In 1970, Ferzetti starred in the political thriller, "The Confession", opposite Yves Montand and Simone Signoret, under director Costa-Gavras. The film, based on the book by Lise London, explores the mental tortures facing the vice-minister of the Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia when he is imprisoned. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Ferzetti starred as an inspector in the crime picture, "Cannabis", directed by Pierre Koralnik. The film involves the American mafia and a group of French drug lords. He also had an uncredited role in Terence Young's American picture, "Cold Sweat". In 1971, Ferzetti featured in Salvatore Samperi's Million Dollar Eel, a comedy film about an heiress who fakes her own kidnapping and hides in the river Po's delta, in order to obtain money from her parents. In 1972, Ferzetti starred opposite Robert Blake, Catherine Spaak, and Ernest Borgnine in Franco Prosperi's boxing drama, "Un uomo dalla pelle dura". A series of appearances in crime films followed, including "Alta tension", "Trois milliards sans ascenseur" (1972), and "Bisturi la mafia bianca" (1973), directed by Luigi Zampa.