With the release of The Duke Mitchell Collection set, I was finally able to check this out last night!
Personal, passionate, authentic, and with the production values of an old school high end porno, Duke Mitchell’s MASSACRE MAFIA STYLE (aka LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON aka THE EXECUTIONER) from 1974 was obviously a labor of love. Mitchell, a nightclub crooner of some renown and a fringe Hollywood performer wrote, produced out of his own pocket, and starred in this action crime film as a response to THE GODFATHER. Not released until ’78, it found a cult following in the ‘80s VHS era. Featuring a not unappealing DIY amateur aesthetic, Mitchell’s grimy tale of a power hungry Mafioso looking to take over the streets of LA muscles through its 79 minute runtime with dozens of gunshot wounds and pseudo-profound tough guy patter.
Mimi Miceli (a perpetually scene chewing Mitchell) was forced to leave America when his father, a Mafia Don, was deported. Spending his teen years and young adulthood in his family’s ancestral homeland of Sicily, Mimi decides to return to the New World after his wife dies of cancer. Leaving his young son in the care of his elderly father, Mimi heads to California to fulfill his childhood Hollywood dreams. Hooking up with old friend Jolly (fellow musician Vic Caesar), the duo lay waste to the organized crime scene, accumulating wealth and power. Eventually, Mimi’s violent approach and inability to adapt to a world dominated by the ascendant counterculture leads to troubles he may not be able to overcome.
Despite being filled with obviously inexperienced actors, and a duct tape and elbow grease approach to the editing and camerawork, the film holds together reasonably well, though there’s a wonky time jump within the narrative that isn’t as apparent as it needs to be. Mitchell’s writing tends toward the grandiose, gifting his character with intense monologs that are convincingly performed, though not nearly as deep as Mitchell thinks they are. It feels like Mitchell thought he was making some sweeping Hollywood epic, but the tone is much more in line with gritty Euro-Crime flicks. Perhaps the picture’s strongest asset is its depiction of traditional Italian American culture. There’s some definite subtext about the importance of traditional norms and its destruction at the hands of the younger generation. The music also adds some nice flavor, with the joyous ode to Italian cuisine “Rigatone, Mostacoioli and Spaget” being the most memorable. Violence is omnipresent and blood squib effects are surprisingly not bad. I will say that many of the victim’s reactions to being shot are hilariously awful. Mitchell was able to utilize some of his nightclub connections to shoot at pleasingly detailed locations. The costumes are amazing in all their garishly ‘70s splendor. I was also pleasantly surprised to see prolific character actor and master of memorable bit roles Buck Flower in a sizable part.
One troubling issue for me was the film’s seeming attitude toward African Americans. While I get that Mimi was not supposed to be a good guy, and that the characters that populate that world would most likely be racist, it feels like the film goes out of its way to humiliate its black characters. I fully admit that I could just be overly sensitive in our current climate, but it does feel a little overdone in that regard. In any case, any viewer who has seen their fair share of grindhouse films probably won’t be shocked by the content, I just felt it was worth mentioning as it does occupy a good amount of space in the narrative.
Duke Mitchell’s MASSACRE MAFIA STYLE is a violent homemade picture with a ton of heart and sincerity. Despite some editing gaffes and goofy acting, it succeeds in engaging with its audience. Mitchell breathes hardscrabble life into his take-no-shit wiseguy and the sleazy streets of ‘70s LA. Though not nearly as polished as MEAN STREETS, ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13 (1976), or SCARFACE (1983), I recommend it, with caveats, to fans of those films.
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