What good is a beef steak to the dead dog?
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | What good is a beef steak to the dead dog? |
| Original title | Mr. Ricco |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 1975 |
| length | 98 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 16 |
| Rod | |
| Director | Paul Bogart |
| script | Robert Hoban |
| production | Douglas Nice |
| music | Chico Hamilton |
| camera | Frank Stanley |
| cut | Michael S. McLean |
| occupation | |
| |
What good is a beef steak to the dead dog? (Original title: Mr. Ricco ) is an American feature film from 1975. Directed by Paul Bogart , the screenplay was written by Robert Hoban . The main roles played Dean Martin , Eugene Roche and Thalmus Rasulala .
action
In San Francisco , the trial of Mary Justin's murder ends with the acquittal of the militant Afro-American defendant, Frankie Steele, because it has been proven that evidence had been forged. One evening, when Steele's defense attorney Joe Ricco and his friend George Cronyn, the head of the investigative police unit, are playing poker in the restaurant of Angela, the sister of Ricco's ex-wife, two police officers are lured into a trap and shot. The perpetrator is seen leaving the crime scene by Luther, an approximately 13-year-old boy. Luther also noticed a medallion. The next morning, Luther's mother turned to Joe Ricco, who accompanied her and her son to the police. The locket is recognized as that of Frankie Steele's group. Then Luther also identified Steele himself on slides that were shown to him in the police station. But he points out that the perpetrator wore sunglasses. Cronyn then orders a raid on the group.
During the raid, the unarmed Calvin Mapes is shot by the racist policeman Tanner. He puts a gun next to the corpse and claims to have acted in self-defense. The dead man's brother, Purvis Mapes, is arrested while Steele escapes. Ricco wants to investigate the circumstances of Mapes arrest and meets with his sister Irene, who hires him as defense lawyer for her brother. At a meeting at the site of the raid, Ricco suspects that the weapon was placed next to the dead Calvin Mapes there. Cronyn therefore has the weapon examined for fingerprints. In the evening Ricco meets Katherine Freemont. The next day comes the result of the weapon examination. It's just Tanner's fingerprints on it. Two assassinations will soon be carried out on Ricco. In the first, a neighbor identifies Steele as the perpetrator, in the second, he sees him himself when he is shot at from another car on the way home and then has an accident that he barely survives. Still, he doesn't think Steele wants to murder him.
After Maples is released on judicial orders, his sister persuades him to arrange a meeting between Ricco and Steele. To get there, Joe Ricco has to shake off two police officers. After doing this, he repaints his car and drives to the meeting before the paint dries. Steele asserts that he has nothing to do with the police murders and the attacks on Ricco, but accidentally admits the murder of Mary Justin. Then there is a fight between the two, in which Ricco is defeated. The two shaken off police officers, who noticed the car with the paint that had not dried, arrive in time to chase Steele away. Ricco is now assigned a detective as protection. In the evening Ricco goes to the opening of an art museum with Katherine. There he is shot again, killing Katherine and injuring the detective. Ricco takes his weapon, pursues the shooter and can finally shoot him. During the examination of the body it turns out that it is Mary Justin's brother, who disguised himself as Steele with the help of a latex mask. Steele himself had recently been arrested.
background
Actors and actresses
What good is a beef steak to the dead dog? was the first of three films Dean Martin was contracted to make for MGM. However, Dean Martin did not make these appearances, so what good is a beef steak for the dead dog? for him was the last leading role in a film. After that, he only had a smaller role in On the Highway, Hell is Going on and the sequel On the Highway is All Hell Go on . It was the last film for Geraldine Brooks and Frank Puglia.
synchronization
What good is a beef steak to the dead dog? was synchronized in 1975 by Berliner Synchron . The dubbing director was John Pauls-Harding , who also wrote the dialogue book.
| role | actor | Voice actor |
|---|---|---|
| Joe Ricco | Dean Martin | Klaus Miedel |
| George Cronyn | Eugene Roche | Holger Kepich |
| Frankie Steele | Thalmus Rasulala | Joachim Kemmer |
| Irene Mapes | Denise Nicholas | Cornelia Meinhardt |
| Jamison | Cindy Williams | Joseline Gassen |
| Katherine Fremont | Geraldine Brooks | Bettina Schön |
World premieres
The world premiere was on January 29, 1975 in New York . The German premiere was on June 6, 1975. The film was produced and distributed by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer .
The film was released on DVD on September 11, 2012.
criticism
What good is a beef steak to the dead dog? was almost always rated negatively. Dennis Schwartz said he couldn't defend the film even if he were the best liberal lawyer in San Francisco. Dennis Schwartz's review is the only one on Rotten Tomatoes of the film, which underscores the statement made by Greg Ferrara who said the film didn't cause much of a stir when it was released. Lee Pfeiffer also has little good things to say about the film, but admits that he liked the film better than he expected.
The script is particularly criticized. It is boring and made up of set pieces. The story is boring or even tiring, and you can't identify with the plot. The end could not be guessed at or only in retrospect, so that the viewer felt cheated.
Paul Bogart was also mostly criticized. He directs the film in an unimaginative and uninspired way; you see too much that it comes from television. However, his performance is also praised, albeit somewhat cautiously.
Dean Martin's performance is rated very extensively. The critics agree that he is very casual, but have very different opinions on how to rate this. Some find that Dean Martin shows no interest in his performance, acts weakly and is even wrongly cast. Others are enthusiastic about its performance. Still others see more the role against his image and attest to a “certain self-irony” in his portrayal. The fact that Dean Martin's character does not surround himself with schnapps and young women as usual, but rather confines himself to milk because of a stomach ulcer and goes out with a woman of the same age was mentioned several times. This remains uncommented or is perceived as "tragicomic" or disappointing. Only Roger Ebert says that he criticized the constant repetition of this image, but now misses it. His dog Hank is responsible for the humor.
Eugene Roche and Thalmus Rasulala receive particular praise. In general, the supporting actors would try very hard to save the film, but that did not help. It is also noted that they look terrible because of the poor staging and it is not clear whether or not they deserve it.
German title
The title What good is a beef steak for a dead dog? is described by Hans C. Blumenberg as "bold and strange". He writes that even “the most attentive observer” could discover “neither a dead dog nor a beef steak” in history. The film appears in lists that criticize German-language film titles or want to make fun of them.
The title of the video release was Dead End .
Web links
- What good is a beef steak to the dead dog? in the Internet Movie Database (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Variety of January 29, 1975, quoted from Mr. Ricco In: afi.com .
- ↑ a b c d e Lee Pfeiffer: DVD REVIEW: “MR. RICCO "(1975). In: Cinema Retro. Accessed December 15, 2016 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Dennis Schwartz: Mr. Ricco. In: Ozus' World Movie Reviews. Accessed December 15, 2016 .
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Mr. Ricco (1975). In: AllMovie. Retrieved December 15, 2016 (click on "Review" for a review by Craig Butler, click on "Releases" for release dates).
- ^ A b c d e f Greg Ferrara: Mr. Ricco (1975). In: TCM. Accessed December 15, 2016 .
- ^ Geraldine Brooks Complete Filmography. In: TCM. Accessed December 15, 2016 .
- ^ Frank Puglia Complete Filmography. In: TCM. Accessed December 15, 2016 .
- ↑ Search result for film title What use is a beef steak for a dead dog? (1974). In: synchrondatenbank.de. Retrieved December 15, 2016 .
- ↑ Mr. Ricco. In: afi.com. Accessed December 15, 2016 .
- ↑ a b What use is a beef steak to a dead dog? In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed December 15, 2016 .
- ↑ Mr. Ricco DVD. In: CD universe. Accessed December 15, 2016 .
- ↑ a b WHAT DOES A BEEFSTEAK DO FOR A DEAD DOG? In: Cinema.de. Retrieved December 15, 2016 .
- ↑ a b c d Martin Plays Lawyer in 'Mr. Ricco ' . In: The New York Times . January 30, 1975 ( online [accessed December 15, 2016]).
- ↑ a b c d Hans C. Blumenberg: Film tips. In: Zeit Online. July 4, 1975, accessed December 15, 2016 (section “fair”).
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Roger Ebert : Mr. Ricco. In: RogerEbert.com. Accessed December 15, 2016 .
- ↑ What use is a beef steak to the dead dog? at Rotten Tomatoes (English)
- ↑ Lost in Translation: German Titles. In: listal. Retrieved December 15, 2016 (English, number 23).
- ^ Stupid German Movie Titles Reloaded. In: MadMind. Retrieved December 15, 2016 (English, number 10).
- ↑ Dead End (1975). In: Filmgalerie Berlin. Retrieved December 15, 2016 .