| The Rip Off | |
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| Directed by | Antonio Margheriti |
| Screenplay by |
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| Story by |
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| Produced by | Turi Vasile |
| Cinematography | Sergio D'Offizi |
| Edited by | Roberto Sterbini |
| Music by | Paolo Vasile |
| Production companies |
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| Release date |
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| Running time | 100 minutes |
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The Rip-Off (Italian: Controrapina), also known as The Squeeze and Diamond Thieves, is a 1978 crime action film directed by Antonio Margheriti. It was Margheriti's third collaboration with actor Lee Van Cleef, after previously directing him in The Stranger and the Gunfighter and Take a Hard Ride.
In the film, a veteran safe-cracker comes out of retirement to steal a shipment of diamonds. He is shot during the heist and then has his injuries tended by an eccentric neighbor.
Synopsis
Retired safe-cracker Chris Gretchko is coaxed out of comfortable retirement by Jeff Olafson, the impulsive son of a former accomplice, who begs him to help steal an undocumented shipment of diamonds to satiate Van Stratten, a New York City crime boss whose mistress, Jessica, has been seeing Jeff on the side.
Chris subsequently recruits his old friend, pawn shop owner Sam, who agrees to fence the diamonds afterward. When they learn Van Stratten intends to cut them out of the deal, Chris and Jeff plot a countermeasure, resulting in Jeff getting thrown in jail to give him plausible deniability, and Chris convalescing in a safe house after getting shot during the heist. Clarisse, an eccentric neighbor in the building, discovers Chris, and agrees to help tend his injuries and lie to police who come looking for him. However, Captain Donati begins to piece together the events, and all the involved parties find their lives in danger.
Cast
- Lee Van Cleef as Chris
- Karen Black as Clarisse
- Edward Albert as Jeff
- Robert Alda as Captain Donati
- Lionel Stander as Sam
- Angelo Infanti as Inspector
- Antonella Murgia as Jessica
- Peter Carsten as Van Stratten
- Ron van Clief as Duke
- Roy Brocksmith as Warehouse owner
Production
The Rip-Off was filmed in Hamburg and on location in New York City and New Jersey from December 1977 to February 1978.
Release
The Rip-Off was released in Italy on 1 April 1980. The film has been released in the United States under the titles The Rip-Off and The Squeeze.
Notes
- ^ Curti 2013, p. 253.
- "Gretchko". Filmportal.de. Retrieved July 19, 2017.
References
- Curti, Roberto (2013). Italian Crime Filmography, 1968-1980. McFarland. ISBN 978-1476612089.
External links
- The Rip-Off at IMDb
- The Rip-Off at the TCM Movie Database
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- 1978 films
- 1978 action films
- 1978 crime films
- 1970s crime action films
- Italian crime action films
- West German films
- Films directed by Antonio Margheriti
- Films shot in Hamburg
- Films shot in New Jersey
- Films set in New York City
- Foreign films set in the United States
- Italian gangster films
- Italian heist films
- 1970s heist films
- English-language German films
- English-language Italian films
- 1970s Italian films
- 1970s crime film stubs
- 1970s Italian film stubs