Who Saw Her Die? (1972)

 

 

 

Lado. Lazenby. Strindberg. Elmi. Celi. Morricone. Venice.....Perfection!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Death Steps In The Dark (1977)

 

Slightly average yet a mild guilty pleasure, this second giallo from director Maurizio Predeaux didn't quite live up to all my expectations.

 I really enjoyed his 'Death Carries A Cane' and sure this has all the elements anyone could ask for in a giallo: black gloved killer, razor murders, eyeball close-ups, lesbians, nightclubs, etc it also contains too many lame attempts at humour for my taste.
 Leonard Mann is an ok lead and Robert Webber a serviceable police inspector but  the rest of the cast are pretty forgettable.
  Never got bored during it's 90 minutes but can't see myself returning to it too often and even Riz Ortolani's score has already slipped from my memory.

 

 

Death Occurred Last Night (1970)

 

  Being a fan of Duccio Tessari's 'Bloodstained Butterfly' and 'Puzzle' i had high hopes for this, his first giallo.
  I wasn't disappointed. Much more a crime thriller/polizi than pure giallo it's still an engaging mystery with a powerful and violent conclusion.
  Raf Vallone is the father who's mentally retarded 25 year old daughter goes missing and could have been sold into prostitution, while Frank Wolff and Gabriele Tinti are the cops desperately searching for her.
  Pretty powerful performances from all involved including Beryl Cunningham as a  hooker, much more substantial than her usual roles that require her to do nothing more than take her clothes off......
  The music by Gianni Ferrio is pretty bombastic and in your face at times but perfect at upping the ante during tense scenes.
  It's certainly not a feel good movie but highly enjoyable nonetheless, a must see.

 

 

 

The Fourth Victim (1971)

 

aka
La última señora Anderson
aka
Death at the Deep End of the Swimming Pool

 

 

Fairly enjoyable British set Spanish giallo from Eugenio Martin director of Horror Express.
 Carroll Baker is the new wife of Michael Craig's character Arthur Anderson who's previous three wives have all died in mysterious circumstances, will she become the next (hence the title of the movie).
 Shot around Windsor and Ascot the scenery is quite lovely and it's always interesting to see how foreign films portray our constabulary. Portly and inept this time around although the inspector does have a fantastic Welsh accent that brightens up the proceedings and provides a few chuckles.
  Great smooth score from Piero Umiliani keeps things rolling along nicely and there's a certain
amount of tension in the final third to keep one interested.
  Worth checking out i'd say, especially if you're a Baker fan.

 

 

 

 

 

 





OK Connery (1967)

aka Operation Kid Brother

 

Connery. Bernard Lee. Lois Maxwell. Adolfo Celi. It must be Thunderball.
  Nope not when the Connery is younger brother Neil, playing plastic surgeon, playboy and secret agent "Neil Connery".
 Alberto De Martino's entry into the euro spy genre is a delirious mixture of guns, gals and gadgets that's every bit as enjoyable as a 'legit' Bond movie
  It's not Spectre but 'Thanatos' this time around bent on domination and only kid brother can save the world.

  Moneypenny, sorry "Miss Maxwell" gets to fire a machine gun and From Russia With Love starlet Daniela Bianchi is the eye candy.
 I loved this from start to finish, pour me a martini.....

 

 



 

 

The Devil’s Kiss (1976)

 

 

 

Extremely low budget Spanish horror movie from director Jordi Gigo that sounds a lot better

on paper than actually sitting through it’s rather laborious 90 minutes.

  Frequent Naschy leading lady Silvia Solar headlines as a Satanist medium seeking revenge

for the death of her husband by using a reanimated corpse to kill those she holds responsible.

  After a bright start it settles into a fairly talky and at times quite boring run of the mill Eurocine

clunker.

  Not really much more to say on this one, just disappointing.