Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion

In Rome, the head of the homicide squad, known to everyone as Dottore, murders his lover, Augusta Terzi, in her apartment. Rather than covering his tracks, he deliberately leaves evidence pointing to himself. His position as a guardian of the law convinces him that he stands above suspicion, and he follows his own colleagues' investigation with satisfaction, even as it repeatedly fails to identify him. Suspicion instead falls on others close to Augusta, including her former husband and a younger man involved with her. The film follows this cat-and-mouse game between the murderer and the investigators who cannot see the truth in front of them.

Elio Petri directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Ugo Pirro. The film sits between his earlier work, including The 10th Victim, and The Working Class Goes to Heaven, which followed it. Gian Maria Volonté plays the Dottore, with Florinda Bolkan as Augusta Terzi, Gianni Santuccio as the Police Prefect, Orazio Orlando as Biglia, Sergio Tramonti as Antonio Pace and Arturo Dominici as Mangani, among 29 credited cast members. Marina Cicogna and Daniele Senatore produced the film for Vera Film.

Released in October 1970, the Italian drama-thriller runs 111 minutes. On TMDB it holds a rating of 8.2 out of 10 from 896 votes, a strong showing for a film of its age and a sign that it continues to find viewers well beyond its original release.