In Nome Del Popolo Italiano (In the Name of the Italian Pope) represents the darker edge of Italian filmmaker Dino Risi's satiric sensibilities. Ugo Tognazzi stars as the magistrate of a prosperous Italian community. Completely incorruptible, Tognazzi goes after a crooked industrialist, played by Vittorio Gassman. The film details Tognazzi's subtle descent into toadyism, culminating in his destroying evidence that would send Gassman to prison. Dino Risi had often utilized the services of Ugo Tognazzi and Vittorio Gassman in the past, but seldom with such cutting, vicious effectiveness as in In Nome del Popolo Italiano.~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide