THE PALERMO AFFAIR

This piece of the action takes place in Sicily in 1943 prior to the Allied invasion -- Beaufighters and B-17s overhead and Fiats and carabinieri on the ground while Major James Petrie does his part to cripple the Wehrmacht's implementation of their forces. Suggested by an actual incident -- the recruitment of a local Mafia capo -- Forbes substitutes the brutal but able Scelba as the native gunman who will help Petrie during the two days they chase across cobblestoned streets and dusty back roads to eventually succeed in detonating a German troopship. Forthright documentary-styled adventure which offers more metronomic precision than personal involvement.