Produced and directed by W. Lee Wilder, this Italian production stars Lloyd Bridges as a GI who returns to Italy after the war to find some money he stashed a few years earlier (I don't want to give away too much of the plot, so I'll be intentionally vague)--needless to say, he has a number of problems in getting to it and a number of other people manage to get in the way of his getting it. Lea Padovani is the lovely but fiery lady he knew during the war who he tries to find to assist him, and the colorful Aldo Fabrizi is a man who lives right next to where the money was stashed and who befriends Bridges, but who Bridges must keep in the dark about his REAL reasons for being in the area. As always, Lloyd Bridges manages to make the character richly detailed and full, giving him some unpleasant qualities even though he is the "hero" of the piece, and making us feel for him as he faces danger and encounters one problem after another. The ending is nicely ironic while being positive and bringing the character to a new level of self-awareness. Wilder uses a number of nice, unexpected touches throughout and the location filming and mostly-Italian cast (except for two small supporting characters who play Americans)give the film a unique flavor. This originally received a US release through United Artists and was taped off TV during the early days of cable, when stations had a lot of time to fill and still played off-the-wall black-and-white B movies that could be gotten cheaply. Those days are long gone, but you should still keep your eyes out for this distinctive mystery with a fine Lloyd Bridges performance.
