Who Saw Her Die? (1972)

The life of a Venice sculptor (former James Bond George Lazenby of ON HER MAJESTY S SECRET SERVICE) is torn apart when his visiting young daughter (Nicoletta Elmi of DEEP RED and TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE) is found murdered. But when the police are unable to find the killer the grieving father s own investigation uncovers a high-level conspiracy of sexual perversion and violence. What depraved compulsions led to the murder of this child? And most horrifying of all WHO SAW HER DIE?Adolfo Celi (THUNDERBALL DANGER: DIABOLIK) and Anita Strindberg (THE ANTICHRIST THE EROTICIST) co-star in this disturbing giallo directed by Aldo Lado (NIGHT TRAIN MURDERS SHORT NIGHT OF GLASS DOLLS) and featuring a remarkable score by Ennio Morricone (THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE).Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MISCELLANEOUS/SPECIAL INTEREST UPC: 827058113694 Manufacturer No: 1136 Product Description

I Already Saw Her Die In "Don't Torture A Duckling"

I would've enjoyed "Who Saw Her Die?" if I hadn't already seen "Don't Torture a Duckling," which is another Italian giallo. The latter was directed by famous gore maestro, Lucio Fulci and also released in 1972. Both have numerous similarities: murdering of innocent children, conspiratorial elements, anti-religious overtones, and gruesome endings for the killer.

For both movies, the scenery was gorgeous, the cast was stellar and the acting superb. However, I enjoyed "Don't Torture a Duckling" more because of its realistic, graphic violence. It was definitely more shocking. The plot for "Who Saw Her Die?" was more difficult for me to follow. I don't know if it was because of the inferior dubbing or the relationship between the characters wasn't thoroughly explained. (Or maybe I just have a difficult time remembering Italian names. Nancy, John, and Bill are so much easier to remember.)

George Lazenby is sporting a mustache and is much different from his character of James Bond ("On Her Majesty's Secret Service"). From the DVD's interview with Aldo Lado, I learned that Lazenby was eager to act in "Who Saw Her Die?" because he was broke and needed the money to buy a boat. Lazenby plays Franco, father of Roberta who falls prey to the same serial killer who has been murdering cute red-headed girls. Roberta is played by Nicoletta Elmi who also starred in two of my favorite Mario Bava movies, "Bay of Blood" (1971) and "Baron Blood" (1972). She also had the good fortune of starring in one of the best Italian gialli of all times, Dario Argento's "Deep Red" (1975). However, in "Deep Red" she plays a cute girl with a devilish, cruel disposition; I wish I had seen her die in that movie.

Because I had seen "Don't Torture a Duckling" and "Seven Blood-Stained Orchids" (directed by Umberto Lenzi), I was able to guess the identity of the killer right away. The death scenes in "Who Saw Her Die?" are rather routine except for the fiery demise of the killer. It is devoid of twists and turns and shocking conclusions. The only thing that distinguishes "Who Saw Her Die?" from similar gialli is that the killer dresses up like an old woman and carries a knife, much like Norman Bates did in "Psycho." In his interview, Aldo Lado also speaks about these unintentional "Psycho" similarities which he had realized after the movie's completion.

I recommend renting "Who Saw Her Die?" if you haven't seen "Don't Torture a Duckling" or "Seven Blood-Stained Orchids." If you have already seen these movies, I'm afraid you're not going to care who saw her die.
March 8, 2008

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