Island of Terror (1970) 5 bambole per la luna d'agosto (original title)

Director:

Mario Bava

Writer:

Mario di Nardo (story)

Release Date:

14 February 1970 (Italy)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

A small group of people come to an island to relax but soon find themselves trapped on the island with a murderer in their midst.

Plot Keywords:

Hairy Chest | Voyeur | Murder | Giallo | Rolls Royce

Cast

William Berger	...	Prof. Gerry Farrell
Ira von Fürstenberg	...	Trudy Farrell (as Ira Furstenberg)
Maurice Poli	...	Nick Chaney
Edwige Fenech	...	Marie Chaney
Howard Ross	...	Jack Davidson
Helena Ronee	...	Peggy Davidson
Teodoro Corrà	...	George Stark
Ely Galleani	...	Isabel (as Justine Gall)
Edith Meloni	...	Jill Stark
Mauro Bosco	...	Charles

Directed by
Mario Bava

Writing credits
Mario di Nardo		(story and screenplay)

Produced by
Luigi Alessi	....	producer

Original Music by
Piero Umiliani

Cinematography by
Antonio Rinaldi
Mario Bava		(uncredited)

Film Editing by
Mario Bava

Production Design by
Giuseppe Aldrovandi
Giulia Mafai		(as Giuliana Mafai)

Costume Design by
Giulia Mafai		(as Giuliana Mafai)

Makeup Department
Orietta Melaranci	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Luigi Alessi	....	production manager
Alfonso Cucci	....	production manager
Adolfo Martello	....	production manager (as Rudolfo Martello)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Mario Bianchi	....	assistant director

Art Department
Giuseppe Aldrovandi	....	set dresser

Sound Department
Leopoldo Rosi	....	sound

Visual Effects by
Enrico Catalucci	....	optical effects (as E. Catalucci)

Camera and Electrical Department
Gianlorenzo Battaglia	....	assistant camera (as Lorenzo Battaglia)
Armando Pietrangeli	....	still photographer
Emilio Varriano	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Roberto Ranucci	....	assistant costumes designer

Editorial Department
Liliana Serra	....	assistant editor

Other crew
Marisa Agostini	....	script supervisor
Franco Tupini	....	production secretary

Production Companies

• Produzioni Atlas Consorziate (P.A.C.)

Distributors

• Redemption Films (1994) (UK) (VHS)
• Image Entertainment (2001) (USA) (DVD)
• DMEG (2004) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Starz Home Entertainment (2007) (USA) (DVD) (as 'Anchor Bay Entertainment')

Also Known As:

"5 bambole per la luna d'agosto" - Italy (original title)
"5 Dolls for an August Moon" - USA (imdb display title), USA (DVD box title)

Runtime:

88 min | USA:78 min | France:90 min | UK:81 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Italy:VM18 | UK:18 | USA:Unrated

Filming Locations:

Anzio, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Produzioni Atlas Consorziate (P.A.C.)

Trivia:

Shot in only 19 days.

Quotes:

George Stark:I'm not a man of thought. I'm a man of action.

Movie Connections:

References La Dolce Vita (1960)

Soundtrack:

Ti Risveglierai Accanto a me

Obscure Bava Brought to Life

A small group of people come to an island to relax but soon find themselves trapped on the island with a murderer in their midst.

I love that the film features Tunisian-born Maurice Poli, who would go on to appear in Bava's "Baron Blood" and star in "Rabid Dogs". He has a such a good look about him, I would watch him in just about anything. (Unfortunately, it seems that he did not make any English-speaking films, so it may be harder for me to track his stuff down.)

Craig Butler called the movie "a confusing and not terribly exciting whodunit... the mundane, run-of-the-mill story and the only-adequate cast keep Dolls from being anything but a mediocre movie." I disagree. While it may not be much of a whodunit, I actually enjoyed the cast and thought it developed into much more than "mediocre".