The Iguana with the Tongue of Fire (1971)
"L'iguana dalla lingua di fuoco" (original title)

In Dublin, a young woman is brutally murdered in her home by a maniac that throws acid in her face and then slits her throat with a razor. Her mangled body is later discovered in the boot ... See full summary »

Director:

Riccardo Freda

Writers:

Sandro Continenza (screenplay), Riccardo Freda (screenplay),

Stars:

Luigi Pistilli, Dagmar Lassander, Anton Diffring

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Luigi Pistilli	...	Detective John Norton
Dagmar Lassander	...	Helen Sobiesky
Anton Diffring	...	Ambassador Sobiesky
Arthur O'Sullivan	...	Inspector Lawrence
Werner Pochath	...	Marc Sobiesky
Dominique Boschero	...	The Ambassador's mistress
Renato Romano	...	Mandel
Sergio Doria	...	Walter
Ruth Durley
Valentina Cortese	...	Mrs. Sobiesky

Storyline

In Dublin, a young woman is brutally murdered in her home by a maniac that throws acid in her face and then slits her throat with a razor. Her mangled body is later discovered in the boot of a limousine owned by the Swiss Ambassador Sobiesky. The Ambassador, who was the dead woman's lover, refuses to cooperate with the police due to his diplomatic immunity. John Norton, an ex-cop famed for his brutal working methods, is brought in to help and gets too deeply involved when he stars an affair with the Ambassador's beautiful step-daughter, Helen. Meanwhile, the brutal killings continue...

---

Plot Keywords:

ambassador | maniac | dead woman | diplomatic immunity | acid | 

---

Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

---

Details

Country:

Italy France West Germany

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

24 August 1971 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Die Bestie mit dem feurigen Atem

Filming Locations:

Dublin, County Dublin, Ireland

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films Corona, Oceania Produzioni Internazionali Cinematografiche, Terra-Filmkunst

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the German Co-Producer Artur Brauner saw the finished film, he decided to skip a theatrical release in Germany, just due to the quality of the film which he wasn't satisfied with.

User Reviews

Dissapointng Giallo

The Swiss ambassador to Dublin, Ambassador Sobiesky (Anton Diffring) is shocked to find a dead naked body of a girl in the trunk of his car, her face distorted from the acid the killer uses, despite this the identity of the girl is forthcoming and the police find that she was a dutch national, which was where the Ambassador had his previous post. the local police suspicious of this their only clue, have to tread carefully because of his diplomatic immunity and send a Detective John Norton (Luigi Pistilli) known as "the brute" in undercover to find out the truth. Norton is a man haunted by his past, because he let a man in custody steal his gun, the result of which was a bloody suicide, his reputation in tatters, this is an opportunity for some glory…maybe? He soon befriends the daughter Helen (Dagmar |Lassander) of the ambassador in order to find out the truth. Strangely set in my home town, it brought back many memories of my childhood, some scenes even shot 2 minutes from my childhood home, despite this obvious plus side the film is just a tad boring and lacking in thrills, it does have some gory moments that are rather fake looking, the cast is fine and Pistilli excepted they are never really allowed to shine and I must say I found it rather off putting to see the usually intense Pistilli talking with a a stagey Oirish brogue. There are also a few suspicious minor characters that are never explained. Despite this there are some positives, Norton's mother a keen detective/mystery fiction fan who is keen to provide her son with her notion of who the killer is, provides some light relief as in some ways her ideas are more successful than her sons. Stelvio Cipriani's nice score seems very familiar, again I believe this may have been reworked in later work of his, in either Death walks on high heels or perhaps What have they done to your daughters?. There is also a rather downbeat ending, a sting in the tail so to speak but its rushed a little by Freda and if you're not paying attention you might even miss it.