Reflections in Black/Il vizio ha le calze nere

Italy, 1975

Directed by Tano Cimarosa

Cast:
John Richardson, Dagmar Lassander, Tano Cimarosa, Magda Konopka, Ninetto Davoli, Ursula Davis, Gianni Williams, Giacomo Rossi Stuart, Livio Galassi, Dada Gallotti, Giovanni Brusatori, Giovanna D’Albore, Daniela Giordano


Reflections in Black is a giallo I’ve been aware of for quite some time but because the only known English-friendly release is a fullscreen Greek VHS with large chunks of footage missing due to print damage, I’ve kept holding off on seeing it. But once a fan version using a widescreen Spanish VHS as the image source and the English dub from the Greek release as the audio source became available I just had to jump on it. And while this version still looks rather grotty, it is at least in widescreen and around 10 minutes longer than the Greek tape. Plus it’s always nice to sit down with a “new” giallo.

The plot kicks off in classical giallo fashion – showing a mysterious killer in a dark coat and the ubiquitous black gloves roaming the dark streets. An unfortunate nightgown-clad girl named Nelly (Daniela Giordano) is savagely attacked with a razor when she opens the door for this mysterious person in black. In a desperate bid for escape, the bleeding girl flees screaming into the night. She manages to reach a phone booth but her attacker catches up with her and slashes her to death before she can call for help.

Not long afterwards, a ditzy blonde named Emma (Giovanna D'Albore) is having an amorous nighttime encounter with a lover in a park when she is attacked by the same black-gloved killer and gets her throat slashed open.



The killer’s handiwork


Inspector Lavena (John Richardson) is put on the case, and together with his assistant Sgt. Panto (played by the film’s director, Tano Cimarosa) he starts looking into the various people connected to the two victims. It turns out that Emma was the trusted secretary of a powerful and influential notary named Anselmi (Giacomo Rossi Stuart), and apparently she was also very chummy with Anselmi’s sexy wife Leonora (Dagmar Lassander). All the gory details of Leonora and Emma’s relationship are revealed to us by having Leonora gaze at an old photo of Emma, which triggers a long, gratuitous flashback scene of them engaged in some soft-focus lesbian lovemaking to the strains of Carlo Savina’s typically giallo-esque score full of lulling female vocals.


The obligatory lesbian action


Anyway, it soon transpires that the two murder victims knew each other as a photograph of them together is discovered. Also present in this photo is a third woman and two men, and while Inspector Lavena and Sgt. Panto work on trying to figure out who these people are, the audience learns that the third girl is a somewhat bitchy blonde named Marilyn (Dada Gallotti). Marilyn knows the identity of the killer and indulges in a dangerous game of blackmail – with predictable results.


A classic photographic clue



Those blackmailers just never learn, do they?


As the body count continues to rise, so does the list of potential suspects. In addition to the Anselmis there is also their nosy and horny lesbian maid; the mysterious Contessa Orsello (Magda Konopka), a predatory lesbian with ties to all of the victims; the Contessa’s pathetic, drug-addicted son Marco (Livio Galassi), who likes to threaten his mother’s mistresses with a razor; Marilyn’s lover Sandro (Pasolini favorite Ninetto Davoli), who shows a questionable interest in underage girls; and Mario (Giovanni Brusatori), a camp gay hairdresser whose salon the victims used to frequent.

By the time the movie is over, most of these characters will be dead and anyone but the most naïve and inexperienced giallo viewers will have guessed the killer’s identity long before the “shocking” reveal. First-time director Tano Cimarosa was a good, reliable tough guy actor and already had some experience with the giallo genre thanks to his memorable supporting part in Renato Polselli’s appropriately named Delirium (1972), but it’s obvious from the get-go that Cimarosa’s talent for directing is far less impressive. This is a strictly by-the-numbers affair that throws in all the usual giallo clichés and tries to spice up the brew by upping the sleaze factor. And if taken merely as a sleazy romp, Reflections in Black can actually be a lot of fun.

One of the most amusing things about the film is how Cimarosa uses it as a showcase for himself. Although British actor John Richardson – fresh from his giallo turns in Torso (1973) and Eyeball (1975) – is given prominent top-billing, Richardson’s police inspector is continuously overshadowed by Cimarosa’s sergeant, who proves himself to be much smarter than his superior time and time again. In fact, Cimarosa continues to upstage Richardson to the point where one wonders why he didn’t just cast himself in the lead, but I suppose he needed Richardson’s name to sell movie tickets.

What little thunder Richardson has left gets stolen by another cop on the case, the young and promising Manlio (played by Gianni Williams) and his girlfriend Anna (played by 1960s starlet Ursula Davis under her actual name Pier Anna Quaia), whose relationship is given an absurd amount of screen time. Anna is shown to be an awfully sassy girl who likes to wear see-through blouses that show off her nipples. “It’s a sexual revolution! Didn’t you know the girls burn their bras these days?” she chirps to Manlio when he protests. At one point she even endangers herself by deciding to play amateur detective – after which Manlio finally sets her straight by telling her to limit her crazy impulses to the bedroom or the supermarket from now on! Oh, the 1970s!


Cimarosa sets Richardson straight


Manlio and Anna occupy a fair amount of the film’s running time


Visually, Reflections in Black isn’t one of the better-looking gialli. It may be a tad unfair to judge its visuals on the basis of the generally crummy-looking versions that are currently available but aside from a few nice uses of reflective images there just aren’t that many stylish traits to be found here. Some of the sleazier moments actually look downright drab – especially a coarsely shot sex scene between Ninetto Davoli and Dada Gallotti that gives us a closer look at Davoli’s bouncing nut sack than what anybody really needs to see. This scene is made all the more hilarious because it is accompanied by an inappropriate Carlo Savina score that is much too classy to suit the tacky images on the screen. But while none of the general sleaziness on display is all that well-made it does add to the fun.


Ninetto Davoli displays the full range of his talents for our viewing pleasure


One of the many sleazy highlights


Apart from the fun that comes from watching Cimarosa muscling in on poor John Richardson, the film also benefits from having both Dagmar Lassander and Magda Konopka on hand as predatory lesbians. Obviously, the careers of both women had seen better days but they deliver what is expected of them and are definitely easy on the eyes.


Dagmar Lassander sporting an outfit almost exactly like the one she wore in The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire (1971)


Magda Konopka in action


Everyone else is somewhat wasted, though, from old pro Giacomo Rossi Stuart, who hardly registers as a screen presence in the role of Lassander’s cuckolded husband, to poor Daniela Giordano, who gets nothing more to do than show up and get killed (she doesn’t even have any dialogue).

Also worthy of mention is the presence of the usual crew of English dubbers – most notably the unmistakable tough guy voice of Edward Mannix dubbing Tano Cimarosa. It’s a great match as the voice fits Cimarosa’s look and the character’s hardball attitude perfectly. You’ll no doubt also recognize the other voice actors, including Carolynn De Fonseca (dubbing Dada Gallotti), Silvia Faver (dubbing Ursula Davis) and Frank von Kuegelgen (dubbing Gianni Williams).

While far from a great movie, Reflections in Black is nevertheless just about silly and sleazy enough to warrant a recommendation for giallo hounds. You might also want to check out Cimarosa’s second film as a director, the gritty crime flick Death Hunt (1977), which is even more sleazy and enjoyable.



© 2011 Johan Melle



The cast:


John Richardson as Inspector Lavena


Dagmar Lassander as Leonora Anselmi


Tano Cimarosa as Sgt. Panto


Magda Konopka as Contessa Orsello


Ninetto Davoli as Sandro


Ursula Davis as Anna


Gianni Williams as Manlio


Giacomo Rossi Stuart as Mr. Anselmi


Livio Galassi as Marco


Dada Gallotti as Marilyn


Giovanni Brusatori as Mario


??? as Leonora's maid


??? as The Contessa's lover


Giovanna D'Albore as Emma


Daniela Giordano as Nelly

Ligeia forever

Italy, 1979

Directed by Daniele D’Anza

Cast:
Umberto Orsini, Silvia Dionisio, Dagmar Lassander, Philippe Leroy, Victoria Zinny, Giuseppe Pertile


While Italian cinema from the 1960s, 70s and 80s continues to grow in popularity among movie lovers, far fewer seem eager to rediscover Italian television productions from the same period. Which is probably because a lot of the stuff made for television is of a much lower standard but here and there you can find a couple of gems hidden. One such gem is the four-part mini series Racconti fantastici, which freely adapts a series of Edgar Allan Poe stories into a contemporary setting. Each of the four episodes is self-contained but they are linked together by the character of Roderick Usher, who is present in all four episodes. While the series as a whole is highly interesting, the best of episode is arguably the second one, Ligeia forever, an intriguing amalgamation of the Poe stories "Ligeia" and "Morella".

The story begins in the house of Usher in the present time of 1979, where a dusty old photo and a gramophone record causes the ageing Roderick Usher (Philippe Leroy) to recount the story of one of his ancestors – thereby allowing the narrative to flash back to the late 1920s. Here we meet the handsome Robert Usher (Umberto Orsini), who is married to the stunning Ligeia (Dagmar Lassander), a renowned silent movie actress who has just starred in her first talkie.


Robert and Ligeia


While they await word from Hollywood about the audience response to the talkie, Robert and Ligeia throw a party to celebrate what will no doubt be another huge success for Ligeia. Unfortunately, their celebration turns out to be more than a bit premature. Once the phone call from Hollywood arrives it is actually bad news: the audience has reacted with laughter and derision to hearing Ligeia speak. Utterly humiliated and fraught with despair, Ligeia is unable to deal with this crushing defeat, and the disastrous party ends with her committing suicide in front of the shocked guests.

Cut to five years later. Robert has not set foot in the house of Usher since the devastating death of his beloved wife. In an attempt to forget and move on he has taken a new wife, the sweet and loving Morella (Silvia Dionisio), and decides that the time has come to return to the family estate. Together with his young bride, Robert moves back into the house he had shared with Ligeia but the section of the house where Ligeia’s rooms are located is kept securely locked and off limits.


The newlyweds arrive at the house of Usher


Morella has a hard time getting adjusted to her new home as Ligeia’s personal maid, Miss Crown (Victoria Zinny), is hostile towards her, and Robert starts being haunted by memories of the past. He finds himself compelled to enter the section of the house where all of Ligeia’s rooms are located. All the rooms are completely untouched since Ligeia’s death and the walls adorned with pictures and movie posters of her.


The forbidden house...


...and the memories it holds


Robert starts to get overcome by memories of Ligeia and he senses her presence as if she was still alive. Poor Morella knows nothing about Robert’s first marriage but she feels him gradually slipping away from her and starts snooping around. Upon entering the forbidden parts of the house, Morella uncovers the truth about her husband’s past but soon afterwards she falls victim to a strange accident. Robert is convinced that Ligeia’s ghost is trying to kill his new wife...


Morella angers her husband by desecrating his shrine for Ligeia


Morella in fear of her life


Writers Daniele D’Anza and Biagio Proietti have done a good job of piecing together story elements from the two thematically similar Poe stories "Ligeia" and "Morella" while adding new touches and retaining an appropriate bit of ambiguity. The late 1920s/early 1930s setting and the prominent use of brightness and sunshine is highly atypical of a Poe adaptation but it gives a fresh and inspired spin on the material. Furthermore, the period setting imbues the piece with an atmosphere of nostalgia that poignantly mirrors the emotions experienced by Robert upon his return to the home he had shared with his dead wife. D’Anza and Proietti (who penned numerous television scripts together) are both good writers but Proietti, in particular, has a real talent for coming up with interesting ideas. He had previously written the underrated giallo The Killer Reserved Nine Seats (1974), and would later go on to explore Poe material again when he wrote Lucio Fulci’s The Black Cat (1981).

In spite of the subject matter, Ligeia forever is not really a horror story. If anything, it is a melancholy tale – one in which love, death and being haunted by the past just happen to be the main ingredients. Instead of striving for suspense or chills, Proietti and D’Anza favor mood and atmosphere, and they are aided in their quest by an eerie and dreamily evocative musical score by the popular pop/rock band Pooh. The atmosphere is further enriched by Blasco Giurato’s beautiful cinematography, which together with high production values, lush period costumes and effective locations, gives Ligeia forever a polished and classy look that greatly surpasses other Italian television products from this era.


Bright and sunny...


...but also dark and gloomy where appropriate


The small but well-chosen cast is uniformly good. The renowned Umberto Orsini delivers a strong and dedicated portrayal of the tormented protagonist, but the best performance comes from the beautiful Silvia Dionisio, who is extremely sweet and sympathetic as the tragic Morella. It is hard not to feel sad for the character when witnessing Dionisio skillfully portray her gradual transformation from happy and carefree to despaired and tormented. Also of note is the part of Ligeia’s maid Miss Crown, a sinister figure that seems to be modelled after the Mrs. Danvers character from Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940), and played with an appropriate sense of mystique by the gifted Argentinean actress Victoria Zinny. Finally, there is of course Dagmar Lassander, who looks absolutely gorgeous as Ligeia but she is not really given much to do here. She appears relatively briefly but Ligeia’s presence is still felt throughout the entire running time – making a strong impression on the viewer. Not so much because of Lassander’s acting but actually more because of her hauntingly deep blue eyes and enchanting beauty, which is effectively captured in the numerous photos and movie posters that adorn the walls of Ligeia’s old rooms. These gorgeous images are instrumental in manifesting the character’s never fading presence in the house, and the way these dusty and shrine-like relics from a glorious past has been preserved creates a a very strong feeling of sadness and melancholy.




Clever and effective use of Dagmar Lassander’s photogenic looks


Elegant and atmospheric, moody and compelling – Ligeia forever is an inspired Poe adaptation that is worthy of a larger audience. Highly recommended!


© 2011 Johan Melle



The cast:


Umberto Orsini as Robert Usher


Silvia Dionisio as Morella


Dagmar Lassander as Ligeia


Philippe Leroy as Roderick Usher


Victoria Zinny as Miss Crown

Giuseppe Pertile as Dr. Brooks