22.12.13

the devil has seven faces (1971)

aka Il diavolo a sette facce. Bloody Mary. The Devil with Seven Faces.
"Is there any one else here?"
Mary's (Carroll Baker) life gets complicated when she starts being stalked by various men. Then she gets a call from her identical twin Julie who mentions her husband and that she is in trouble. Noting her distress two men come to her aid, her lawyer Dave (Stephen Boyd) and Tony (George Hilton), a dashing racing driver.
Standard Giallo, that entertains, but will not stay in the mind much after watching.

the case of the bloody iris (1972)

aka Perché quelle strane gocce di sangue sul corpo di Jennifer? Erotic Blue. What Are Those Strange Drops of Blood Doing on Jennifer's Body? Why Are Those Strange Drops of Blood on the Body of Jennifer.
"I need to below to someone."
Following a couple of murders in an apartment block, Models Jennifer Lansbury and Marilyn Ricci (Edwige Fenech & Paola Quattrini) get a good deal on the last victim's flat. But Jennifer comes to regret the deal when she starts being stalked by the killer.
Giallo, which sets up enough suspects and twists to prove entertaining without being a classic.

fairy tales (1978)

aka Adult Fairytales. Pornorella.
"My dream princess."
A prince (Don Sparks) has just turned 18 and his doctors are worried that he's not had sex, and will lose his kingdom if he doesn't get any action before Thursday. They tell him to journey to the land of the fairies to find the lost princess, the princess of his dreams.
A mildly comic look at how various fairy tales would have worked out if written in the San Fernando valley. Remarkable only for an appearance of Martha Reeves, who supposedly didn't know that this was a softcore film.

death smiles on a murderer (1973)

aka La morte ha sorriso all'assassino. Death Smiled at Murder.
"They killed you and I didn't do anything to stop them."
A disturbed man (Luciano Rossi) mourns the death of his sister (Ewa Aulin). We then see a coach crash, involving the woman which leads to her losing her memory. She is taken in by a wealthy man (Sergio Doria) and his wife (Angela Bo) to convalesce. They both fall in love with her, but the wife is the jealous type. Meanwhile the family Dr (Klaus Kinski) has developed a formula to restore life to dead people...
What starts out as a psychological thriller, morphs into a Poe-esque horror with a convoluted plot involving incest, reanimation of the dead, and revenge that keeps you guessing as to what the hell is going on!

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1939)

aka Sherlock Holmes. "I'm going to break you Holmes. I'm going to bring off right under your nose the most incredible crime of the century, and you'll never suspect it until it's too late. "
Prof. Moriarty (George Zucco) is reluctantly found not guilty of murder and released. He immediately taunts Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) about his next plan of action, the crime of the century, and how Holmes will never be able to solve it. Now that's a challenge the detective cannot ignore...
The second in the series of films starring Rathbone as Holmes, and considered to be the best.

the fifth cord (1971)

aka Giornata nera per l'ariete. Evil Fingers.
"I am going to commit murder!"
Journalist Andrea Bild (Franco Nero) is on the trail of a serial killer, but soon becomes suspected of the crimes by the police. His only way out is to find the murderer himself.
This has everything going for it, good cinematography, a fine cast, and score, but it somehow manages to miss the mark.

nothing left to fear (2013)

aka Nothing To Fear.
"Do not get close to any of them."
Pastor Dan (James Tupper) and his family move from the city to take over a rural church. It seems a delightful town, and the retiring pastor Kingsman (Clancy Brown) makes sure they feel welcome. So why does daughter Rebecca (Rebekah Brandes) have an uneasy feeling about the place, especially as she has the feeling that her new boyfriend Noah (Ethan Peck) is holding something back.
Slow to start, and just as it is showing promise, with a couple of genuine shocks, it throws it all away with a lame last third.

johnny angel (1945)

"There are two things I've not had enough of in this life, money and you Johnny."
Capt. Johnny Angel (George Raft) boards a deserted ship, where there have been signs of a struggle. It is his father's vessel, and the only clue is a French newspaper and a woman's shoe. With these Johnny hopes to find out who killed his father, and heads for the French Quarter of New Orleans on the trail of a new girl in town (Signe Hasso), taken there by quirky cabbie cabbie Celestial O'Brien (Hoagy Carmichael), who always seems to be around to pick up a fair.
A curious miss-mash of a detective story, that suffers from the casting of Raft, as he underplays the part of the vengeful son.

mad dog (1977)

aka The Mad Dog Killer. Beast With A Gun. La belva col mitra. Ferocious. Ferocious Beast with a Gun. Street Killers. The Human Beast. Wild Beasts with Machine Guns.
"You are dead, understand!"
Four men escape from prison and their leader (Helmut Berger) immediately gets retribution on the man who betrayed him, kidnapping his girlfriend (Marisa Mell). He plans to use her as a distraction to an armed robbery. Meanwhile detective Giulio Santini (Richard Harrison) is charged with tracking the gang down.
Throws all manner of madness at the screen, in this over the top crime drama.