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The Salamander

The Salamander

Movie · 1981 · 15 people

Peter Zinner directed The Salamander, a 1981 political thriller and his first film as a director after a career as a film editor. He adapted it from the bestselling thriller writer Morris West's 1973 novel of the same name, with a screenplay by Robert Katz and Rod Serling. A British-Italian co-production, it first played in the United Kingdom in 1981 and reached the United States on 23 May 1983. It was released as Kennwort: Salamander in Germany and La Salamandre in France.

The story is set in Italy. The chief of staff of the Italian army has been murdered, and a carabinieri colonel, Dante Matucci (Franco Nero), is assigned to investigate. As he digs, he finds signs that a neofascist plot is being prepared in the country, while the death toll grows among people tied to the inquiry. Help comes from a powerful industrialist and a Second World War hero known by the code name "Salamander" (Anthony Quinn). Nero and Quinn head a cast that includes Martin Balsam, Christopher Lee, Claudia Cardinale and Eli Wallach, with Cleavon Little, Paul L. Smith, John Steiner and Anita Strindberg also in the film.

The film runs about 103 minutes and was made in English.

DirectorPeter Zinner

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Cast

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Claudia Cardinale Claudia Cardinale Actor · died at 87 Nello Pazzafini Nello Pazzafini Actor · died at 62 Franco Nero Anthony Quinn Martin Balsam Christopher Lee Cleavon Little Paul L. Smith John Steiner Eli Wallach Renzo Palmer Anita Strindberg Marino Masè Margherita Horowitz Birgit Kroencke

Titles sharing this cast

Through different eyes

Action & Thriller Fan Puts pace, tension and set pieces first; little patience for slow drama.

The Italian army's chief of staff has been murdered, there's a neofascist plot behind it and people tied to the investigation keep dying. Great setup, and Franco Nero's colonel is solid. But the film can't hold the tension all the way; long talky stretches break the rhythm. You get names like Anthony Quinn, Christopher Lee and Eli Wallach, yet the action side isn't as hard-hitting as I hoped.

History & Society Lens Asks about the period, the social background and what the work reflects.

The film is built on the suspicion that a neofascist plot is being prepared in Italy, a theme that speaks directly to the political anxieties of the years it was made in. Adapted from Morris West's 1973 novel, the story intertwines the army, a powerful industrialist and figures with a wartime past. That help comes from a Second World War hero code-named "Salamander" invites thought about how wartime memory reaches into the politics of later generations. On the other hand, being a British-Italian co-production shot in English gives it the feel of an international market product at times, and the local political texture fades as a result.

Cinephile Looks at script, editing and directing choices; keeps a distance from formula films.

That this was Peter Zinner's first film as director after a long career as an editor makes The Salamander intriguing. The Robert Katz and Rod Serling script tries to fit a crowded conspiracy story into roughly 103 minutes, and the result is dense on plot but thin on character. Gathering Franco Nero, Anthony Quinn, Martin Balsam, Christopher Lee, Claudia Cardinale and Eli Wallach in one film is impressive; but in a cast this large it is hard to give everyone real room, and to my mind the wealth of talent never quite turns into dramatic depth. A curiosity for anyone interested in early-eighties political thrillers, not a high point of the genre.

These are not reader reviews: they are short editorial takes written from different viewer perspectives with AI assistance. Reader reviews are below.

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