The Hell Before Death (1968) Comandamenti per un gangster | Region-Free (DVD) | English Subtitles | Written by Dario Argento

**DISC ONLY**

Source:   Telecine w/ English Subtitles

Title: Commandments for a Gangster (1968)

Genre: Crime, Thriller

Plot Synopsis:
Northon, a retired gangster, seeks to avenge the death of his sister, Helen, who was married to Frank Cline. Cline disappeared during the transport of a large shipment of the Organization’s gold, leaving three dead bodies behind. Northon follows the trail to the sunken ship, aiming to recover the lost gold and confront those responsible for his sister’s death.

Cast and Crew:

• Director: Alfio Caltabiano
• Writers: Alfio Caltabiano, Dario Argento
• Cast:
  • Ljuba Tadić as Northon
  • Alfio Caltabiano as Frank Cline ‘Five Cents’
  • Dante Maggio as Old Man
  • Rade Marković as Albert Torio ‘The Saint’
  • Jovan Janićijević ‘Burduš’ as Sir John

IMDb Link:
Commandments for a Gangster (1968) 

Reviews from Letterboxd:

1. Rolf – ★★★
   “An ex-mob member (Ljuba Tadić—the Yugoslavian Alec Guinness) seeks revenge when his sister is killed while being involved in a gold heist the mob didn’t approve of… Written by Dario Argento, this may feel like a Spaghetti Western (opening titles and Morricone score help a lot) but is full of the director’s trademarks as well (POV shots, black gloves, birds). It’s a grim little gangster film which may have the most use of machine guns in Italian Euro Crime history. It uses a personal revenge plot to explore the ‘honor’ among members of the mob but is more interesting visually than in terms of storytelling. Overall, I enjoyed this more than I’d expected, and director Alfio Caltabiano…”

Meta Description:
A crime thriller from 1968, Commandments for a Gangster follows a retired mobster seeking vengeance for his sister’s death. Directed by Alfio Caltabiano and co-written by Dario Argento, the film blends Spaghetti Western aesthetics with a hardboiled revenge story involving a lost gold shipment and brutal gang warfare.