The Evil Eye (1963)
"La ragazza che sapeva troppo" (original title)

A tourist witnesses a murder and finds herself caught up in a series of bloody killings.

Director:

Mario Bava

Writers:

Mario Bava, Enzo Corbucci,

Stars:

Letícia Román, John Saxon, Valentina Cortese

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Letícia Román	...	Nora Davis
John Saxon	...	Dr. Marcello Bassi
Valentina Cortese	...	Laura Craven-Torrani
Titti Tomaino	...	Inspector
Luigi Bonos	...	Albergo Stelletta
Milo Quesada	...	De Vico / Paccini
Robert Buchanan	...	Dr. Alessi
Marta Melocco	...	Murder Victim
Gustavo De Nardo	...	Dr. Facchetti
Lucia Modugno	...	Nurse
Giovanni Di Benedetto	...	Professor Torrani (as Gianni De Benedetto)
Franco Morici	...	Policeman
Virginia Doro	...	Torrani's Maid
Dante DiPaolo	...	Andrea Landini (as Dante Di Paolo)

Storyline

Nora is a young tourist traveling through Rome which takes a sudden turn when she witnesses a murder by a serial killer that the police have sought for years for the so-called Alphabet Killings, and Nora soon finds herself in way-over-her-head trouble when the police want her cooperation to catch the killer while the mystery killer soon targets her for his next victim.

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Plot Keywords:

murder | victim | serial killer | tourist | witness | 

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Taglines:

What Does It Want? What Will Satisfy Its Cravings?

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Genres:

Comedy | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

20 May 1964 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Evil Eye

Filming Locations:

Fiumicino Airport, Fiumicino, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Galatea Film, Coronet s.r.l.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mario Bava's final black and white production.

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Quotes

Nora Davis: [into the phone] Oh mother, murders don't just happen like that here.

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Connections

Referenced in Bikini Beach (1964)

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Soundtracks

"Furore"
Written and Composed by Adriano Celentano (as Adicel) and Paolo Vivarelli
Performed by Adriano Celentano
Published by Nazionalmusic and Disco Jolly

User Reviews

The original giallo

Nora Davis (Letícia Román) is an American tourist in Rome who witnesses the brutal murder of a woman on her first night in the city, however circumstances prevail that no body is found and the police and pretty much every one else believe she is a little crazy, except that is for a young Dr. Marcello Bassi (John Saxon)that she has befriended who plays along and helps her investigate. Nora's investigations brings up three earlier killings in the same place on the Spanish Steps in Rome,that at the time were called the Alphabet Murders, due to the killer's preponderance for killing women that had the respective letter in their surname,but the killer was caught and imprisoned for life,so who is it doing the killings?soon Nora realizes that the letter "D" is next on the killers list and that she is to be his next victim.

Well, I've searched high and low for this granddaddy of the Gialli Genre for over two years now and finally got myself a copy,and was it worth it?….Its Mario Bava of course it was…..Filmed in stunning black & white the film boasts some fine performances from the leads, it is also regarded as the film that started the ball rolling for the giallo on film.The Girl who knew too much also gives a very firm nod to the work of Hitchcock whose "Man who knew too much" the title is borrowed from.The film is full of suspense with some very nice scenes and keeps you guessing until the end,as all fine Gialli should…..it is quite low on the bloodletting though, a trait the Giallo would ignore more and more as it entered the 1970's, but this is still an excellent film and well worth checking out….if you can find a copy that doesn't mean breaking the bank. 8/10