Pensione Paura

Francesco Barilli's Pensione Paura was on my want list for the better part of a decade. When I finally got my hands on it, it was a 16x9 DVD with english subs. Yet another fantastic custom job by Oli at Profondo Blogger. The film itself wasn't quite as fantastic as I had hoped, but they rarely are when you built up your expectations for such a long time. Like Barilli's The Perfume of the lady in Black, I can see why some people would hesitate to call this a giallo, but it's an atmospheric thriller that's well worth seeking out.
Poster art by Piero Iaia.

Il Dolce corpo di Deborah (The Sweet Body of Deborah)

You'd be forgiven for thinking that Romolo Guerrieri's Il Dolce corpo di Deborah (which stars Carroll Baker and Jean Sorel) was inspired by Umberto Lenzi's early thrillers, but it is in fact made in 1968, before both Così dolce... così perversa and Orgasmo.
Luigi Pistilli, George Hilton and Evelyn Stewart rounds out the cast and with a soundtrack by Nora Orlandi and story by Ernesto Gastaldi and Luciano Martino, you know that you're unlikely to be disappointed. It's not my favourite of Guerrieri though. That honor goes to La Controfigura. Poster art by Renato Casaro.

La Vittima designata (The Designated Victim)

Maurizio Lucidi's La Vittima Designata has long deserved a wider audience. This excellent Strangers on a Train inspired giallo stars Tomas Milian and Pierre Clémenti who both deliver wonderful performances. Fortunately 2008 has given us not only one, but two DVD releases of this highly recommended title. Germany's New Entertainment released it earlier this year and only a couple of few weeks ago, Shameless Entertainment released it in the UK. Make sure you pick it up. It's avilable at a very low price (under £6 at the time of writing) from Amazon.co.uk.
Poster art by Rodolfo Gasparri.

Mystère (Daggers Eyes)

Made a couple of years after Carole Bouquet's role as Melina Havelock in the Bond film For Your Eyes Only. In Mystère she stars a call girl that becomes the target of a professional hit man when she gets her hand on some negatives that show a politician's assassination. The film itself is more of a political thriller then giallo and it's not as good as Vanzina's more well known giallo, Nothing Underneath (just released on DVD by Njuta films)

Nove ospiti per un delitto/ Un Urlo nella notte (Nine Guests for a Crime)

Ferdinando Baldi is primarily known for his westerns and as far as I know Nove ospiti per un delitto/Un Urlo nella notte is the only giallo he directed. Unfortunately I don't know anything about the films release history and the reasons for the alternate titles. The poster art above is by Morini and the one below by Piovano (Studio Paradiso). 

Vita privata di un pubblico accusatore (Violent Blood Bath)

Judge Oscar Bataille's (Fernando Rey) vacation with his young wife Patricia (Marisa Mell) is interrupted when someone starts copying murders where the killer was sentenced to death by Judge Bataille.
Since Vita privata di un pubblico accusatore is directed by Jorge (Let Sleeping Corpses Lie) Grau, I had fairly high hopes the first time I saw the film but unfortunately it's fairly uninspired and predictable. Not even the presence of the normally reliable Rey and Mell makes it rise above the average Spanish thriller. Poster art by L. Crovato.

L'Assassino ha riservato nove poltrone (The Killer Reserved Nine Seats)

Set in an empty theater where the trapped guests are being picked off one by one, Giuseppe Bennati's L'Assassino ha riservato nove poltrone preceeded Michele Soavi's Stagefright by 13 years. Surprisingly enough the film has yet to receive a DVD release anywhere in the world. I assume it must be an issue with the rights, because I can imagine there are quite a few DVD companies that would be up for releasing this enjoyable supernatural giallo.

Gatti rossi in un labirionto di vetro (Eyeball)

Umberto Lenzi directed some truly great gialli in the early 70's. In terms of style, 1974's Spasmo was quite a departure from his earlier films and Gatti rossi in un labirionto di vetro deviates even further from the earlier "jet-set" formula. And not in a good way, one might add. To me, this is Lenzi's least successful 1970's giallo and it's difficult to imagine that the man behind the great Paranoia and Il Coltello di ghiaccio is responsible for this mediocre thriller.
At least the dependable Renato Casaro comes through with a good looking poster.

La Casa Della Paura (The Girl in Room 2A)

The beautiful Daniela Giordano (Bava's Four Times That Night) stars alongside Raf Vallone, Karin Schubert and Rosalba Neri (playing a social worker) in William L. Rose's La Casa Della Paura from 1973. It's a low budget affair with a poor script, dodgy special effects and a painfully inappropriate score, but I still find it a quite charming affair and it doesn't outstay its welcome at 82 minutes. The two alternate posters for the film are both by Aller.  

Morte sospetta di una minorenne (Suspected Death of a Minor)

Morte sospetta di una minorenne, Sergio Martino's last 1970's giallo, is a fairly interesting police procedural/giallo hybrid, but it contains some comic elements that I don't think sit very well with the rest of the film. It took me a few years before I managed to get my hands on a copy with English subs, but it's now available on a great looking DVD from Sazuma. Great poster art by Ciriello.

Il Rosso segno della follia (Hatchet for the Honeymoon)

I'm currently making my way through Tim Lucas' fantastic Mario Bava All the Colors of the Dark 

and while I'm reading the chapters I rewatch the corresponding film. Last weekend I got to Il Rosso segno della follia. I know the film has got it's fair share of detractors, but I really like it. I think the role of John Harrington suits Stephen Forsyth well and Dagmar Lassander looks a lovely as ever (even though she's not given that much to do). Make sure you pick up the R2 Koch DVD if you haven't already done so. It looks way better than the R1 Image DVD.

Poster art by Ercole Brini.

Sette cadaveri per Scotland Yard (Seven Murders for Scotland Yard)

I think I've mentioned that I've got a soft spot for gialli set in London before, but Sette cadaveri per Scotland Yard isn't really one of them. José Luis Madrid's 1971 thriller is a less than stellar effort. The film is poorly paced, very predictable and the less said about Paul Naschy's limping trapeze artist protagonist, the better. Great poster art by Renato Casaro though.

Col cuore in gola (I Am What I Am)

Cul cuore in gola was Tinto Brass first and only giallo. Unfortunately I haven't had the chance to see this, but considering it stars both Jean-Louis Trintignant and Ewa Aulin I'd certainly like to. At the moment there's an Italian DVD without any English options available, but according to rumors this will be released by Cult Epics during 2009. Let's hope so!

Omicidio per appuntamento (Date of a Murder)

Mino Guerrini's Omicidio per appuntamento was co-scripted Fernando Di Leo. The film is something of a spy/giallo hybrid and has a very 60's feel to it. Even though George Ardission isn't one the more memorable giallo protagonists ever, I still find the film quite entertaining. The chemistry between the two male leads is good and there's a a great sequence on roof that features some dangerous looking stunt work. 

Copkiller

Like yesterday's poster, Copkiller is another film that I don't really consider a giallo. The first few minutes makes you think that it might be, but then there's a change of pace and the rest of the film is almost like a stage-play, set in a New York apartment overlooking Central Park. I'm not generally that keen on Italian films set in the States, but this is pretty good stuff with good performances by both Harvey Keitel and John "Johnyy Rotten" Lydon.

Autostop Rosso sangue (Hitch Hike)

There are quite a few definitions of what constitutes a Giallo and every now and then you come across heated discussions on boards and forums if particular films should be counted as gialli or not. When I started this blog earlier this year, I decided that if the film is included in Adrian Luther Smith's Blood and Black Lace, it's ok to post the locandina here. There are a few films that I wouldn't classify as gialli that are included though. This and tomorrow's poster are two of them. Autostop Rosso sangue is a very good film, but to me it has far more in common with the "terror" genre (The House on the Edge of the Park, Night Train Nurders, Lonely Violent Beach) than the giallo genre. Great poster though, so I'm glad I get the chance to post it here.

Il Tuo vizio è una stanza chiusa e solo io ne ho la chiave (Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key)

I'll end the week with one of my favourite posters, the locandina for Sergio Martino's Il Tuo vizio è una stanza chiusa e solo io ne ho la chiave. A great film and a fantastic title. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find out who id the artwork, but it looks like he might possibly have found some inspiration in Edvard Munch's The Scream.

Misteria (Body Puzzle)

Recently re-watched Misteria for the first time in a couple of years and this is one my favorites out of Lamberto's gialli. There are some excellent set-pieces to be found in a few of his other films, but on the whole this is a much more satisfying film for me. I know not everybody appreciates Joanna Pacula and Tomas Arana, but I think they work quite well together here.

Amore e Morte nel giardino degli dei

The only reason I've got the locandina for Amore e Morte nel giardino degli dei is dumb luck. I'd won a lot of four locandine that included Lenzi's Un posto ideale per uccidere for 9 euro and was pretty pleased about winning that one. I was unfamiliar with this particular title and the imdb lists this as a drama/fantasy, so it wasn't until I was looking through Blood and Black Lace one day that I realized this was a giallo. Haven't seen the film so I can't really say anything other that Sauro Scavolini is the brother of Romano Scavolini of Nightmare fame.

Il Coltello di ghiaccio (Knife of Ice)

Time for some posters from the golden era of the gialli after the 80's posters last week. Lenzi's Il Coltello di ghiaccio is one the best gialli of his career, but unfortunately it turned out to be the last of his collaborations with Carroll Baker. Although the Japanese DVD from Trash Mountain Video is quite decent, I'd love to see this get the full special edition treatment at some point. Great looking locandina from Studio Casaro.

Phenomena

I watched Phenomena twice last month. I managed to catch it on the big screen (I was really excited about this, but slightly let down when it turned out it was a DVD, rather than film that was projected) and also picked the R2 Medusa DVD up. This edition contains the Integral version of the film (with English subs). Never watched the film in Italian before and it was a slightly strange experience to see the film without hearing Jennifer Connelly's and Donald Pleasance's voices. Unfortunately the misplaced heavy metal was still there though.
Great poster art by E. Sciotti

Arabella l'angelo nero (Angela, the Black Angel)

Stelvio Massi might have been responsible for some great poliziesci (including the enjoyable Mark trilogy), but Arabella l'angelo nero really is a very poor giallo. Without a decent script and unable to create any kind of suspense, Massi goes all with the sleaze instead and any female character sheds her clothes within seconds of appearing on screen. Well, everybody apart from Evelyn Stewart. I always feel a bit sorry for her when I watch this. She'd been in films by Fellini and Visconti and she starred in handful of classic gialli titles, but by 1989 she was reduced to starring in this kind of shabby fare. No wonder this was one of her last films.

L'Assassino è ancora tra noi (The Killer is Still Among Us)

L'Assassino è ancora tra noi is loosely based on the still unsolved murders by the Mostro di Firenze in the early 80's and is mostly known for the very brutal killings that bookends the film. With no English language version available, a lack of any greater set-pieces or suspense through the greater part of the film and shot in a dull looking tv-style, it's easy to understand why this hasn't received any praise by giallo fans. I'd only seen the Italian language print until recently when I had the chance to see the excellent fan dvd made by Oli at Profondo Blogger. It's still not a great giallo by any means, but the subtitles certainly increased my appreciation of the film.

Follia omicida (Murder Obsession)

And people complain about The Iguana with the Tounge of Fire??!! I recently revisited Riccardo Freda's final giallo Follia Omicidia from 1981 and it's a very, very poor effort, even by 80's giallo standard. Overlong, convoluted and short of suspense, this film is a mess. Add a godawful synth soundtrack and some of the worst special effects you're likely to see and you're got yourself a film you're unlikely to want to revisit on a regular basis.

Murderock - uccide a passo di danza (Murder Rock)

It's time for another 80's week and what better way to start it off than with Fulci's Murder Rock. Made four years after the original Fame film and with the tv-series still running, the setting of this 1984 giallo must have seemed like a great idea at the time. Cue plenty of dance scenes, leotards, leg warmers, a very 80’s score by Keith Emerson and some cracking alternate titles that almost sound too good to be true: Slashdance and Giallo a Disco.
There’s some gut-wrenchingly bad Fame-inspired dialogue, hilarious dancing in skimpy outfits and apart from Cosimo Cinieri, the acting really isn’t all that great but I find Murderock strangely entertaining in spite of all this.

Alla ricerca del piacere (Amuck)

The prospect of Barbara Bouchet and Rosalba Neri togheter is enough to have most eurocult fans foaming at the mouth, but Silvio Amadio's Alla ricerca del piacere has more on offer than just the lovely leading ladies. Unfortunately this entertaining thriller is only available on DVD in a badly cropped full screen version, but hopefully a restored version will surface one day. The very gialloesque artwork is by Renato Casaro.

Yellow: le cugine

Gianfranco Baldanello's Yellow: le cugine is one of the titles that is always mentioned when rare gialli are discussed. It something of a holy grail to most giallo fans and I don't think I've ever come across anybody that claims to have seen it. This poster is probably about as close as I'm ever going to get to it.

Trauma

Trauma is one of the few Argento films I've had the pleasure of seeing on the the big screen. I remember being bitterly dissapointed when I first saw it at the Stockholm film festival back in the early 90's. I recently revisited it through the R2 Optimum disc and while it's still not one of Argento's better films, it wasn't quite as bad as I remembered it. No info on who is behind the very poor looking locandina.

Spasmo

We'll start the week off with Ezio Taruntelli's great artwork for Umberto Lenzi's Spasmo. Very different from Lenzi's collaborations with Carroll Baker and the more Argento influenced Seven Blood-Stained Orchids, Spasmo is a slightly confusing but nevertheless entertaining entry in Lenzi's giallo canon. The film features a great soundtrack by Ennio Morricone. The main theme Bambole is a dreamy, romantic composition with beautiful floaty vocals from I Cantori Moderni, that fares well against the rest of Morricone superior early 70's output. The other themes, Spasmo and Stress Infinito, stand in stark contrast to the main theme. Spasmo is a dark, melancholic orchestral piece and Stress Infinito is a jarring, atonal track slightly reminiscent of themes from The Bird With the Crystal Plumage and A Lizard in a Woman's Skin.

Qualcuno l'ha visto uccidere (The Student Connection)

Dr Roger Mell (Ray Milland), a physician and headmaster of a boarding school, is having an affair with the beautiful Sonja (Sylva Koscina), a married woman. He arranges to have the husband murdered, but is mortified to find out that the hitman killed the husband by blowing up a plane on take-off killing 140 people. In a fit of rage, Dr Mell kills the hitman, but realizes that one of the pupils has witnessed the crime. The only question is who...

Rafael Romero Marchent's Qualcuno l'ha vista uccidere is a slightly different giallo since you know who the killer is from the very beginning. Instead of focusing on finding the killer, we follow Milland as he tries to find and eliminate of the only witness to his crime. A fairly slow-moving giallo, but worth seeing. Milland is good in the lead, the script is by revered giallo director Luciano Ercoli and the soundtrack is by Stelvio Cipriani.

L'Uomo più velenoso del cobra (Human Cobras)

I was well and truly surprised when I first saw L'Uomo più velenoso del cobra as the film starts out in my hometown Stockholm, but apart from the opening montage, we don't really get to see anymore of Stockholm in this bottom of the barrel giallo. The script is quite poor to begin with (in spite of co-writing credits from Ernesto Gastaldi and Luciano Martino) and it certainly doesn't help that Albertini manages to botch the few sequences that should have been suspenseful due to poor direction and poor choice of music. The score doesn't really fit the film, but I would suspect that Cipriani recycled quite a few cues here (certainly the Femina Ridens theme anyway). I didn't find much worthwhile about it, but at least is was mercifully short at 82 minutes.
Art work on the fairly rare locandina is by Renato Casaro

La Morte risale a ieri sera (Death Occurred Last Night)

My first viewing of Duccio Tessari's La Morte risale a ieri sera was in Italian with no english subs available. I usually tend to wait and watch films until I manage to find some kind of English option, but being a big Tessari fan I jumped at the chance to finally see it. Even though I only understood a very small part of the dialogue with my very limited Italian, I thought it was a truly excellent film. Tessari film is a very engaging thriller that packs a powerful emotional punch without ever succumbing to melodrama. On subsequent viewings of the film, I've had the pleasure of watching it with subs and my appreciation of the film has only increased.
Part of the success of the film is due to the excellent acting from Frank Wolff and Raf Vallone. The chemistry between the two is great, especially in the scenes in the morgue and when the father cleans out the dead girls things of the flat. This is a hidden gem if there ever were one.
The poster is one of the favourites in my collection, but unfortunately I haven't been able to find any info on who's responsible for the beautiful artwork.

I Corpi presentano tracce di violenza carnale (Torso)

Unlike Sergio Martino's previous gialli (which were produced by his brother Luciano) I Corpi presentano tracce di violenza carnale was produced by Carlo Ponti. I'm not sure if that's one of the reasons that it's got a slightly different feel to Martino's previous films, but it's nevertheless a great film. You've all seen the fantastic looking sequence when the killer is stalking one of his victims in the woods and the very suspenseful later half with Suzy Kendall locked in a house with the killer.
It's one of the gialli with the most numer of editions available on DVD, but sadly none of the are perfect. Apparently the NoShame had a one in the works as well, but since they seem to have closed their doors, it looks like a definitive version is unlikely to surface anytime soon.
And like all the other posts this week, I haven't been able to find any info on the poster design.

La Controfigura (The Double)

Looking at the poster, you'd hardly think it's be a thriller, but Romolo Guerrieri's La Controfigura is something of a hidden gem and it has more than Jean Sorel in common with Short Night of the Glass Dolls. It all starts off with Jean Sorel getting gunned down in a underground parking garage and through non-linear flashbacks we're shown the events leading up to the shooting. The flashback narrative works well and there are some great visuals along the way. The trio of Jean Sorel, Ewa Aulin and Lucia Bosé are all great in the leads and the film features a groovy lounge score by Armando Trovajoli. Those looking for a fix of black-gloved killers and straight razors won't find a lot to savour here, but to the more adventurous gialli fans, this is a good as it gets. I'd love to see it on dvd one day.

...a tutte le auto della polizia (The Maniac Responsible)

As you can probably tell from the poster, Mario Caiano's ...a tutte le auto della polizia is a poliziesco/giallo hybrid along the lines of Dallamano's La Polizia chiede aiuto. Some people might find this a tad slow-moving for a giallo (since the killer doesn't start dispatching of witnesses until quite late in the film), but hopefully that won't put anybody off. Great direction by Caiano and excellent performances by Enrico Maria Salerno and Antonio Sabato.
I was fortunate enough to be able to see this through an excellent fan subbed dvd made by Martin at the Lovelockandload forums. I think that it's an excellent film and I've already revisited it a couple of times since I got this earlier this year.

No info on the poster artist.

Orgasmo (Paranoia)

I'll start off with one of my favourite acquisitions since I last posted. The locandina for Umberto Lenzi's 1969 giallo, Orgasmo, has been a bit difficult to find, so I was very pleased to finally get my hands on it.
This isn't Lenzi's best giallo (that honour goes to Paranoia if you ask me), but since the copy I own is a decent looking but badly cropped tv print, I feel I owe it another chance. As far as I know this is the only Lenzi giallo that's hasn't received a DVD release anywhere in the world yet, but Lenzi mentioned in this previously linked interview that one is in the works. No info on the poster artist.

And we're back...

Welcome back to Giallo Locandine. I hope you've had a good summer! I had a great and much needed four week vacation that ended last week, so now I'm ready to start posting again.

Even though I took the summer off from posting, it doesn't mean I've been lazy when it comes to picking up new stuff. I've had couple of dozen posters come through during the summer, so I've got lots of good stuff coming up.

It looks like at least one of the DVD covers mentioned in my last post will happen. My locandina for Un Posto ideale per uccidere will be used for the reverse sleeve on Shameless upcoming (September 15th) Oasis of Fear release. Pretty excited about this release overall, since it's the first English language DVD release of the film and Shamless have delivered some great DVDs recently. If all goes well, there might even be a small Giallo Locandine credit on the cover.


The image on the front sleeve is taken from the fantastic looking Japanese poster and is supplied by Jonny from Lovelockandload.


I've submitted scans for Designated Victim and Strip Nude for Your Killer as well, but we'll have to wait and see if Shameless end up using them.

Hope to see you back tomorrow for this week's first locandina post!

Bits & pieces

I've decided to take summer off from blogging, so this'll be the last post for a little while. I'm resuming regular posting duties sometime in august again. Thanks to everybody who's visited the blog and even bigger thanks to those who have posted comments or linked the blog. I've posted a large part of my collection since February, but I've still got a lot left and I've got more stuff coming in (including a couple of very exciting pieces), so there'll be no shortage of stuff to post.

I'm still looking for a few locandine that are essential to my collection, so if you've got any ideas of were I can buy them or if you've got them and be willing so sell/trade, please let me know!
Sette orchidee macchiate di rosso (Seven Blood-Stained Orchids) (1972)
Solamente Nero (The Blood Stained Shadow) (1978)
La Sindrome di Stendhal (The Stendhal Syndrome) (1996)

When I posted the Macchie Solari locandina back i march, I was hoping that Digitmovies would release the complete soundtrack. It's only been two months, but my wish did come true. I got the Digitmovies CD in the post yesterday and finally this fantastic Morricone soundtrack has been given the care and attention it deserves. Yet another excellent release from Digitmovies. (Two weeks ago, I posted that I'd like to see a release of Gianfranco Reverberi's Delirio Caldo soundtrack. Let's hope I'll be as lucky this time!)

I'm pretty excited about the fact a few of my posters might make their way onto DVD covers for some upcoming giallo releases. Although it's not 100% confirmed that it's going to happen, I've submitted scans, so fingers crossed and I'll post more info if it happens.

Finally, I don't want to leave you without a new poster in the last post for the summer. I've just added an alternate Il Diavolo a sette facce locandina to the original post. You can check it out here

I hope to see you back here in august. Have a great summer!

La Morte cammina con i tacchi alti (Death Walks on High Heels)

Spoilers in this post, so tread carefully if you haven't seen the film!

Although Luciano Ercoli's La Morte cammina con i tacchi alti is an above average giallo with a great cast (Ercoli regulars Susan Scott and Simon Andreu are joined by the ever dependable Frank Wolff) and a great soundtrack by Stelvio Cipriani, it's probably my least favourite of his thrillers. Part of the reason is the demise of one of the main characters about halfway. Gastaldi pulled a similar trick in one of his other scripts to much better effect, but the loss of this particular character really hurts the film. The poster by Symeoni is great though.

L'Iguana dalla lingua di fuoco (The Iguana with the Tounge of Fire)

It's fair to say that Riccardo Freda's L'Iguana dalla lingua di fuoco isn't particularly well-regarded in giallo circles. I'll have to agree that it isn't a top-tier giallo. The special effects are a bit questionable and the zooms every time we see sunglasses on screen are a bit over the top, but any film starring Luigi Pistilli and Dagmar Lassander in her prime is worth watching and the soundtrack by Stelvio Cipriani is great.

Il Baco di Seta (The Silk Worm)

Another film that I haven't seen. Haven't been able to find too much info on it, but it seems that Mario Sequi's Il Baco di seta had a fairly troubled history. Made in the 1968 but not released until '74 and receiving little in the way of distribution. The few reviews I've found haven't been to enthusiastic, but being a George Hilton fan, I certainly would like to see it one day. Unfortunately I haven't been able to find out who made the cool looking poster art.

L'Altra casa ai margini del bosco (The Corruption of Chris Miller)

I'm generally not a big fan on Spanish thrillers since most of them seem that lack the sense of style that make their Italian counterparts so great. Considering Juan Antoni Bardem's L'Altra casa ai margini del bosco starts off with a killer dressed up like Charlie Chaplin, it's easy to dismiss it straight away, but it's actually one of the better Spanish thrillers. If it would have been made in Italy it would have been directed by Umberto Lenzi and starring Carroll Baker. High-praise indeed. Locandina artwork by Symeoni.

Una Farfalla cin le ali insanguinate (The Bloodstained Butterfly)

The iconic poster for Duccio Tessari's Una Farfalla cin le ali insanguinate. It's truly is mind-boggling that this genre classic has yet to receive an English friendly release. Thankfully there are a few fan composites around that'll tide me over until an official English friendly release surfaces. 

Unfortunately I haven't got any info on the poster designer, but the scull pops up again (slightly modified) on the La Via della droga locandina.

Passi di morte perduti nel buio (Death Steps in the Dark)

Maurizio Pradeaux's second giallo is something of a missed opportunity. It starts off quite well, but Pradeaux injects too many comedic elements in the film and the end result is less than stellar. Looking forward to Fin de Siècle's upcoming release of Ortolani's soundtrack though. Poster from Studio Paradiso and I love the way they've painted on the undies on the poster.

In fondo alla piscina (The Fourth Victim)

The locandina for Eugenio Martín's overlooked 1971 giallo In fondo alla piscina. Arthur Anderson (Michael Craig) has just been acquitted of the murder of his third wife when he meets Julie Spencer (Carroll Baker). Will she be the fourth victim or does she have an agenda of her own? An entertaining thriller that features a cracking (and sadly unreleased) Piero Umilinai soundtrack. Would love to see this on DVD in original aspect ratio one day. Poster by Cirello.

Delirio caldo (Delirium)

The poster for Renato Polselli's Delirio Caldo starring the lovely Rita Calderoni. Not a huge fan of the film (or the poster for that matter), but I love the soundtrack. I've only got a few tracks off the Murder for Pleasure CD and they're not in great shape since they're from a VHS source. I really wish Digitmovies or Fin de Siecle would release this.

Concerto per pistola solista (Weekend Murders)

Michele Lupo's Concerto per pistola solista feels more like an Agatha Christie style whodunit with some comedic touches than a traditional Italian giallo, but is an enjoyable film all the same. Gastone Moschin plays the bumbling Sgt. Alosius Thorpe, a role so different from Ugo Piazza in Milano Calibro 9 that you almost forget that both characters were played by the same actor.