Killer Cop

In the middle of a packed Milan hotel a timing device has been set to go off in minutes. Matteo Rolandi, a young detective on routine duty, discovers the explosive by accident and what should have been a brief report becomes a tense, time-driven investigation. He threads through witnesses, corrupted officials and violent enforcers as the case widens beyond a single bomb, suggesting links to wider political violence. The film keeps the focus on Rolandi's escalating effort to prevent further attacks while revealing moral compromises and harsh methods used in pursuit of answers. It stays urgent and claustrophobic, emphasizing procedure and atmosphere without giving away how the crisis ends.

Directed by Luciano Ercoli and released in 1975, Killer Cop was scripted by Mario Bregni and Gianfranco Calligarich. The film is rooted in the poliziotteschi crime wave of 1970s Italy and features Claudio Cassinelli in the lead, with Arthur Kennedy, Franco Fabrizi and Sara Sperati among the principal cast.

Reliable box office figures aren't widely documented, and the movie never achieved major commercial success on initial release. It had a modest theatrical run in Italy, limited distribution abroad, and later reached genre audiences through home video, specialty screenings and international cult film circuits, which helped keep it visible to interested viewers.

Within the poliziotteschi niche Killer Cop is noted for its claustrophobic hotel sequence and hard-edged mood, elements that resonate with enthusiasts of 1970s Italian crime cinema. Claudio Cassinelli's performance and the film's period detail have helped it endure among collectors, late-night retrospectives and specialty festival programmers who spotlight the era's raw crime pictures.

Critical response was mixed, and modern viewer ratings remain modest, with a 6.5/10 average from a small number of votes. The picture addresses terrorism, institutional strain and moral ambiguity within law enforcement, favoring tense procedural scenes and gritty realism over flashy set pieces or overt melodrama.