Who Saw Her Die? (1972)

who HEARD her die? EVERYONE in a 5 mile radius!

NO SPOILERS.
Finally saw this one for the first time the other night. Not a bad movie but not a great one. Lots of distractions. For one, poor George Lazenby looks ill. Neither he nor Anita Strindberg (or the script) give us sympathetic characters. Shouldn't we be encouraged to sympathize, considering what's happened to them? (if the intent is to judge them harshly, that doesn't come across clearly) But, well, the big distraction is the music. I fall squarely into the "it's way too loud" camp regarding this score. Especially the one bit that seems to be used ad nauseum. But, then, I feel Argento's SUSPIRIA would've benefitted from certain otherwise-effective themes being used one or two times less throughout. Anyway, I found myself bored by a third of the way into this. Maybe I'm expecting too much of a giallo, but, if you're not going to properly set up the identity of the killer during the story, why should I care about the final revelation? (especially when it rips from Hitchcock's PSYCHO to the point of being embarassing). If it's mainly a mystery, make me care. If it's about gory murders, go about it with more style. Still, there are a few good jolts and some reasonably suspenseful sequences. The dubbing isn't bad, though the girl Roberta at times sounds like she's twenty. I also really enjoyed the way the revelation at the docks/markets played out. Interesting montage with some effective, less-than-obvious symbolism. Otherwise? Ho-hum. And the interview with the director doesn't clarify the film or generate any interest for me. (his candor about his interest in pedophilia is squirm-inducing) I'd recommend SHORT NIGHT OF GLASS DOLLS over this. The pieces fall together far more effectively in that film. October 10, 2007

Too hard to work out.

This giallo is quite highly regarded and I was expecting something of treat, but it tuurned out to be a bit of a muddled mess in my opinion, and I found it confusing and unengaging. The prologue is mildy interesting, set in a snowy mountain setting it shows a young girl toboganning down a slope through the snow, only to get murdered by a shadowy female figure. The action then jumps forward a few years to show an Italian artist called Francesco getting ready to receive a visit from his young daughter Roberta, who despite looking to be only about 9 or 10 years old, has flown from London to Italy entirely unnacompanied! Francesco's rather complicated love life does not seem to get in the way of his joy at having her come to stay, but even he is unaware that the shadowy female figure from the prologue is now stalking the young Roberta. Who is this woman and what are her motives?

During the movie, my impression was that it was trying so darn hard to set a mood of menace and mystery that in places it was almost ridiculous. Some things happen just to move the story forward when in real life they would be quite unlikely. The biggest and worst example of the bad script is the part of the film where Roberta's father leaves her completely vunerable to the attentions of the mysterious woman, first by abandoning her to spend a few hours having illicit fun with his mistress, while she plays a game with friends in a city street. He then further compounds this by simply going home after that without a thought for checking up on her! The film seemingly then jumps to when he's woken up the next day (!?), and he's now wondering if she's in the house or not. His subsequent panic and anger at not knowing where she is left me pretty unimpressed. Some loving father! That careless and sloppy section of the plot probably discoloured the rest of the movie for me, and things didn't improve much. As usual, there are far too many supporting suspect characters to try and keep up with, and one particularly ridiculous scene involves FOUR people all trailing one after another around a derelict warehouse which was like something out of Monty Python as they all hide and dodge, while being equally hidden and dodged from!

Although not overly gory, there are a handful of violent murders, and the subject matter in general may make some viewers queasy at it addresses child murder and possible sexual abuse. But the death scenes didn't stir me very much, not least because this movie has the worst stage blood I have ever seen, looking much like thick tomato soup. One especially shoddy scene involves an assault and strangulation that occurs in a packed cinema - you really have to choke back the disbelief when the dozens of other patrons sitting in the very well lit auditorium are visible on screen, seemingly seeing and hearing absolutley nothing, even though they are mere inches away from the noisy and agitated death struggle! Come on - this is just not acceptable film making. Plus, the story was too confusing for me, and I thought the climactic unmasking was wildly unconvincing. With these serious problems, the good points are probably not good enough to outweigh them, which is a pity.

There are some moments that stand out however. Euro child fave Nicoletta Elmi is enchanting as the young Roberta, but sadly her English dubbing ruins whatever there is of her acting performance (as is always the case with child actors in Italian horror cinema), because as usual she seems to be voiced by an adult female putting on a little girls voice, which sounds really false. Apart from her, the only other notable performance comes from the striking Anita Strindberg, who gives a effective performance as Roberta's shocked and frightened mother. The other strengths of the movie are it's stunning shots of the beautiful city of Venice and a beautiful music score by Ennio Moricone which makes great use of a childrens choir. But despite the lavish scenery (even a kids basketball sesson is held in an ornate palatial chamber!), it really does not amount to a satisfying movie experience.
July 11, 2006

The parts work while the whole fails

It was a beautiful day indeed when Anchor Bay released a box set of four classic Italian gialli films. Most fans of Italian horror films know all about these colorful murder mystery pictures-- thanks to Mario Bava, Lucio Fulci, and Dario Argento--but how many of us know about Aldo Lado? Two of his films appear in the boxed set, "Short Night of Glass Dolls" and the impenetrable "Who Saw Her Die?" On the surface, the latter movie looks like an absolute grand slam winner. We've got the black clad killer, gruesome killings, red herrings, and a father determined to bring the guilty to justice. Lado also gives us point of view shots from the killer's perspective, an evil and powerful conspiracy working behind the scenes, and style wafting off the screen in waves. Yep, "Who Saw Her Die?" is definitely a giallo film in every respect. It cannot, however, stand with the giants of the genre. Lado's picture comes nowhere near to approaching the greatness of Argento's epic films "Deep Red" and "Tenebre," not even close to Lucio Fulci's massively entertaining "Don't Torture a Duckling." Without a doubt, of the two Aldo Lado gialli included in the box set, "Who Saw Her Die?" is by far the lesser entry. It is, in fact, the least consistent of the four.

The plot is the problem. "Who Saw Her Die?" is an absolute, unequivocal mess of a film. I haven't seen a movie this messy since...well...never, actually. Even in the convoluted world of the giallo movie, "Who Saw Her Die?" stands as a cryptic statement. It's only redeeming feature in terms of plot are the relatively easy to follow opening sequences. The film begins in 1968 on some snow-capped mountains as a girl and her mother play around in the snow. Soon the young girl zips down the hill on her sled, moves out of sight of her mother, and runs straight into the hands of a killer wearing a black veil. After completing the nasty deed, the murderer buries the redheaded girl in the snow. There is no explanation for this crime. Then the film jumps ahead four years to Venice, where we soon meet Franco Serpieri (George Lazenby!) and his redheaded daughter Roberta (Nicoletta Elmi). A sculptor with talent, Franco divorced his wife Elizabeth (Anita Strindberg) some time before and only gets to spend time with his daughter once in awhile. After a few scenes used to establish the father and daughter connection, and another scene in which the girl meets up with one of her dad's creepy acquaintances, Roberta suddenly disappears after playing with a group of local kids.

Franco is heartsick and frightened, rightfully so considering the circumstances, and quickly embarks on a search for his missing child. No one seems to know where she went, including the kids who were playing with her immediately before she disappeared. Sadly, Roberta eventually turns up floating face down in one of Venice's many canals, obviously a victim of foul play. Serpieri's anger knows no bounds, and with the help of his estranged wife Elizabeth, he begins to scour the seamy underbelly of Venice looking for clues to his daughter's disappearance. Perhaps a shady art dealer knows something more than he is willing to tell? Or does Father James (Alessandro Haber) have a hand in the crime committed against Roberta? Remember, in the world of gialli anyone and everyone is never above suspicion. One almost begins to suspect the city of Venice--with its brooding buildings, dark alleyways, and canals--assumed some sense of physicality in order to devour Serpieri's daughter. Franco eventually stumbles on to the clues he needs, including knowledge about the murder committed four years before, to piece together the who, what, and why of the crimes.

I'm glad Franco Serpieri cracked this case since I had absolutely no idea what the heck was going on after Roberta turned up in the canal. "Who Saw Her Die?" isn't merely unclear in spots: it's downright murky for most of its runtime. There are many good aspects to the film, however. Lazenby does a great job depicting an artistic type, complete with beard and long hair, suddenly turned private detective. Despite a voice dub that sounds ridiculous, Lazenby is completely believable in his character. Lado also did a wonderful job putting the city of Venice front and center in his film. This isn't a sunny, fun filled Venice full of vacationing tourists and lovers looking for romance, but a city exuding a sinister aura of doom and gloom. According to an extra on the disc, Venice is Lado's hometown and he wanted to show his audiences a side of the city never seen in films before, to show its hidden cafes, alleys, and enclosed spaces. He succeeded. "Who Saw Her Die?" makes me think twice about taking a trip there anytime soon, especially with the great Ennio Morricone score thundering away in the background. The composer used an eerie mixture of strings and a choir to create a truly memorable atmosphere. "Who Saw Her Die?" possesses enough good elements that its overall failure should not have happened. Yet fail it does.

Extras and Anchor Bay go together like ducks and water. The "Who Saw Her Die?" disc offers a trailer, an Aldo Lado filmography, and an eleven-minute interview entitled "Death in Venice" with Lado himself. He talks about choosing Venice as a location, his career, and his entanglements with censors over such touchy topics as the Church and presenting children as victims in his films. The Lado interview is worth watching, as is the film in some respects, but I recommend "Short Night of Glass Dolls" instead of this one. Doesn't matter, I guess--if you're a gialli fan, you will watch this one anyway.

December 23, 2004

One of the Best Giallos Around

Aldo Lado's 1972 film is easily one of the best giallos around. In terms of style it comes close to the early Argento films which makes it a standout among dozens of other similar films. In the lead role, George Lazenby is very good as a grief-stricken father on the hunt for the killer of his child. The cast also includes the stunning and appealing Swedish actress Anita Strindberg and Adolfo Celi. The Venice locations and camerawork are superb as is Ennio Morricone's score--it's hard to get the operatic theme out of your head!. This well-crafted, very entertaining film is one of my favorites and way better than Umberto Lenzi's silly "Seven Blood-Stained Orchids" or Sergio Martino's tiresome "All the Colors of the Dark". Enjoy! December 20, 2004

A formulaic but engaging murder mystery

In this engaging giallo directed by Aldo Lado, George Lazenby plays Franco Serpieri, a well-known Venetian sculptor. After Serpieri's young daughter is murdered, he grows impatient with the efforts of the police and tries to find the killer himself, with some help from his estranged wife (Strindberg). The film sticks to a familiar formula: the likely suspects are killed off one by one, and the last man (or woman) standing is revealed as the murderer. But the process feels clumsier than it ought to here, and since the killer turns out to be one of the film's least developed characters, the ending is less than satisfying. Fortunately, though, painterly cinematography and an intriguing score by the brilliant Ennio Morricone help compensate for the weaknesses of the script. Recommended.

Three stars out of five. February 16, 2004

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