A Lizard in a Woman's Skin (1971)

A young woman is accused of murdering her debauched neighbor after dreaming it. Was she set up, or did she really do it?

Director:

Lucio Fulci

Writers:

Lucio Fulci (screenplay), Lucio Fulci (story)

Stars:

Florinda Bolkan, Stanley Baker, Jean Sorel

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Florinda Bolkan	...	Carol Hammond
Stanley Baker	...	Inspector Corvin
Jean Sorel	...	Frank Hammond
Silvia Monti	...	Deborah
Alberto de Mendoza	...	Sgt. Brandon
Penny Brown	...	Jenny (hippie girl)
Mike Kennedy	...	Hubert (hippie guy)
Ely Galleani	...	Joan Hammond (as Edy Gall)
George Rigaud	...	Dr. Kerr
Ezio Marano	...	Lowell (scientific squad)
Franco Balducci	...	McKenna
Luigi Antonio Guerra	...	Policeman
Erzsi Paál	...	Mrs. Gordon (as Ersi Pond)
Gaetano Imbró	...	Policeman
Leo Genn	...	Edmond Brighton

Storyline

Florinda Bolkan plays the daughter of a prominant English politician who keeps having recurring "nightmares" in which she makes love to a bisexual nympho who lives downstairs and conducts all-night LSD orgies. When the nocturnal wet dreams become murderous, the neighbor turns up dead, and Florinda is the main suspect. Did she actually commit the murder she dreamt about? Is she being framed by her philandering husband? Did Florinda actually make nightly visits downstairs aside from borrowing the occasional cup of sugar? How DID Florinda's letter opener end up stuck in the dead neighbor's chest anyway? The complex plot unfolds amidst red herrings, outlandish dream sequences, lesbian hanky panky, and ominous close-ups of Florinda Bolkan's guilt-ridden facial expressions every time someone mentions the murder. All this takes place in swinging late-1960's London.

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Plot Keywords:

dream | murder | bisexual | red herring | orgy | 

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Taglines:

WARNING! Not Recommended Viewing for Persons with Schizophrenic Tendencies!

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

Italy Spain France

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

20 March 1973 (USA)

Also Known As:

A Lizard in a Woman's Skin

Filming Locations:

Alexandra Palace, Alexandra Palace Way, Muswell Hill, London, England, UK

Box Office

Gross:

ESP 24,160,712 (Spain)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Apollo Films, Atlántida Films, Les Films Corona

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scene in which Carol encounters the disemboweled dogs in the clinic became quite controversial because of the startlingly realistic (and graphic) appearance of the fake prop dogs. Director Lucio Fulci was nearly sent to prison because it was believed that the dogs were real and Fulci had allowed animal cruelty on the film. However crew members were able to testify in court that the "dogs" were indeed fake and no animals had ever been harmed. Special effects artist Carlo Rambaldi even presented the dog props in court to convince the jury. This was the first time that an effects artist had to testify in court that their work was fake.

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Goofs

When people are taking pictures of Julia Durer's body, her eyebrow moves.

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Connections

Referenced in Paura: Lucio Fulci Remembered - Volume 1 (2008)

User Reviews

Fine Giallo

Carol Hammond(Florinda Balkan)lives in London and is the daughter of a very important Lawyer(Leo Genn), she is haunted by some very strange psychedelic dreams about her noisy and party loving neighbour, Julia Durer (Anita Strindberg),these dreams always contain drug fuelled sexual depravity ,and while she is seeing her Psychiatrist, she tells him of her latest dream in which she has Lesbian sex and then brutally murders Durer. Carol is reassured by her shrink that this is all quite normal, but when Durer is found murdered in exactly the same way as she described, Carol soon becomes the No1 suspect for Inspector Corvin(Stanley Baker),and when her fingerprints are found on the murder weapon and her fur coat found beside the body….well its cased closed?...or is it?....is Carol going mad or is she being set up?...Soon after being released on Police bail, Carol is hunted by some drugged up Hippies that she saw in her dream and soon people begin to die. Lizard is full of red herrings and endless plot possibilities, that adds to the mystery, its trippy psychedelic dream sequences fully capture the feel of the swinging sixties,add to that some gore as only Fulci can do and you have a fine Giallo….incidentally one particular gory scene involving dogs caused controversy at the time and Fulci had to prove in court on four occasions that the effects were fake. Lizard boasts an excellent cast, that also includes Jean Sorel as Carols husband but the film is Balkan's whose portrayal of a disturbed woman is excellent. Another Morricone score adds to the quality of the film….all in all a very interesting Giallo entry, that is very stylized and mystery driven.