Eye in the Labyrinth

"A naked woman doesn't have to go into explanations, especially if she's as young and beautiful as you."

When psychiatrist Lucas (Horst Frank) goes missing, his girlfriend Julie (Rosemary Dexter) sets out to find him. With the help of a dapper stranger named Frank (Adolfo Celi), her search leads to a luxury villa owned by Gerda (Alida Vali), who surrounds herself with eccentric artists. While everyone denies ever seeing Lucas, Julie keeps finding evidence that Lucas has not only been there, but that he was murdered by one of the guests. Everyone seems to have a motive, but who really killed Lucas and why? Can Julie find the killer before he strikes again? And what clues can be discovered from a mysterious painting?

 

High on style and light on kills, Eye in the Labyrinth (not to be confused with Eyeball, a.k.a. Red Cats in a Glass Labyrinth) is a twisted thriller that takes some liberties with giallo tropes. There's no black masked killer here, but you'll find lots of gorgeous people in gorgeous locations keeping dark secrets. If you like the visual elements of giallo more than the blood and don't care if the plot makes any sense, this one is for you.

• In a title card at the beginning of the film, it's explained that a labyrinth may be a beautiful piece of architecture, but its main purpose is to confuse and trap anyone who wanders in. So the title is a metaphor for the hostile environment of Gerda's villa.

• In the checklist above, "Gay character" has been changed to "LGBT+." It's checked for the transgender character in the film.

• Composer Roberto Nicolosi turns in a wild bebop jazz score, similar to what Ennio Morricone would provide for Dario Argento's early films, Nicolosi previously worked with Mario Bava on both Black Sunday and Black Sabbath.

What the Hell Am I Watching?

One of the main clues to Lucas's death is this painting done by pervy orphan Soro (Benjamin Lev).

This whole plot point was lifted directly from The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, wherein an artist witnessed and painted a murder. The painting is even done in a style similar to the one in Crystal Plumage:

Also, the title might be a metaphor, but there are some visual references to labyrinths as well. When she first arrives in town, Julie is told to look for Lucas in an abandoned villa with winding corridors and staircases that lead nowhere. As she goes deeper in, you can see that someone has written "MOSTRO" (monster) on several walls, with arrows. Perhaps warning visitors about a minotaur?

Fashion Moment:

Gerda's squad of rich artists is operating at the height of boho resort style in 1972.

And Julie fits in just fine, whether she's in sportswear, a mod print dress, crochet swimwear or a dramatic caftan.

But let's not forget about Frank - surely we can count on a former Bond villain to wear the hell out of a white suit.

Who Killed the Prosecutor and Why?

  
Who Killed the Prosecutor and Why?
  

This is not a cheap film. It's art. The art of crime.
  

During a photo shoot, photographer Carlo (Lou Castel) and his girlfriend Olga (Beba Loncar) secretly witness two men removing a dead body from their car and staging an accident to cover up their crime - mafia enforcers disposing of the body of a state prosecuting attorney. Carlo gets the whole event on film and goes to his boss, noted pornographer Ivan "Uncle Fifi" Smirkov (Massimo Serato) for advice. Instead of taking the photos to the police, they try to sell the photos to crime boss Don Salvatore (Fortunato Arena) but when he refuses to pay, they sell the evidence to the local newspaper.  Unfortunately, a gloved assassin shows up after the sale to kill the reporter and steal the photos and he isn't done yet - everyone involved with the photos is on his list. Who could the killer be and who does he work for? Inspector Vezzi (Adolfo Celi) has three ideas, but can he stop the killings in time?

Who Killed the Prosecutor and Why? (not to be confused with Who Saw Her Die?) is a fantastic and rare giallo with a well-crafted mystery plot, lots of gratuitous nudity, stylish camera work, a variety of kills, and some well-crafted suspense scenes. It has just about everything that defines the genre in its heyday, grabbing the viewer from the beginning and engaging with an easy-to-follow investigation. If you can find it, check this one out.

• It's weird to see Adolfo Celi playing a cop - he's usually cast as the suave villain.
• The haunting musical theme that plays throughout the film is reminiscent of the They Might Be Giants song "Where Your Eyes Don't Go."
• Two million Lira (the asking price for Carlos's photos) was a little over $11,000 USD.
• Inspector Vezzi is a stamp collector, just like Commissioner Enci in The Case of the Bloody Iris. Two stamp-collecting police inspectors in movies released less than three months apart. Could it be a coincidence?

What the Hell am I Watching?

I suppose the craziest thing that happens in this movie is the Roman orgy-themed photo shoot at Uncle Fifi's studio. It's mostly chaste, but still superfluous, incongruous fun as the models grope each other while Uncle Fifi barks orders from his wheelchair.

Fashion Moment

Olga makes a bold first impression during the opening credits of the movie, wearing a poncho, boots and nothing else.

Those are the actual camera angles in the film, by the way. The other notable fashion moment is mafia boss Don Salvatore, who spends most of his screen time in this richly patterned pink and gold silk robe.

 

This is a man confident in the knowledge that no one will  mock his fashion choices.

The Perfect Crime

  
The Perfect Crime
  

It's so beautiful being rich. Money is everything.
  

After business tycoon Sir Ronald Selmer's plane explodes in mid-air, three Vice Presidents, Paul De Revere (Leonard Mann), Sir Arthur Dundee (Joseph Cotten) and Sir Harold Boyd (Adolfo Celi) stand to inherit his position of power. Each man's ambitions lead them to conspire against each other and it seems that nothing is off-limits - including murder. But each killing is so cleverly made to look like an accident that Inspector Hawks (Anthony Steel) finds it difficult to connect the dots. Who will be the last man standing?

  

The Perfect Crime (not to be confused with literally dozens of other movies with the same title) is a fun late-period giallo where the audience is always allowed to stay one step ahead of the police. Groovy music, fast cars and opulent settings add to the style factor and the fast-moving plot makes it a fun watch right up to the end, buttoned with a winking reveal.  The cast is a spectacular array of stars including Joseph Cotten (from nearly every major Orson Wells production), Adolfo Celi (a James Bond alum, featured in Who Saw Her Die?), Susperia's Alida Valli, Blood & Black Lace's Franco Ressel and Fulci alum Janet Agren. There's even a cameo by the great Maria Tedeschi, who seems to have made a living off her cameos in giallo movies.

• The original Italian title translates as Investigation of a Perfect Crime.
• I'm going to say that the title does make sense because, while the audience finds out the identity of the killer - spoiler alert - he doesn't get caught in the end. Also, I didn't check "Inept Police" above, because they do everything in their power to catch the killer but were simply outsmarted.
• Check out the background of Paul's office - it looks like he has a painting by Margaret Keane, as seen in Tim Burton's film Big Eyes.

 What the Hell Am I Watching?

Let's talk about the scene where Sir Harold's wife, Gloria (Janet Agren) sneaks off after a fox hunt to have some grownup time with two guys at the same time.

...Or the time Sir Arthur sends his girlfriend to seduce and murder Sir Harold.

This movie features one of the most ingenious kill scenes in recent memory. The killer slips into Sir Arthur's bedroom at night and zaps him with an electromagnet gun. When the police arrive the next morning, it looks like he had a heart attack caused by a malfunctioning pacemaker.

Fashion Moment

The clothes in The Perfect Murder are well-chosen for a cast of rich English socialites in the 1970's. Which is to say, they're expensive-looking, conservative and boring. Nothing says old money like fox hunting gear.

Except maybe a double-breasted suit.

Further proof of my theory that no one looks good in double breasted suits.

Polly (Gloria Guida) did get to glam it up (tastefully) in one scene, though, but she was hidden by the table.

 

Naked Girl Killed In A Park

Naked Girl Killed In a Park

Johann Wallenberger, a wealthy industrialist, emerges from the haunted house ride at a Madrid amusement park dead and missing a bag of cash. His insurance company is suspicious, of course, so they assign the case to their top investigator, playboy detective Chris Buyer (Robert Hoffman). Chris goes undercover by starting a relationship with Wallenberger's youngest daughter, Catherine (Pilar Velasquez) and she soon takes him home to meet her outspoken sister Barbara (Patrizia Adiutori) and her mother, Magda (Irina Demick). But Chris finds more than he bargained for as the fragile Catherine takes ill, hot-blooded Barbara seduces him, and Magda loses her grip on reality in the wake of her husband's suspicious death. Before long, more killings occur – could they be covering up a blackmail scheme? Or are long-held grudges finally coming due? Could the killer be Gunther (Howard Ross), the creepy caretaker or Magda herself? Or perhaps Chris's rival investigator at the insurance company is sabotaging his reputation?

The title Naked Girl Killed In a Park (not to be confused with Naked You Die) has a sensational newspaper-headline urgency, but the story hits all the standard giallo beats. It does have three endings, though. About an hour in you'll say "boy, they wrapped that up quicker than usual" and then discover that there are still questions to answer. Then there's a twist and a killer is named. Then that killer is murdered and the real mastermind is dispatched in a satisfyingly gruesome fashion.

• The title is sort of accurate. A naked girl is found in a garden on the grounds of the Wallenberger estate - not a public park as the title suggests. Johann's body was found fully clothed in an amusement park.
• You may remember Adolfo Celi (Inspector Huber) from Who Saw Her Die? or as Largo in Thunderball.
• The same year he composed the score to Naked Girl Killed In a Park, Carlo Savina conducted the recording sessions for Nino Rota's Oscar-winning soundtrack to The Godfather.

What the Hell Am I Watching?

 Shortly after they meet, Chris takes Catherine on a date to the amusement park. Yes, the same amusement park where her father was found murdered only days before. Way to be sensitive, Chris.

Fashion Moment

Just because she's in mourning doesn't mean Magda can't dress a little flashy. Check out this sparkly sequined jumpsuit.

And this sexy, backless evening gown.

Who Saw Her Die?

Who Saw Her Die?

"Nobody does anything without a reason. What was yours?"

Franco Serpieri (George Lazenby) is a famous sculptor living in Venice who has to put his swinging personal life on hold when his young daughter Roberta (Nicoletta Elmi) comes for a visit. One night, while Franco is distracted by a lady friend, Roberta is kidnapped and later found dead, leaving Franco and his estranged wife Elizabeth (Anita Strindberg) distraught. In his grief, Franco pursues the killer, only to uncover a sordid web of drugs, sex, and blackmail. Could the killer be someone from his circle of friends? Or perhaps it's the ironically-named Bonaiuti (José Quaglio), a rich and secretive libertine with decadent tastes? And what is the connection to similar murders that occurred years before? As more people involved in the mystery are murdered, Franco must race to find the killer.

Who Saw Her Die? isn't a great giallo, but the shadowy, misty Venetian setting adds atmosphere that does a lot of the heavy lifting. Ennio Morricone's score, characterized by a sinister childrens' chorus, also adds to the creepy factor. Despite all the atmosphere, the movie winds up with a highly unsatisfying ending which doesn't adequately tie up all the loose ends and offers no motive for most of the murders. There's also a little twist tacked on as an obvious afterthought. Possibly the result of angry test audiences.

• It's impossible not to make connections between Who Saw Her Die? and Nicholas Roeg's Don't Look Now, which came out a year later. Both feature a foreign couple in Venice mourning the death of a small child while a murderer strikes nearby and both include weird, emotional grownup scenes.
• Similarities to Antonio Bido's 1977 giallo The Bloodstained Shadow are also notable: a Venetian setting, an artistic main character, an aristocratic pedophile, and a killer in the same profession who ends up with the exact same fate.
• Child actress Nicoletta Elmi may look familiar to you. She played a psycho kid in Mario Bava's Bay of Blood and would go on to play another psycho kid in Dario Argento's Deep Red. She was also Ingrid the sinister usherette in Lamberto Bava's horror movie Demons. She has a great creepy smile and you just don't know what's going on behind those eyes.
• If you know Australian actor George Lazenby for his most famous role as clean-cut James Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, it's shocking to see him here as a lean and lanky artist with long hair, a scraggly mustache, and sideburns.
• Speaking of James Bond, you may recognize Adolfo Celi (the also-ironically named Serafian) as Largo in Thunderball.
• One of the murders listed in the body count above occurs off-screen, after the prologue and two years prior to the main action.

What the Hell Am I Watching?

There's a strange scene where Franco questions a reclusive weirdo over a game of ping pong.  The game is meant to liven up the long-winded but necessary exposition. It's  exactly the sort of thing you'd see in an Argento film.

Franco gives 8-year-old Roberta wine with dinner. Between that and losing her on the streets, this guy is not in the running for Father Of the Year.

The creepy, gleeful look on Elizabeth's face when the killer is set on fire and jumps out a window is as haunting as the death itself.

If you know anything about giallo movies, you'll be able to guess the identity of the killer within 12 minutes.

Fashion Moment

The movie takes place in the world of jet-setting artists and Ginerva (Dominique Boschero) is clearly the most fashionable character.  A chilly autumn in Venice? Time to break out the miniskirts. I especially love her cool "handshake" belt buckle.

That belt buckle was used as a stylistic reference point in the 2009 giallo homage Amer.