The Giallo Files: Leonard Mann

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.

Death Steps in the Dark

"It's easy to see you're new at this business. You're useless!"

Italian photographer Luciano Morelli (Leonard Mann) and his Swedish model girlfriend Ingrid Steimosson (Vera Krouska) are on the Istanbul-Athens express train when suddenly the lights go out and one of the passengers in their car is murdered. Luciano's letter opener was used as the murder weapon, making him the chief suspect. On the run from the Inspector (Robert Webber), Luciano must now prove his innocence. Meanwhile, Raul (Nikos Verlekis) and his girlfriend Ulla (Susy Jennings) saw the murderer flee the crime scene and picked up a glove that was dropped. They decide to blackmail the murderer but are they putting their own lives in jeopardy? Could the killer be the old priest (Antonio Maimone)? And can Luciano and Ingrid find the killer and clear his name?

Death Steps in the Dark (not to be confused with Death Walks in High Heels) is a fun little giallo with some creative murder scenes, a heist element, and comic elements to keep things light. Unfortunately, the identity of the killer and the motive are never foreshadowed, making it impossible to guess the identity before the final reveal.

Death Steps in the Dark is the work of Maurizio Pradeaux, who also wrote and directed Death Carries a Cane. Besides both being gialli and having similar Italian titles (Passi di Danza Su una Lama di Rasoio and Passi di Morte Perduti Nel Buio) the two films are otherwise unrelated.
The third act of the movie involves a heist plot, where Luciano, Ingrid, and two novice criminals break into a house to steal a gold statue. Wackiness ensues.
SPOILER ALERT: So it turns out that the Inspector knew Luciano was innocent the whole time, but forced Luciano on the lam to do his job for him and solve the case. He's not only inept, he's also a huge jerk.
SPOILER ALERT: Raul and Ulla know who the killer is throughout the film and repeatedly use the pronoun "he," but by the end of the movie, we discover that the killer is, in fact, a woman. It seems to me that they could have worked around that better.

What the Hell Am I Watching?

Ingrid takes the stock character of the "vapid fashion model" to new and infuriating heights. I realize that she is intended to be comic relief, but she nearly gets her boyfriend killed or arrested several times and bungles things at every turn. It's a miracle that she made it through the movie un-slapped.

Ingrid's idea of a "fashion show" is swanning around for five minutes in a green evening gown. There are no other models or dresses involved.

There's a fantastically gruesome part where, through a series of events, Ulla turns on the water in her bath and blood pours out.

Fashion Moment

In what I'm sure is not his finest hour, Luciano hides from the Athens police by disguising himself in drag.