GLI INTOCCABILI [MACHINE GUN MCCAIN] (1968)
Gli Intoccabili is an Italian crime film directed by Giuliano Montaldo, with whom Morricone previously worked on Ad Ogni Costo in 1967. It stars John Cassavetes, Britt Ekland, Peter Falk, and Gabriele Ferzetti and tells the story of the titular McCain, a paroled gangster who plans to rob a Las Vegas casino with the help of his son, but soon finds himself caught in the middle of a bitter and violent turf war between members of the West Coast and East Coast mafiosi.
The main thematic idea in the score is an original song, “La Ballata di Hank McCain,” written by Morricone and Audrey Nohra, and sung in English by Jackie Lynton. It’s a dramatic, punchy, hilariously serious song sung with impressive an earnestness that verges on the ludicrous. Morricone had a wonderful knack for writing great music that ultimately gets turned into something ridiculously over-the-top in song form, and this is another one of those – it’s very much in the same vein as “A Gringo Like Me” and others. I love it, but others may find it profoundly ridiculous, and the three different versions of it on the soundtrack may be a little too much
The rest of the score is surprisingly low-key, often comprising smooth jazz instrumentals arranged in a lush orchestral style that occasionally reminds me of 1960s John Barry or Henry Mancini. Cues like “Irene,” “Defilée,” and “Come Quando Fuori Piove” are really quite lovely, blending strings with harpsichords, muted brasses, and shuffling percussion in the former, and featuring semi-tropical rhythms for a prominent marimba in the latter. Later, “Come Lei,” “Sogno Dopo Sogno,” “Senza Parole,” and “Rosemary” all continue with the softly enchanting jazz, each featuring a different lead instrument playing the main melodic line – a bluesy electric guitar in the first track, muted trumpets in the second, piano in the third, and so on.
The one piece that stands out as being very different is the title track, “Gli Intoccabili – Titoli,” a vicious and volatile piece of action-oriented orchestral writing for jazzy cymbals, frantic electric guitars, stabbed piano clusters, and shrill strings, all performed at a rapid, often disorienting pace. It’s a shame that there isn’t more of this in the rest of the score, because it really is quite excellent.
The soundtrack for Gli Intoccabili has been released several times over the years; this review is of the 2010 limited edition release from GDM Records, which takes the a re-mastered version of the original LP soundtrack and adds another 40+ minutes of bonus material, source cues, and alternate takes. The 2001 release by Dagored is a little more concise and digestible, and there is also a 2015 double-CD by Intermezzo Media which combines this score with music from the 1969 giallo La Donna Invisibile.
Track Listing: 1. La Ballata di Hank McCain (2:08), 2. Irene (3:35), 3. Gli Intoccabili – Titoli) (1:38), 4. Defilée (1:52), 5. Come Quando Fuori Piove (2:40), 6. La Ballata di Hank McCain, Part 2 (1:55), 7. Come Lei (4:08), 8. Sogno Dopo Sogno (2:43), 9. Senza Parole (3:57), 10. Rosemary (2:04), 11. La Ballata di Hank McCain, Part 3 (2:46), 12. Las Vegas (1:35) – BONUS, 13. La Ballata di Hank McCain (Off Vocal) (2:09) – BONUS, 14. Sad Waltz (1:54) – BONUS, 15. Party Music (3:40) – BONUS, 16. Dramatic Music #1 (2:15) – BONUS, 17. Music for Evening (2:54) – BONUS, 18. La Ballata di Hank McCain (Off Vocal 2) (1:56) – BONUS, 19. Funny Waltz (1:27) – BONUS, 20. Striptease (4:51) – BONUS, 21. Dramatic Music #2 (5:16) – BONUS, 22. Lounge Fox-Trot (2:33) – BONUS, 23. Rosemary (Alternate Version) (3:05) – BONUS, 24. La Ballata di Hank McCain (Off Vocal 3 (2:47) – BONUS, 25. Epic Waltz (1:32) – BONUS, 26. La Ballata di Hank McCain (Single – Alternate Version) (4:26) – BONUS. GDM 7076, 71 minutes 46 seconds.
