Almost Human, also known as The Death Dealer, The Kidnap of Mary Lou and The Executioner (in original Italian, Milano odia: la polizia non può sparare: Milan hates: the Police can't open fire) is a 1974 poliziotteschi

Poliziotteschi

Poliziotteschi films constitute a sub-genre of crime and action film that emerged in Italy in the late 1960s and reached the height of their popularity in the 1970s...

film. This film by Umberto Lenzi

Umberto Lenzi

Umberto Lenzi , is an Italian film director who was very active in low budget crime films, peplums, spaghetti westerns, war movies, cannibal films and giallo murder mysteries ....

 stars Tomas Milian

Tomas Milian

Tomás Milián is a Cuban-American actor best known for having worked extensively in Italian films from the late 1950s to the 1980s.-Career in Italy:...

 and Henry Silva.

Production

When production began, director Umberto Lenzi

Umberto Lenzi

Umberto Lenzi , is an Italian film director who was very active in low budget crime films, peplums, spaghetti westerns, war movies, cannibal films and giallo murder mysteries ....

 offered the role of Giulio Sacchi to actor Marc Porel

Marc Porel

Marc Porel was a Swiss-born French film actor. He appeared in 36 films between 1967 and 1983.He was born in Lausanne, Switzerland and died in Casablanca, Morocco.-Selected filmography:...

. After an unpleasant meeting with the actor, Lenzi found him to be "unreliable from both a human and professional point of view." Lenzi would not do the film if Porel was cast and he told the producer "It's him or me." The producer suggested Tomas Milian

Tomas Milian

Tomás Milián is a Cuban-American actor best known for having worked extensively in Italian films from the late 1950s to the 1980s.-Career in Italy:...

, who had appeared in numerous spaghetti western

Spaghetti Western

Spaghetti Western, also known as Italo-Western, is a nickname for a broad sub-genre of Western films that emerged in the mid-1960s in the wake of Sergio Leone's unique and much copied film-making style and international box-office success, so named by American critics because most were produced and...

s. Lenzi admits that his first meeting with Milian was difficult; Milian had heard that he was an "impulsive, hot-headed director." Despite the stories Milian felt Lenzi was the right person for the job. This would begin what Lenzi has called a love–hate relationship between the two that would continue for six more films.

American actor Richard Conte

Richard Conte

Richard Conte was an American actor. He appeared in numerous films from the 1940s through 1970s, including I'll Cry Tomorrow and The Godfather.-Life and career:...

 was originally cast as Commissario Walter Grandi, but he died right before filming began; Henry Silva was cast in his place. Lenzi states that he worked hard to have Silva fit the role of a tough cop because Silva was more tailored to play villainous roles.

Releases

Milano odia, also billed as Almost Human and The Kidnap of Mary Lou, was released in the US in a severely truncated edit as Almost Human.

The film released on Region 0 NTSC

NTSC

NTSC, named for the National Television System Committee, is the analog television system that is used in most of North America, most of South America , Burma, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, the Philippines, and some Pacific island nations and territories .Most countries using the NTSC standard, as...

 DVD by NoShame

NoShame

NoShame, or NoShame Films, was an Italian-American company specializing in releasing authoritative editions of cult Italian movies on DVD.-History:...

films in 2005. The DVD is currently out-of-print.