On August 30, 1860 Joe Petrosino was born: his story in cinema

On August 30, 1860 Joe Petrosino was born: his story in cinema

On August 30, 1860, Joe Petrosino was born in Padula (SA). Emigrating with his family in the US and enlisting in the police, he gradually became a key element in the fight with no quarter given against Black Hand, a dark organization of mafiosi, with ramifications in Sicily, through which the racket was organized.

In 1909 he returned to Palermo, following a track that would have led him to inflict a decisive blow to the Black Hand.

But he falls under the mafia's strokes: at 20.45 on Friday, March 12, 1909, Joe Petrosino was killed in Palermo by four bullets: one on the neck, two behind him, and one fourth fatal on his head.

Joe Petrosino immediately became a legend. Already funerals represent an extraordinary fact: at his funerals in New York, more than 250,000 people attend.

Numerous books, films, fiction, and theatrical pieces have been dedicated to his figure.

The Adventures of Lieutenant Petrosino

It's a silent 1912 movie directed by Sidney M. Goldin.

Pay or Die (Pay or Die)

It is a 1960 film directed by Richard Wilson. Joe Petrosino is played by Ernest Borgnine

Joe Petrosino

Joe Petrosino is a RAI television serial in five episodes directed by Daniele D'Anza (1972). The cop was played by Adolfo Celi.

Joe Petrosino

Miniseries of the RAI in two episodes (2006), with actor Giuseppe Fiorello in the role of the Italian-American policeman.

The Black Hand

Films in working: the famous cop will be interpreted by Leonardo Di Caprio.

Paramount Pictures has acquired the rights to the filming transposition of The Black Hand, Stephan Talty's novel (2017), which tells the story of Joe Petrosino. The film will be produced by The Gotham Group and the house of Leonardo DiCaprio, Appian Way, while Paramount will oversee the works.