a man with connections to the mob, has paid for the transportation of a Sicilian cross as a good-will gesture to the community of San Francisco.  After learning that the Sicilian cross was used to smuggle in a large heroin shipment Salvatore Francesco finds his reputation destroyed within the community and the church.  Enraged, he gains the support of a prominent mob boss intent on tracking down the men responsible.  Francesco turns to his nephew, Ulysses, a lawyer, who together with his best friend Charlie, a Grand Prix driver, help discover who is behind the heroin smuggling.  Another film part of the Italian crime movement of the 1970s, Maurice Lucidi's Street People stars Roger Moore and Stacy Keach as Ulysses and Charlie respectively.  Street People feels like a watered down version of the 70's Italian crime films that isn't nearly as kinetic or outlandish.  It still has the sharp, innovative camera work and gritty tone but it doesn't carry the same amount of energy and machoism that some of the greater films of the sub-genre manage.  The best aspect of the film is the odd pairing of Stacey Keach and Roger Moore who have very different personalities but mesh really well together.  I wouldn't go as far as to say the narrative is hard to follow but it does feel over-stuffed for a film of this pedigree, trying a little too hard to make this crime thriller feel dense and emotionally resonant.  Maurice Lucidi's Street People is a subpar offering from the Italian Crime movement of the 70s but a part of me feels that it's worth seeing for the oddball pairing of Stacey Keach and Roger Moore alone.
6/10

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