In Praise of J&B

J&B whiskey was the major prop drink in seventies Italian exploitation.  It was as ubiquitous as red herrings in a Giallo, or cobwebbed hallways in a gothic horror film.  If scriptwriters could have concocted a suitable explanation for its presence in a Sword and Sandal film, producers would have placed a bottle or two amongst the wine and grapes.  It was a status symbol of the wealthy, the decadent and the thirsty.  So, it only seemed inevitable that J&B would produce its own movie, THE J&B CONNECTION (1976).

PLOT:  Black marketers have been intercepting and stealing major shipments of J&B Scotch whiskey being imported into Italy.  The scarcity of their favorite scotch whiskey product has turned Italian citizenry on a knife edge, with looting, hoarding and violent confrontations flaring up amongst the deprived consumers.  The J&B companies' Italian president is fighting mad, and forms teams of heavily armed escorts to make sure that the shipments reach the populace.  These “Specialty Protection Squads” are run by ex-police and some of these turn out not to have J&B’s best interest at heart.

The J&B CONNECTION has some tense shoot outs on land and sea and crates full of J&B bottles getting shot up and shattering in slow motion.

Roderico Flocca, who plays, Luca, the head of the Special Protection Squads, was a mainstay in Italian exploitation, debuting as one of the sons of Hercules in 1961's THE 3 SONS OF HERCULES.  He did not return in the sequel, 1962's THE RETURN OF THE 2 SONS OF HERCULES, but continued on in the genre with GOLIATH AGAINST THE BEHEMOTH (1963) and ATLAS IN THE VALLEY OF THE VAMPIRES (1964).  He hit his stride as an actor when he made ten spaghetti westerns including THE RENEGADE GANG (1965), A GUNFIGHTER FOR ALL SEASONS (1966) and a dual role in the surrealistic DJANGO VS DJANGO (1968).  Then when the western well dried up he segued into hard boiled crime films like the rest of Italian film industry.  With HUNTED COP (1973), UN UOMO GIUSTO CONTRO IL SINDACATO Aka. ONE JUST MAN AGAINST THE SYNDICATE (1974) and LA CITTÀ È SOTTO ASSEDIO E LA POLIZIA È IMPOTENTE Aka. THE CITY IS UNDER SEIGE AND THE POLICE ARE HELPLESS (1977) being some of his more memorable outings.

Pacifico Atlantica, who plays the lead hijacker, has the best line in the movie, “He who controls the J&B . . . Controls Italy!”, lent his craggily looks and barrel-chested frame to many genre films including INVESTIGATION OF AN HONORABLE FAMILY (1973), UNDERCOVER IN THE MAFIA, UNDERCOVER IN THE POLICE (1976), the off-the-wall genre mash up HERCULES CONTRA FRANKENSTEIN (1972).

Director Oreste Marchesi who began his career as a camera man on Peplums, including THE MANY GREAT CHALLENGES OF MACISTE (1962) Aka. THE 7 CHALLENGES OF THE SON OF HERCULES, (Title for US Television) and THE LEGEND OF THE SHE-SEA CREATURE, would find his niche directing Euro crime with DIE FIRST, SHOOT LATER (1975) in which a detective fakes his death to take down a crime ring.  THE COP IN A TURTLENECK SWEATER (1977), LA POLIZIA VIENE LASCIATA IMPOTENTE PER MANO DI UN PAZZO Aka. THE POLICE ARE LEFT HELPLESS AT THE HANDS OF A MADMAN (1978) IL CRIMINE PAGA FINO A QUANDO L'ISPETTORE BENINI NON PRENDE IN CARICO IL CASO Aka. CRIME DOES PAY UNTIL INSPECTOR BENINI TAKES OVER THE CASE (1978)