Reflections in Black

Reflections in Black

"If we don't find the third girl in that photo fast,

we're going to have another corpse on our hands."

When Emma Giorgi is attacked in her home late one night by a razor-wielding woman wearing black stockings, Inspector Laurina (John Richardson) and his partner Sergeant Panto (director Tano Cimarosa) are on the case. Before long, a second murder occurs and the victim is one of Emma's close friends. Why is the killer targeting this group and who will be next? The answers will lead the Inspector from Leondra (Dagmar Lassander), the wife of a powerful politician, to a drug smuggling hairstylist to lesbian photographer Contessa Orselmo (Magda Konopka). What secrets do the victims share and who will be the next to die?

Reflections in Black (also commonly called Vice Wear Black Hose) is a classic mid-70's giallo complete with a gloved killer, gratuitous nudity, lesbian love scenes, and a groovy soundtrack featuring a harpsichord, thumping electric bass and jazz drumming. The plot comes into focus late in the game and an overlong but necessary summary of the storyline by one of the survivors may fill in the details, but it drags the ending down. Other than that, the cast of giallo all-stars shines and benefits from expert editing by Romeo Ciatti.

• Director Tano Cimarosa cast himself as Sergeant Panto, the short, wisecracking sidekick to the noble Police Inspector. Could "Sergeant Panto" be a reference to Sancho Panza from Cervantes' Don Quixote?
• This movie features a classic "lovers alone in the woods stalked by the killer" scenario, which first appeared in 1973's Torso and was inspired by the true events of the Zodiac Killer case.

What the Hell am I Watching?

After being questioned by police about Emma's death, Leondra goes to her room. Her maid soon follows and, in an effort to console her, silently starts to undress. Leondra is too upset for grownup time and tells the maid to leave. It's a revealing scene, to be sure, but it's staged in a very strange way.

Leondra then flashes back to a poolside makeout scene with Emma and, rather than using the traditional hazy focus, the flashback looks like it was shot through a glass of milk.

When I started this blog, I decided not to have a checkbox for "horribly misogynistic" because that's sort of a given in the giallo genre. But it's never been so overtly stated as when Sergio (Marco Busciala) tells Anna (Ursula Davis) "Try to keep your impulses to the bedroom and supermarket." 


Fashion Moment

 Fast-talking drug dealer Sandro (Ninetto Davoli) illustrates everything that was wrong with 1970's fashion:

 A tight muscle shirt under a glaringly loud cropped shirt with nine-inch cuffs and a collar fashioned from a couple of airplane wings. Add tight polyester high-wasted bell-bottoms and a Juan Epstein hairdo and you've got yourself a look.

Later, he tops it with a full-on Disco Stu rhinestone denim jacket that reads "OHIO BASE 47."

Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion

Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion

"He's crazy. He doesn't think like other people. There's no telling what he'll do next."

Minou (Dagmar Lassander) is a bored housewife who finds herself entangled in a web of sex and violence. While taking a nighttime walk on the beach, she is attacked by a stranger (Simon Andreu) who tells her that her husband Peter (Pier Paolo Capponi) is a murderer. He lets her go untouched, but threatens to release the evidence against Peter if she doesn't meet him at his apartment. It's not money that he wants, but rather Minou's body. After things get all Fifty Shades of Grey, the Blackmailer continues to torment Minou and she turns to her best friend, Dominique (Susan Scott) for advice. She tells her husband the truth and, bringing in the police, they find that there's no evidence to back up her story. Is Minou going crazy? Is Peter really a murderer? What is it that the Blackmailer really wants?

Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion is an unusual giallo in that the sexy scenes are used as an essential part of the plot, rather than as a break from the main action. Also, instead of a series of murders, the main action focuses on the mystery behind a single killing, which happens before the action of the movie even starts. Still, even though this is the least-trashy of Luciano Ercoli's gialli, it is the most coherent and has one of the best-written screenplays.

• When Minou enters the Blackmailer's apartment for the first time, there are plaster hand sculptures on the walls and a velvet curtain opens to a sensuous atmosphere. This scene is shot as an homage to Jean Cocteau's 1946 fantasy La Belle et La Bete, where the beauty first nervously enters the Beast's enchanted castle.
• It's not clear where the film takes place, but they use American dollars.
• The characters' alcohol consumption in this film is absolutely staggering. Try to keep up and you'll be floored halfway through.
• Enjoy another great score by Ennio Morricone.
• Minou's phone is white with a red dial. This does not qualify as a red phone.

What the Hell am I Watching?

Shall we talk about the soup-eating scene?  For a full minute, Minou, Peter, and Dominique sit around a table, silently eating soup and staring at each other. The camera pans in, close up, over and over as each character lifts the spoon from the bowl to their mouths. Over this, we hear ominous echoes of the Blackmailer's conversation with Minou.

Minou could have a pet cat like every other giallo character, but they decided to switch things up and give her a turtle. A turtle that roams freely around the house.

Dominique is totally into porn. Or, as she calls it, "erotic art from Copenhagen."

Speaking of, Dominique is one of my all-time favorite giallo characters. She's a strong, independent, liberated woman who prowls like an alley cat and takes what she wants. She's like a red-headed Samantha Jones. Susan Scott has played aggressive women in other movies, but there's always an element of tragic victimhood involved. Here, as the sassy sidekick, she really shines.

Fashion Moment

Homygod, you guys. Elton John had a yard sale.

Honestly, though, all the fashions in this movie are crazy.  In just about every scene you'll find yourself asking "what is she wearing?!"

The Iguana With the Tongue of Fire

The Iguana With the Tongue of Fire

"The murderer has done a perfect job. A specialist, I'd say... like me."

When the naked, acid-burned corpse of a young woman is discovered in the trunk of the Swiss Ambassador's car it sets off a touchy political situation for the Dublin police, so Inspector Lawrence (Arthur O'Sullivan) engages loose-canon former cop John Norton (Luigi Pistilli) to do the dirty work of the investigation. While uncovering Ambassador Sobieski's (Anton Diffring) dirty secrets and family scandals, he falls in love with the Ambassador's step-daughter, Helen (Dagmar Lassander). Soon, more and more people connected to the family are murdered in the same malicious manner. Could the killer be a disgruntled employee like the driver (Renato Romano)? Is this an elaborate plot to create an international incident? Or perhaps Inspector Norton is the killer, using his influence to throw off the police?

The Iguana With the Tongue of Fire is a decent giallo with a large pool of suspects, some crazy moments, and bloody murder scenes, but the conclusion is a big disappointment. Really, the best thing this movie has going for it is that fantastic title, which turns out to be a metaphor for something that is exotic, beautiful, and deadly. To be honest, I would have preferred if the title was a complete non-sequitur and nobody alluded to it in the film.  

• The cast is full of familiar faces including Pistilli (Bay of Blood; The Case of the Scorpion's Tail), Dagmar Lassander (Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion), Valentina Cortese (The Girl Who Knew Too Much) and Renato Romano (Seven Bloodstained Orchids; The Bird With the Crystal Plumage).
• We see the murderer kill two people with a razor but the movie doesn't show the other three. All the dead bodies are shown with bloody necks, but I'm not sure we can assume that a razor was used in all five cases.
• The kill scenes and the acid-burning scene were done with fake-looking rubber dummies, but the real gruesome sequence is when Norton gets stitches at the hospital.
• While The Iguana With the Tongue of Fire is clearly a giallo, it borrows elements from the poliziotechi genre, which is characterized by a dangerous loner cop tracking down a case.

What the Hell Am I Watching?

It takes a while to get used to hearing Luigi Pistilli dubbed over with an Irish accent.

I love that all the suspects, police, and the doctor hang out in the same nightclub. So convenient.

Speaking of which, it seems that there's only one doctor in the city of Dublin. That guy turns up everywhere.

Yes, Ambassador Sobieski gets his dry cleaning done at Swastika Laundry Ltd.

When Norton sneaks into an apartment to gather evidence at night, someone is already there and they duke it out in a brutal four-minute furniture-smashing brawl. Which is filmed in complete darkness.The sound effects are pretty good, though.

Fashion Moment

I want to give a quick mention to Granny Norton's glasses with the built-in hearing aids. They're functional and they're a plot point.

But my favorite thing is this awesome birch-textured military-cut jacket worn by Helen's boyfriend Walter (Sergio Doria). Sharp.

Also, Mrs. Sobieski is really getting her Garbo on in this opulent costume.

One more thing...

Do you think Luigi Pistili has a standard clause in his contract stating that he must wear turtlenecked fishermans' sweaters in all of his movies? Those business suits he wore in The Case of the Scorpion's Tail were a great departure and I wish he'd change up his look more often.