So starts the Giallithon with the film that arguably started it all, Mario Bava’s 1963 classic The Girl Who Knew Too Much (La Ragazza Che Sapeva Troppo). Obviously inspired by the pulp fiction yellow (giallo) covered books, even as far as the heroine reads them and is inspired in her investigations by them and other famous crime novels, this is the first film to take a story that could have been lifted from the pages of those books and transpose them onto the screen with lashings of Hitchcock style. In fact it seems that Bava was reluctant to direct this, but it doesn’t show. They weren’t sure what they wanted to achieve with the film. In fact the American release is a totally different beast to this Italian subtitled version under review. The American release was touted as a romantic black comedy called The Evil Eye, a parady of previously released Hitchcock films, and it featured more scenes of humour. These didn’t really fit in with the overall tone of the film (a mystery with horror elements i.e. a proto-giallo), so the Italian release is much more streamlined and all the better for it. This was due to Bava being determined to make this into a serious film, and as a consequence he played down the comedy and boosted the horror. It was a stroke of genius. In this and his next proto-giallo, Blood And Black Lace (1964), he laid down the foundations for the entire Giallo genre.
Starring Leticia Roman and (a young) John Saxon, this was to be Bava’s final film to be shot in black and white, and also was filmed mostly on location in and around Rome. Bava shoots everything using purely natural lighting, and with each and every shot he uses obtuse angles, and an ever encroaching darkness to bring a sense of dread and foreboding to the proceedings.
Roman stars as the lovely Nora Davis, a young naive American who flies into Rome to visit her Aunt Adele. At her Aunt’s place, she encounters the suave and handsome Doctor Marcello Bassi (Saxon) who informs Nora that her Aunt is in failing health, and that he has been keeping an eye on her. That very night Nora sees her Aunt suffer a fatal heart attack. Freaked out by her deceased Aunt’s body twitching (it’s actually her cat trying to get up onto the bed), Nora flees from the house and out onto the big plaza outside. As she tries to make her way to the nearby hospital to fetch Dr. Bassi, she is mugged and knocked unconcious in the street. Nora comes around in a dizzy haze, and as she does, she witnesses a woman being stabbed in the back and dragged away… Did she really see a murder take place?
The rest that follows is a great mix of your giallo staples of red herrings, scenes of peril for our heroine, and bloody murders. Of course these were fresh then, and the elements that Bava brought to proceedings are evident in all the major players in the first wave of giallo and beyond. The black humour and creepy camera angles were no doubt a huge influence on Dario Argento and Umberto Lenzi in their films that followed this.
Saxon and Roman make great leads, and it’s unfortunate that it was reported that Saxon and Bava really did not get on well at all (detailed by Tim Lucas in the included sleeve notes). A strong leading man was unfortunately not a giallo staple, as many of the films feature very dull lead actors indeed. It’s a shame this wasn’t something that continued on through the genre.
This DVD version was released by Image Entertainment in 2000, and has a good transfer in it’s original 1.66:1 ratio presented anamorphically. It has parts where there is some evident print damage, and the contrast looks to be slightly too high in parts, but apart from a few ropey scenes… it all looks very good. It’s in the original Italian language with optional English subtitles. You can also get the film as part of the Bava boxset released by Anchor Bay, or a good transfer from French label Film Sans Frontiers.
A great film and a very worthy start to the Giallithon. Essential Giallo.
Dario Argento’s highly anticipated film 
Clearly some money was spent on this film as it has superior cinematography and some great special effects for the time. It also triumphantly succeeds in creating a very creepy, eerie atmosphere. It has some vhillingly effective murder scenes, and the final scene is pure Grand Guignol exuberance. The story sees Roland Wybenga playing Professor Alan Whitmore who is sent to investigate strange goings on in a small town. What he finds there is a horror beyond what he could have imagined and where nothing is what it seems.Unfortunately I’ve only ever seen a VHS rip with hardcoded Japanese subtitles on it, and it was fullscreen. It really takes away from what you can tell is some fantastic camera work. It might have that familiar 80s tinge to the picture, but it still should be incredible if a restored widescreen version could be sourced.
Directed by Silvio Amadio, this is a beautiful shot and fantastically scripted piece of film. Not only does it feature some ultra stylish setpieces so familiar with classic giallo, but it also features a truly electrifying sex scene between Barbara Bouchet and Rosalba Neri… two of the genre’s finest. The way Amadio shoots the scene is brilliantly done, and it literally sizzles off the screen.Couple all that with one of the best soundtracks to ever grace a giallo, and you’ve got yourself a truly fantastic cult film.So why no DVD release?
Not even New York Ripper or Torso could match this film for sheer depravity.There’s plenty of gore, softcore sex, nudity, and funny late 70s hair cuts on show. It has something for everyone… except those with no stomach for the depraved!I don’t think there’s much chance of this being released in the UK anytime soon, but it is strange that this infamous giallo has never received much attention from any of the major DVD labels. Anything that is so infamously trashy is bound to be a big seller. It ticks all the boxes for gorehounds, sleazeters, and grindhouse fans. I would have thought this was a perfect release for Grindhouse Releasing.
– Talking of grindhouse classics… this has to rank as one of the stars of that genre. The infamous Bigfoot video nasty from 1980. This film takes the well established Bigfoot genre, and turns it on its head by introducing ghaslty deaths, horrific scenes of penis removal by Bigfoot claw, and one of the craziest final 10 minutes of any film… ever! It’s just pure fantastic joyous trash in cult film form. The acting is dire, and dare I say this film is never going to get a pin sharp high definition makeover… but it still deserves far more than it’s got so far from distributors.In fact the only uncut version that seems to be doing the rounds is a copy of when Zone Horror showed it on that channel. It looks very rough though, so this film really needs some much needed attention.
Perhaps most perplexing of all is how this Ernesto Gastaldi written and directed giallo has not had a proper DVD release! This is one of the very first giallo, and it’s also one of the most accomplished. Shot in black and white, it has a fantastic plot (as you’d expect from the master writer of the genre), and some great acting. It’s very well made and really makes you wish Gastaldi had directed a few more films.Again the only version of this in wide circulation are VHS sourced. There is clearly a great looking film here, shot originally on 35mm, just waiting to burst out onto our home screens. Why hasn’t anyone done this yet? This is a classic by every definition of the word!Get to it please!
It goes without saying that I have already got my ticket, especially as the almighty Corrupted and The Accused are also playing.
