The Death Collector

Plot synopsis:
Jerry Bolanti, a Mafia-connected hoodlum, is released from jail and is looking for a job. During this very uncertain and stressful transitional period, he plays the field to help stay relaxed. He discovers almost by accident that he has a talent for debt collecting and intimidation. He then decides to pay a visit to a mid-level wiseguy acquaintance and offer up his services.
His first task is to collect from a certain Bernie Feldshuh. Before he can deliver the swag to his capo, he is intercepted by Bernie's henchmen, who take back the money and leave him for dead. Jerry returns to Bernie's home while still healing from his gunshot wounds and extracts a moderate amount of retribution. Bernie's response is to hire a top-notch assassin named Marley to take down Jerry as well as the lawyer named Herb Greene who commissioned him to collect on the debt in the first place. An unfortunate secretary becomes collateral damage. Jerry's boss Anthony learns of the deed and sends a man of his own to even the score. An unfortunate bodyguard becomes collateral damage, and Jerry never does recover the $28,000.
His next assignment is to team up with enforcers Joe and Serge to conduct a raid on a shop manager for $40,000 that he may or may not have "owed" to somebody. But Bernie's newly hired hitman Marley is watching and waiting for an opportunity to take Jerry down. This proves disastrous for the entire operation. After the heist, the trio of gangsters heads over to a hotel room to count out the profits and celebrate a little.
While Jerry is downstairs in the hotel restaurant their secret adversary, Marley assassinates both Serge and Joe. He makes off with the money as well. At this point, Jerry's handler Tony begins accusing him of keeping the loot for himself. He refuses to believe that Jerry could make off with so much money, only to immediately lose it all again. Nobody could possibly be that incompetent. Jerry manages to tease out the contractor's identity from a restaurateur named Spinoza. He hunts Marley down and terminates his career in a field of tall grass.
Later, he receives a call from Gus at the local junk yard. A camper comes in to tell that Jerry might be able to salvage for himself and his live-in girlfriend Paula. Just as things begin looking rosy for Jerry and Paula, he is bushwhacked right in front of the battered red camper by three gun-toting villains. He dies as a result. The movie ends exactly the same way it began by showing the same two hoodlums in the same automobile dumping yet another body into the same ravine. Only this time, instead of an anonymous corpse, it's young Jerry Bolanti. The mastermind behind this particular hit is then shown to be none other than his former boss, Tony.

Tags: violence, murder

Review:
So ya think you've seen every Mafia movie ever made!
It's a low-budget, quickie B-movie - shot in the swamps of Jersey.
For us mob-movie fans, it had a little bit of everything - sex, violence, cursing, and wise guys acting like "gafones".
While violence dominated the movie, I found myself laughing at some familiar scenes I've since seen on The Sopranos and Goodfellas.
Joe Pesci was superb, portraying the classic wise-guy character like we seen him do so many times over the years.
Surprisingly good "Mean Streets"-type crime drama.
Joe Pesci's first big role.
I can only guess no one actually bothered to watch it.Saw this at Tarantino's film fest and he said Scorsese used a number of these actors in Raging Bull..
A diamond in the rough among mob movies.
It was an interesting and entertaining movie well worth watching.
I was  glad to see cast members of such highly acclaimed movies as "Raging Bull" and "Goodfellas" in this movie A great and dramatic ending and pretty good writing..
I bought the DVD after not having seen it for a while on cable (like 20 years), but having seen "Goodfellas" and the entire "Sopranos" run to date.
In retrospect, both guys must have seen Death Collector/Family Enforcer and absorbed the flavor ,perhaps inspiring the tone for their masterworks, both of which the polar opposite of the romanticized Godfather trilogy.
This film is neither good, or bad, but is an interesting look at Joe Pesci before he became a star.
As it comes on a budget DVD with two other B pictures (one of them a C actually) I don't recommend renting it.
I thought Joe Cortese was great.
as a crazy mob cowboy type, and pesci and Vincent were great also.
i think the director Ralph devito was on his way to great things , but was cut down too early , maybe because he knew too much.
I saw a version of this in a 4 DVD Mafia collection put out by Brentwood and I have to admit that it was a good film.
The quality was a little worse for the wear, but it was a well acted and realistic drama involving low level New Jersey gangsters.
This is not the best movie in the world, however, it does come in handy when one is looking for a way to waste time.
The guy becomes an enforcer for the mob, crosses his boss and his boss comes after him.
I would love to get more films like this.
I agree with Vince, this movie paved the way for Goodfellas.
The scene where Pesci was throwing peanuts at the piano player reminded me of his "How am I funny?" routine in Goodfellas.
This is a highly underrated film and deserves some attention.
As with many other mob films, the theme of The Death Collector rings true: Always respect the Don..
A very accurate depiction of small time mob life filmed in New Jersey.
The story, characters and script are believable but the acting drops the ball.
Still, it's worth watching, especially for the strong images, some still with me even though I first viewed this 25 years ago.A young hood steps up and starts doing bigger things (tries to) but these things keep going wrong, leading the local boss to suspect that his end is being skimmed off, not a good place to be if you enjoy your health, or life.This is the film that introduced Joe Pesce to Martin Scorsese.
Sound muddled and much of the acting is amateurish, but a great story..
THE DEATH COLLECTOR is truly a wonderful film.
A lot of the stuff in this movie would later be used by Scorsese himself, including the actors - Joe Pesci, Frank Vincent, etc..
Not Perfect, But A Decent Low Budget Mob Movie.
Its probably a safe bet to say that "Family Enforcer" or "The Death Collector" (origianl title) won't go down as one of the best mob/gangster movies ever made.
Never the less, even with the obvious low budget, if you're fascinated by mobsters and gangsters, "Family Enforcer" definitely has something to offer.
The movie follows the style of such films as "Goodfellas" and "Mean Streets" by following the lower level guys in the criminal ladder, the main one here being Jerry Bolanti (played by Joe Cortese).
Fresh out of prison, Jerry visits the local mob boss in his Jersey neighborhood (a completely unknown Lou Criscuolo) for some "work".
If I had to guess what makes the movie effective, it would probably be the gritty atmosphere that the movie is able to create that seems all too real, from the shady clubs where the guys hang out to the shots of the Jersey meadows where the bodies are dumped.
Of course, what is most likely to draw people to this movie-if they've heard of it-is probably the chance of seeing Joe Pesci before he became a star, though I must empathize, Pesci is not the star, despite what the jacket cover on IMDb might show.
The film is helped by the good acting of all involved, including another future mob movie fixture, Frank Vincent.
The film is not perfect, but never the less, I can't help but wonder why the director, Ralph De Vito, never directed another movie again (I've heard from others on this site that he was actually murdered in a shooting.
If that's true, then maybe Mr. De Vito got a little too close to reality for his own good).
So, while I can't say this is a great movie, its not a bad one to catch when you have nothing to do..
Despite the obvious low budget on this movie, the acting is overall good and you can already see why Pesci was to become on of the greatest actors ever.
I'm not sure how authentic this movie is, but it sure is a good contribution to the mob genre......
This is a great movie that started Joe Pesci's career.
Without The Death Collector (Family Enforcer), Pesci would not have been the academy award winning actor he is today.
Originally Pesci was going to play the supporting role it was originally to be played by Pesci's childhood friend and De Vito's brother-in-law, who would been a fine actor in The Death Collector however it was not to be because fortunately for Pesci his friend moved to Florida with his family and in a need of good actor De Vito cast Pesci in the supporting role as Joe. This in turn lead Robert De Niro and Martian Scorsese discovering the young Pesci and his talents in acting, which lead him to be cast in Raging Bull, then Goodfellas, Home Alone and many more.
So if Pesci had not been cast in The Death Collector then he could not be playing 36 holes of golf a day and the 1980's and 1990's might have been very, very different..
After being away for a couple of years, Jerry Bolanti is back in his tough, North Jersey neighborhood, close to swampy meadowlands where bodies get pulled from the trunks of cars and dumped.
He's short on cash, so a local boss, Anthony Iadavia, throws him some work - as a collector and a holdup man.
Not sure if it was that way originally or something happened over the years.It's an interesting little low budget film but no where near as violent as you'd expect from a mobster movie made in the mid-70s.It's definitely worth a look, but be warned, its' rather slow..
One of the best Mafia movies EVER.
Out of all the Mafia movies i have ever seen this is one of the best for many reasons.
The acting from Pesci, Cortese and Vincent.
The story is one of the best ever (In the mafia genre), as it realistic.
This movie is also great as it's dialogue is good.
This movie also launched the careers of Pesci and Vincent.
If it weren't for the success of this film, Casino and Goodfellas might not have been as good as they were.
Story 10/10 Acting 9/10 Realism 10/10OVERALL 10/10My fave Mafia movies are1: Goodfellas 2: Casino 3: The Godfather Trilogy 4: Family Enforcer (The Death Collector) 5: The Sopranos (I know it isn't a movie).
First off let me say that this is probably in my opinion one of the 10 most underrated movies since this came out in 72.
Joe Pesci was pretty good in here, but to me it seems like he was definitely outdone by the lead character Joe Cortese, now i don't know anything about him , but boy can he really act..
I believe this movie is probably true, because living in New Jersey,, living close to Philly, you here this kinda thing all the time.
i think that if the movie had a bigger budget , and say Robert deniro as jerry's boss you would have a perfect movie, but hey who am i to argue, i was so engrossed by this film, that it is already up there in my mind, with Mean Streets.
this movie is a great drama with great actors in it.
I've never understood the movie industry making heroes out of mob members and cold blooded killers.
When The Godfather came out, I thought they had broken the mold, but the decades have produced a series of well-acted mob movies with major stars and directors doing them.
I hope the people that go to films like this are more voyeuristic and less vicarious.
I feel sort of the same way about slasher movies.
Very good 1970s movie about mob operations in New Jersey.
When a "maverick" gangster doesn't play by the rules of the neighborhood, sooner or later, it's time for elimination.Joe Pesci was true to his character -- smooth and funny.
His face and present day fame should not have been used on the DVD cover to sell this "B" grade movie as he was only the third billed star.Dated 1970's printed wide lapel shirts and lesser quality background music make for a distraction.
However, the acting is good.
Nakedness on the part of Anne Johns was not needed to make this mob story work.
And, she does not show up in the database as every acting again in any film other than this one.
Too bad; she did a good job!Moral of the story:  Don't get your "Don" upset with you.If you are wanting to see something different when you wake up in the middle of the night then check out this DVD.
It was part of a three-movie-on-one DVD $5.88 special at the local discount store..
***Just saw this on DVD last night (from a mafia movie compilation) and it wasn't too shabby.
I was hoping that the sound and picture would be enhanced but it wasn't, the film was grainy but I enjoy that.
Overall, a good picture although some of the acting was poor.
Then again, you don't really watch this type of film for the acting.
The plot is simple and to the point: a guy wants to earn some money making collections for a local hood.
*** MAJOR SPOILER *** I felt bad for the guy getting whacked at the end.
Joseph Cortese played an excellent lead role in this film.
Joe Pesci's role is a nice bonus to the film although his character is not as 3 dimensional as viewer's would like it to be.
This is an excellent film for its time and holds a vital place in the anthologies of mob flicks.
While the film looks old and cheesy in places (like watching Starsky & Hutch reruns), the violence is right in your face and some of the dialogue is perfect.
Any fan of mob movies will NOT be disappointed..
***SPOILERS*** Getting hired as a strong arm collector for the local Jersey Mob where he feels his talents will be much appreciated tough guy Jerry Bolanti, Joseph Cortese,is given the job by his boss Tony Ladavia, Lou Criscuola, to collect a debt of $28,000.00 from businessman Bernie Feldshun, Frank Vincent, for services rendered.
Bernie in giving Jerry a snow job in claiming him that he'll pay him later which he doesn't and ends up getting worked over by Jerry.
Who by his rough actions instead of just getting the money peacefully is berated by his boss Tony for being too rough on him.Tony as it turned out knew what he was talking about in that soon started the slow motion collapses and downfall of Jerry as well as his fellow mobster friends Joe & Serge, Joe Pesci & Bobby Alto, who were foolish enough to work for him.
***SPOILERS*** Now all this killing on Jerry & Matley's part has become very personal with Joe & Bobby iced Jerry finds out by strong arming restaurant owner, by interrupting his pasta dinner, Spinoza-played by Frank Ammirati-who in fact contracted Matley to do a hit-job on them and where to find his secret hideout in the Meadowlands swamps and eventually setting him up in an ambush and whacking him.
With what seems like his job as a collector on hold Jerry plans to take a trip to the Poconos with his live in girl friend Paula, Ann Jones, to chill out.
Only to end up getting whacked himself when picking up the trailer that his good friend, who set him up, junk yard owner Gus, Sal Lapera, fixed up for him.
P.S Joe Pesci movie debut, in a credited role, that had him picked by both actor Robert De Niro and director Martin Scorscse to play a major role, Jack LaMatta's abused brother, in the movie "Raging Bull" and the rest is motion picture history..
this movie was brilliant fantastic acting, great script.
The only reason no-one noticed it was because of the low budget everyone will agree with me that its a cult just like "Donnie Brasco" it shows a young Joe Pesci once again as a mobster, this film is up their with the cults.
its got some sopranos and some goodfellas chase got his idea for the sopranos when he watched this and Scorsese found Joe Pesci while watching it, that proves it must be a great am i right or am i wrong 'eh ?.
So I think I discovered a movie sub-genre here that I'll call the 'bada-bing' film.
Released four years after "The Godfather", arguably one of the best films of all time, someone would consider it a good idea to come up with an Italian mobster flick called "The Death Collector".
Jerry Bolanti (Joseph Cortese) figures muscle is more important than brains and alliances, and goes calling on a twenty seven thousand dollar debt from Bernie Feldshuh (Frank Vincent).
Jerry gets semi-whacked (doesn't die), while Bernie hires Spinoza (Frank Amirrati) who then hires Sam (?) to knock off Greene and the secretary who would have been a witness.
To keep the mean streets from boiling over, Jerry's benefactor Anthony (Lou Criscuolo) the pizza shop guy, knocks off Bernie and his bodyguard for all the trouble they were causing.
Upon recuperating from his injuries, Jerry teams up with mobster Joey Ubanz (Joe Pesci) and his partner Serge (Bobby Alto), both of whom get knocked off by Sam. A confrontation between Jerry and Sam in the shadow of the Twin Towers and the New Jersey Meadowlands might have been the end of the story, except for what follows.
I could give it away, and you could probably figure it out, but to be absolutely sure of the ending, you'll have to catch the film.Notwithstanding the convoluted story line, here's what else I learned - room service doesn't have hookers, and you don't throw peanuts at lounge singers.
As for Joe Pesci, yeah, he's in the picture.
But don't take it on faith that he makes the picture like other reviewers on this board have stated.
I mean, really, he got whacked like everybody else..
Good but could have been better with a different lead.
Low level mafia connected guy from New Jersey wanders back into town and asks to be set up with some work.
The guy he asks the favor of is reluctant because he doesn't like his ethic of making a lot of money and then disappearing until he needs more.
Eventually coming around our hero gets work and hooks up with another mob guy played by Joe Pesci.
Good mob movie was apparently a one shot deal from its director who died in the early 80's.
If there is anything wrong with the film it's with our hero who is a nice guy, but clearly has a death wish since he is constantly doing things that tick people off starting with beating up a mafia don's nephew for the hell of it.
This doesn't mean the film is bad, its not, its just that it could have been better.
(Perhaps if they had cast Joe Pesci in the lead, since he's infinitely more charismatic then the guy who was cast..
***1 Spoiler ahead***I recently saw this movie on a DVD, which was obviously produced to capitalize on Joe Pesci's stardom (he's all over the packaging, yet is a central but relatively secondary character in the film).
That said, it's well worth the time to watch Joe in it.
The film print quality would have to be characterized as fair/poor, but it's a decent story, and it's fun to see Joe P.
Look for "Billy Batts" from Goodfellas...he gets it again, only this time on the toilet..
They have to prop up Joe Pesci when he is a minor character.
The DVD I watched states "this obscure gem revolves around JOe Pesci's MOB character who is a hothead that start a war" etc.
Joe plays the part of Joe, he does not even carry a gun, plays a whimpy character and gets SPOILER - (whacked).
So much for the movie revolving around Pesci.
If you watch this movie after reading this, I warned you.