La ragazza che sapeva troppo (1963)

User Rating:

7.0/10   

Director:

Mario Bava

Writers:

Mario Bava (writer)
Enzo Corbucci (writer)

Release Date:

20 May 1964 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

What Does It Want? What Will Satisfy Its Cravings?

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Serial Killer | Tourist | Victim | Witness

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)

Also Known As:

Incubus (Italy) (working title)
The Evil Eye (USA)
The Girl Who Knew Too Much

Runtime:

92 min | France:88 min | Spain:83 min | USA:86 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

France:-12 | Italy:VM14 | Portugal:17 | UK:X | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Fiumicino Airport, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Galatea Film

Trivia:

Director Cameo: [Mario Bava]in a portrait as Nora's uncle whom she covers with a sheet (Cut from the European prints).

Quotes:

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

Movie Connections:

References The Man Who Knew Too Much (1934)

Soundtrack:

Furore

Only Bava Giallo with Sympathetic Characters

La Ragazza Che Sapeva Troppo/The Girl who Knew too Much(1963) is the first of the giallo genre that didn't blossom until the late 1960s. Also the final film by Mario Bava to be done in black and white. Although a Giallo, the film follows the plot lines of the more traditional mystery story with a few twists. The film that uses the perverse and violent elements of the Gialli or Giallo is Blood & Black Lace(1964). Mario Bava's next film, Blood and Black Lace(1964) is less interested in story and more interested in mood and style. The plot involves a woman who misinterprets the meaning of a murder she witnesses. The first horror picture that John Saxon was in.

Bava in a rare instance uses naturalistic lighting. Usually the lighting in a Bava film is drenched in artful color. The only other film by Mario Bava to use naturalistic lighting is Rabid Dogs(1974). Lacks the sex and violence that dominates the gialli novels. The director was fascinated by the deception of appearences in this film and in his entire filmography. He seemed to have little optimism about human behavior or human nature. There are only three murders that occur in the film while the others happen before the story begins.

The Girl who Knew Too Much(1963) deals with Bava's favorite theme of greed. The murderer before being overcome with bloodlust does these deeds because of obsession with money. Greed is the seed of destruction for the characters in Blood & Black Lace(1964), A Bay of Blood(1971), and Rabid Dogs(1974). Part Alfred Hitchcock and part Edgar Wallace. The acting in the film is good. Leticia Roman is excellent as the naive and attractive Nora Davis. Mario Bava was not interested in doing the film but due to money reason directed it anyway.

Downplays the romantic subplot involving Nora Davis and Dr. Marcello Bassi. The scenes that uses suggestions of drug use were cut for the USA release. I love the scene where Nora sets up a booby trap to catch the murderer with disasterous results. The camera was in love with the figure of Leticia Roman during the scene at the beach while panning from her face to her feet. The short love scene between Nora and Marcello has a short spurt of eroticism. One of the writers who worked on the film was Django director, Sergio Corbucci. John Saxon does some fine acting as the leading man.

Mario Bava and John Saxon did not get along due to many misunderstandings during filming. The director it seems didn't think too highly of actors or actresses. Dante Dipaolo plays the newspaper reporter with sympathy. The use of the tape recorder by the murderer is cleaver. Valentina Cortese gets the top acting honors as the mysterious Laura Terrani. The discovery of the murderer is one of the film's main highlights. Impressed Dario Argento when he did The Bird with the Crystal Plumage(1969) and thus being responsible for the longevity and success of the Giallo in Italy.