One on Top of the Other (1969)
"Una sull'altra" (original title)

An insurance scam lands a man on death row for murdering his wife. What everyone doesn't know is she really isn't dead.

Director:

Lucio Fulci

Writers:

Lucio Fulci (screenplay), Lucio Fulci (story),

Stars:

Jean Sorel, Marisa Mell, Elsa Martinelli

Cast

Cast overview:
Jean Sorel	...	Dr. Geroge Dumurrier
Marisa Mell	...	Susan Dumurrier / Monica Weston
Elsa Martinelli	...	Jane
Alberto de Mendoza	...	Henry Dumurrier
John Ireland	...	Inspector Wald
Riccardo Cucciolla	...	Benjamin Wormser
Bill Vanders	...	Insurance Agent (as Bill Wanders)
Franco Balducci	...	Officer Loveday
Giuseppe Addobbati	...	Brent (as John Douglas)
Félix Dafauce	...	Royal Insurance Official #1
Jesús Puente	...	Sergeant Rodriguez
George Rigaud	...	Arthur Mitchell
Jean Sobieski	...	Larry
Faith Domergue	...	Martha

Storyline

The wife of a doctor (Jean Sorel) is murdered. He had a mistress a long ago, since his wife (Marisa Mell) always begged herself out of engagements because she is a asthmatic. On the other hand, she enjoyed a part time job as a stripper. Did the doctor kill her?

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Plot Keywords:

doctor | insurance | death row | stripper | murder | 

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Taglines:

A Husband, A Wife, A Girlfriend, And All the Emotions Between

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy France Spain

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

April 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

Perversion Story

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Gross:

ESP 25,731,770 (Spain)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Empire Films, Les Productions Jacques Roitfeld, Trébol Films C.C.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min 107 min (uncut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

San Luis Obispo is due south of San Francisco, but to get there from San Francisco George is seen driving over and past landmarks taking him east of his destination such as the San Mateo Bridge or north of his starting point such as the Golden Gate Bridge.

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Connections

Referenced in Fulci Talks: The Movies (2007)

User Reviews

Great tense 1960s thriller/giallo

Unlike most of the early 1970s gialli this film has several classic elements of late 60s films, from the go go dancing to the sultry, almost cheezy, jazzy orchestra soundtrack, to the melodramatic, emotion-laden lovemaking scenes. It's more erotic than most gialli, and clearly straddles the boundary between Mario Bava's visual style --emphasizing shadows and contrast, and typical early 70s gialli. What really makes the film so great its ability to hold a level of tension -- visible in various characters' expressions and actions, especially the main character -- and suspense to make it a truly great thriller. And to do so relatively bloodlessly. The dialogue while dubbed is also quite clever and there are many scenes that are smart in their own right -- such as when Monica and George are hanging out in her San Fran 'pad' while he is confused and she is playing solitaire and telling him to answer the door. Definitely worth watching, for any fan of Italian thriller/gialli!