Thursday, June 19, 2008

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.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

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.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

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.

Monday, June 16, 2008

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.

Friday, June 13, 2008

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.

Thursday, June 12, 2008

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.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

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.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

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.