Seven Deaths in the Cat's Eyes(1972) With Jane Birkin and Anton Diffring
Birmingham comes home to the ancestral castle. In habited by the family and their friends. All are weird and likely suspects, when people start dropping.
Funky music= no, some.quite nice for this.type of film Twist ending= yes , I'd forgotten about him Witness of murder= no Striptease= no Killer’s POV= not really Man slaps woman= no Overloud or inappropriate music= no , quite restrained , mostly Outrageous title= this title I'm going to say yes J&B bottle= no, they were too posh for bottles Naked woman= no, alas. Death by stabbing= no Red herring= yes, even Birkin's character thought it was this person. Black gloved killer= no, u don't think the killer had any hands Goofy police inspector=no, though Goofy looking, like a face drawn on a spud. Important picture= no, plenty.on show but throw away Woman takes bath or shower=no, didn't even see a bathroom Blackmail=no Gay/lesbian character=yes, well, actually they were like saloon doors, in a western. Important memory= nope Random scene in Italian=no, unless the gorillas grunt were in italian Ooh ooh music= absolutely not Death by razor= yep, the weapon of choice Childhood trauma= nope Killer’s footsteps= nope, think they wore slippers
A BAY OF BLOOD (Bava 1971) aka Twitch of the Death Nerve, aka Blood Bath. With Claudine Auger, Luigi Pistilli, Leopoldo Trieste
Funky music - A little bit of Shaft rhythm in the main titles. Twist ending - Yes Witness of murder - Yes Striptease - A stripping off of clothes to go swimming, but not a "tease." Killer’s POV - Yes Man slaps woman - No Overloud or inappropriate music - Annoying "teenagers" disturb the peace of the woodsy setting with percussive pop music; Cipriani's good score has its loud moments. Outrageous title - Certainly a gruesome image, therefore totally nutrageous. The alternate titles as well. J&B bottle - I never notice the booze bottles. Laura Betti drinks a brown liquid from a glass, but I'm not sure what it is. Naked woman - Anna Maria Rosati is head & shoulders and back naked. Does that count? Never mind - one of the teens (Brigitte Skay) strips all the way to go romping in the bay. Death by stabbing - Yes. I have to note a startlingly graphic axe-into-a-face scene, but there are regular knife stabbings too. Red herring - Not really. Everyone in this is a suspicious shite. But I guess two of the characters turn out not to be as bad as they originally seemed. They're simply eccentrics. Black gloved killer - Yes Goofy police inspector - No police at all Important picture - No Woman takes bath or shower - No, but the "kraut broad" lake skinny-dipping is sure something! Blackmail - No. Gay/lesbian character - No Important memory - No. Random scene in Italian - No. The two teen girls are German and French and use respective phrases from those languages, but no Italian. Ooh ooh music - No, but "sha-la-la" during the end titles Death by razor - No, but knives, scissors, axes... Childhood trauma - No, but certainly a potential one in the future for Auger and Pistilli's kids. Killer’s footsteps - Yes
Yep, typically smooth and entertaining music by Stelvio C. But one might say the main titles are more “In-a-gadda-da- vida” than Shaft… Check it out if you dare!
Yep, typically smooth and entertaining music by Stelvio C. But one might say the main titles are more “In-a-gadda-da- vida” than Shaft… Check it out if you dare!
Heh, true. I was kind of stretching it with the "funk" factor!
I hit upon something interesting - 2 or 3 years ago I discovered a song and video by Saint Motel called "My Type" which has since become one of my favorites that I've watched multiple times. Tonight I'm watching the previously reviewed Five Dolls for an August Moon and the party scene early on looked mighty familiar. Compare!
Cool, it’s always a treat to see Edwige strutting her stuff. Must say, Umiliani’s Five Dolls may be the least frightening “horror” soundtrack ever, but it’s a delightful piece of work.
Those 60s /early 70s dinner parties n chiffon evening dresses n big sofas n coffee tables were quite common. A trope almost. In fact probably something you can add to your giallo criteria. Although they arose in dramas and soft porn too.
Of course, ahem, i wouldnt know about the soft porn part, cough, its only what ive been told by Damian and Hurdy McGann.
THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH (Bava, 1963) with Leticia Roman, John Saxon, Valentina Cortese
Funky music - We're still in the pre-funk days. The main title vocal is more the "Volare" type of singing. Twist ending - Yes. And a funny gag at the very end. Witness of murder - Yes Striptease - No Killer’s POV - No, but there's a nifty alternate POV of an early scene that's seen later on. Man slaps woman - Only in a very gentle "reviving the unconscious" sense. Overloud or inappropriate music - It depends on one's tolerance of early 1960s Italian pop. And there's also a loud, sped-up pop tune on a reel-to-reel that jump-scares everyone. Outrageous title - No J&B bottle - The liquor wasn't really flowing in this one. Naked woman - The oafish policeman describes Leticia Roman as "naked under her raincoat," but, otherwise, no. Death by stabbing - Yes Red herring - Yes Black gloved killer - No Goofy police inspector - Kind of. There's a rather oafish policeman, although he's not the main inspector. Important picture - Yes Woman takes bath or shower - No Blackmail - No Gay/lesbian character - No Important memory - The heroine has to piece together a crime she witnessed while in a daze, but I don't think that's what "important memory" refers to. Random scene in Italian - The entire film takes place in Rome. Ooh ooh music - No Death by razor - No Childhood trauma - No Killer’s footsteps - The trope is here, but maybe not what it seems. (I'm trying to not give too much away.)
Quite early in the giallo days; this is more like a collab between Fellini and Hitchcock than the tackier trends later in the 1960s and 1970s.
THE YOUNG, THE EVIL AND THE SAVAGE aka Naked...You Die (Margheriti [as "Anthony Dawson"] 1968) with Mark Damon, Eleonora Brown, Michael Rennie
Funky music - The main title music sounds like the "Batman" theme (although "night-mare" is sung here) - as though it was clearly temp-tracked. Twist ending - Yes Witness of murder - Yes Striptease - So is a giallo striptease an actual "striptease" or just any scene of someone stripping off their duds? No, if the former, yes, if the latter. Quite a lot. Killer’s POV - Yes Man slaps woman - Yes. (Isn't there a nicer way to calm down a hysterical woman?) Overloud or inappropriate music - The killer turns the volume of a radio up loud to mask the deed. Outrageous title - Both are quite pulpy-sounding. J&B bottle - No. C'mon, this takes place at a school. Naked woman - Lots of showers and baths (this takes place in a School for All-Hot Girls), but naughty bits are strategically hidden. Death by stabbing - No Red herring - Yes Black gloved killer - Yes Goofy police inspector - No. Michael Rennie goofy? Not on your life! Important picture - No Woman takes bath or shower - Yes. Frequently. Blackmail - No Gay/lesbian character - Arguable, but not really. Important memory - No Random scene in Italian - The entire film is in Italian. Maybe an English dub version has one. Ooh ooh music - I think a little bit. Death by razor - No. Strangulation is the m.o. Childhood trauma - No Killer’s footsteps - Yes
So Sweet, So Dead With Farley Granger, Sylva Koscina and a few familiar faces Farley is the inspector on the trail of a killer who is murdering unfaithful wives. Wasn't bad and one I hadn't seen
Funky music=no Twist ending= not really Witness of murder= yes, for a change Striptease= no Killer’s POV= yes but not overt or lingering Man slaps woman= not that I recall Overloud or inappropriate music= no Outrageous title= not in the English J&B bottle= yes ,huzzah! Naked woman= several Death by stabbing= plenty Red herring= possible Black gloved killer= yes Goofy police inspector= absolutely not Important picture= no Woman takes bath or shower= one was ran Blackmail= no Gay/lesbian character = several minor 'I might be homosexual bur I'm not homicidal' made me smile. Important memory= yes but only in the sense that the penny dropped for Farley, realising his wife was two timing. Random scene in Italian=no Ooh ooh music= no, a bit of yabba dabba do Death by razor= no Childhood trauma= no Killer’s footsteps= no he tiptoed
The Two Faces of Fear(1972) With George Hilton, Fernando Rey, Edouardo Fajado, Luciana Paluzzi , Anita Sterindberg and Luis Davila A rather animic giallo. While it was on it was watchable but just not memorable( for good or bad). It wasn't graphic and only two people died. I would have given it a couple of Brucie bonuses - Rey and Fajardo playing against type, for a change ( ie they weren't killers, murders or a gang boss) and Micalizzi's music was quite listenable. Bingo points f**k all.
(With apologies to Tall Guy) All bets are off in the wild and woolly world of Giallo Bingo coz it’s time for…reruns! I mean… the Redundant Scoring Challenge! (Actually I just picked up a couple of Sergio Martino videos and was tickled to put them through the bingo wringer) So anyway, it’s…
Your Vice is a Locked Room and etc etc(Redux)(1972) A commendably wacky mix of a rural Argento-ish murder tale, a sexualized version of Clouzot’s Les Diaboliques, and Poe’s “Black Cat” that works thanks to Martino, screenwriter Gastaldi, and the three leads who represent three types of evil-seductive manipulation, outright brutality, and conniving vengefulness (you could probably guess which is which, I suppose). Even the “black cat” is pretty damn good (before he’s replaced by a bad special effects fake). Another great score by Nicolai, full of lovely ironic romanticism, that doesn’t really hit any bingo points- speaking of which, TG has rated this at a “slightly disappointing nine”, but I found… Twist ending-taken from Poe, not really a spoiler because there are four or five nifty twists that come first Striptease-Edwige and a lucky dude in a barn Man slaps woman-marriage Italian style? Outrageous title-you think? J&B-holy cow, by the literal caseload Naked woman-Edwige in the buff Stabbing-divorce with scissors Red herrings-plot- and character-wise Black gloves-sure Important picture-a portrait that seems to dominate everyone’s psyche in weird ways Killer’s footsteps- visually manifest at the 80-minute mark
So, a mildly rehabilitated eleven points from this side of the Atlantic. Next up-the surprisingly not-that-sleazy Torso…
Edit:Oops, I somehow forgot about the girl-on-girl sequences, make that 12 points!
