“You’re rude dirty and ugly. We don’t cater to rude, dirty and ugly men. Get out!”
-Madame Benoit (Isa Miranda) in “Dog Eat Dog.”

Three thieves steal a million dollars in cash set to be destroyed by the US Treasury and hide out on the Mediterranean coast. Plans go awry. Kostis (Ivor Salter) double crosses Corbett (Cameron Mitchell) and leaves him for dead. Meanwhile, third partner Darlene waits at a hotel where she listens to loud music and joyfully rolls around in the money. (A famous sequence in the forgettable Mansfield cannon.) Seedy hotel manager Morelli (Aldo Camarda) knocks on Darlene’s door, prompting the top heavy moll to hastily put away the stolen cash. Morelli makes his way inside the room, requesting that she turn the music down. In an exchange that reveals the fractured logic of this film, he grabs a large bill from the floor and picks it up. The greedy character then tells Darlene that he intends to take the hotel fee out of it and return the change. Before he can leave, he is greeted by a disheveled Kostis who angrily dismisses him from the room. Kostis has made arrangements for a boat so that he and Darlene can evade the police by hiding out on a neighboring island. Little do they know that Morelli is just outside the room and listening to every word. The hotel manager hatches a bold plan to murder the two thieves and steal the money. Using his mousy sister Sandra (Dodie Heath) as an accomplice, he intends to murder the thieves and take their loot. The plan includes placing their bodies on the rented boat and setting off a bomb, destroying any evidence. Again, plans go awry.

Sandra goes to place the bomb in the getaway boat and is startled to find a bloodied Corbett hiding there - holding a gun to her head. Morelli goes to the hotel room to murder the thieves, but is manhandled by Kostis and knocked out. The two fugitives make it to the boat with the money where they are met with the gun-toting Corbett and his female hostage. The four of them, inexplicably, set sail for a nearby island with the greedy hotel manager not far behind. They find themselves at a seemingly deserted isle where a convenient, dilapidated estate offers them shelter. Inside they find the wacky Madame Benoit (Isa Miranda) who has recently returned to the mansion to spend her last days. It seems the estate is a former house of prostitution and Benoit was the actual Madame. Her manservant Janis (Pinkas Braun), a poor woman’s Max (a la “Sunset Boulevard”), is aiding her in her last days. As the thieves and their reluctant captives squabble, the determined Morelli finally makes it to the island. Backstabbing and double-dealing ensue. (Along with the most memorable set piece; a chase with a character wearing go-go money dress.)

Part lurid crime drama, part cheap-jack Fellini, “Dog Eat Dog” is an eccentric entertainment not without its charms. The big draw here is Mansfield who was four months pregnant at the time - and it shows. Mansfield was a pretty poor actress, famous mainly for her enormous bosom and cartoonish sex appeal. She made one great film early in her career, “The Girl Can’t Help It” in 1956, followed by many forgettable endeavors. “Dog Eat Dog” is a low-budget Italian film made late in her career just a few years before her death in 1967. Her performance here as the bored sexpot is… very hard to describe. Mansfield’s voice appears to have been dubbed over by another actress. A better actress. Her onscreen cavorting, very physical and almost vaudevillian in nature, reminds one of an early Divine performance (without the self-assurance.) But the actress responsible for the voice-over manages to give a somewhat grounded delivery to lines like, ‘Crackers! You’re cute!’ Mansfield (and her voice talent) are out-camped, however, by a young-ish Mitchell - several years before he became a drive-in staple in classics like “Without Warning.” Mitchell has several brilliant breakdown scenes where his physical histrionics pale in comparison to the master thespian dubbing his voice.

It’s a dubbed ‘60’s Italian crime film, so the acting isn’t something that matters much. Where “Dog” excels in are the things that matter most: the action set pieces. Though clearly shot on a budget, the film has some entertaining, if not thrilling, fights and chases. It’s also lurid enough to make the campy proceedings oddly compelling. Mansfield has a wild catfight with actress Heath on a boat and subsequently in the water. It’s a fun sequence, made all the more fascinating as it appears neither actress had a stunt double. The film is credited to three directors; Ray Nazarro, Richard Cunha and Gustav Gavrin, which might explain the extreme shifts in tone. At least one of the three directors felt compelled to add a dash of Fellini surrealism to the mix. The wacky Madame Benoit’s bizarre behavior and cryptic dialogue are just this side of Fellini’s “Spirits of the Dead.” The film also veers from uneasy comedy to action thriller, but this mix is what makes “Dog” such an extreme, mildly enjoyable entertainment.

This is another superior release from Dark Sky Films. Seen for years in poor public domain versions, this release of “Dog Eat Dog” is truly exceptional. The print is presented in its original 1.85:1 aspect ratio and is surprisingly sharp and unblemished - given its relative obscurity. The sound is presented in a strong Dolby Digital mix; it’s as clear as the impressive print. The special features include some newsreel footage of Mansfield, a short photo gallery and a theatrical trailer. There’s also a curious option for subtitles - which might lead one to believe that an Italian soundtrack is also an option. It isn’t.

Once again we have a superior DVD package for another obscure curiosity. Whether it was worth the fuss is up to the hardcore fans of Italian crime films. Off topic, maybe Dark Sky could look into that previously mentioned Cameron Mitchell film “Without Warning.” It’s an obscure early ‘80’s alien-hunting-humans programmer that’s never had a decent video release. Now that would be a DVD to get excited about…