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Nora(Letícia Román)comes to Rome to visit her sickly aunt and finds herself embroiled in a murder mystery. After her aunt dies, Nora walks out into the dark, quiet Rome streets in shock, sees a female victim with a knife plunged into her back, and a brief glimpse of a man before fainting. Awakening in a hospital(great point-of-view shot of nuns standing over her), she tries to convince her attending physician, Dr. Marcello Bassi(a young, dashing & charming John Saxon)that she witnessed a murder. When no body is found, Nora still persists the fact that she saw this woman with a knife in her back and a killer drawing near. Shortly after attending her aunt's burial, a wealthy citizen nearby named Laura Craven-Torrani(Valentina Cortese)out-of-the-blue offers Nora a place to stay claiming she knew her aunt. Claiming that she was on her way to Switzerland, Laura allows Nora to remain in the house alone..the question is, why is Laura so generous? Nora, undaunted despite the idea of danger(..and the fact she often reads murder mysteries with the thrilling idea of partaking in one obviously motivating her participation in finding the murderer), will pursue the identity of the killer of that missing woman. Marcello, at first reluctant, decides to assist Nora in her sleuthing, falling for her in the process. Marcello even serves as host to Nora showing her Rome and it's many sights(..I felt this was Bava disguised as Marcello bestowing foreign audiences with the place he adores). While staying in Laura's home, she encounters a metal box with newspaper clippings of the notorious, supposedly solved, Alphabet Murders, detailing the serial killings of various women following a distinct pattern, a knife in the back with each female victim's last name starting in alphabetical order. Could Nora be the next victim? During their search, Nora and Marcello encounter a broken, pitiful former newspaper reporter, Andrea Landini(Dante DiPaolo)who followed the Alphabet Murders case and felt responsible for putting the wrong man behind bars for the crimes.
Bava's visual eye shows wonderful things as he shoots this film in B&W displaying a type of Rome both beautiful and, at the same time spooky, equipping the surroundings with the right pinch of dread and danger. The night time scenes are especially atmospheric as any body could be hiding in the dark, with a chance to murder without being caught. I also loved how Bava shoots Laura's house at night with a frightened, cautious Nora often looking over her shoulder as wayward shadows loom thereabouts. You never feel Nora is completely safe, even with Marcello often by her side. If you read the signs, you might figure out who the killer is..I think that mystery can be easily solved by those who have seen their share of gialli and murder mysteries. It's Bava's fantastic presentation that provides the thrills. It doesn't matter whether Bava shoots in B&W or color, he knows how to frame a stunning shot and add just the right amount of ambiance to it.
score 8/10
Scarecrow-88 20 November 2007
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1767142/ |
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2-4-2021 04:55:07