Death Walks on High Heels (1971) La morte cammina con i tacchi alti (original title)

Director:

Luciano Ercoli

Writers:

Ernesto Gastaldi (screenplay)
Ernesto Gastaldi (story)
(more)

Release Date:

19 November 1971 (Italy)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Plot:

A famed jewel thief named Rochard is slashed to death on a train. His daughter Nicole, a famous nightclub performer in Paris...

Plot Keywords:

Masked Man | Killer | Death | Train | Stolen Diamond

Cast

Frank Wolff	...	Dr. Robert Matthews
Nieves Navarro	...	Nicole Rochard (as Susan Scott)
Simón Andreu	...	Michel Aumont (as Simon Andreu)
Carlo Gentili	...	Inspector Baxter
George Rigaud	...	Captain Lenny
José Manuel Martín	...	Smith (as J. Manuel Martin)
Fabrizio Moresco	...	Bergson
Luciano Rossi	...	Hallory
Claudie Lange	...	Vanessa Matthews
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Osvaldo Genazzani	...	Jack (uncredited)
Manuel Muñiz	...	Philip (uncredited)
Rachela Pamenti	...	Peggy (uncredited)

Directed by
Luciano Ercoli

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Ernesto Gastaldi		screenplay
Ernesto Gastaldi		story
Mahnahén Velasco		screenplay
Mahnahén Velasco		story
Manuel Velasco
Dino Verde

Produced by
José Frade	....	producer

Original Music by
Stelvio Cipriani

Cinematography by
Fernando Arribas

Film Editing by
Angelo Curi

Art Direction by
Osanna Guardini

Set Decoration by
Juan Alberto Soler		(as Juan Alberto)

Costume Design by
Osanna Guardini

Makeup Department
Franco Di Girolamo	....	makeup artist

Special Effects by
Antonio Molina	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Alessandro D'Eva	....	director of photography: second unit

Music Department
Luca di Silverio	....	soundtrack album producer

Production Companies

• Atlántida Films
• Cinecompany

Distributors

• Atlántida Films (Spain)
• NoShame Films (2006) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Digitmovies Alternative Entertainment  soundtrack

Also Known As:

"La morte cammina con i tacchi alti" - Italy (original title)

Runtime:

Italy:105 min | Spain:98 min

Country:

Italy | Spain

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Filming Locations:

Costa Brava, Girona, Cataluña, Spain

Company:

Atlántida Films

Trivia:

70mm blow-up version released in Spain.

Great giallo, highly recommended

A jewel thief is killed on a train by a man with piercing blue eyes. His daughter, a Paris stripper, believes the killer is after her, and after finding blue contact lenses in the medicine cabinet of her thuggish pimp-boyfriend, she flees France with a rich admirer she hardly knows to his villa a remote Scottish fishing village (where it isn't just the water that's full of red herrings).

This is a great giallo with a very convoluted but highly enjoyable plot and plenty of style to burn. The setting is pretty unique and the movie makes the unusual but interesting decision of killing off an important character halfway through. It does run out of gas a little at the end, but it's still pretty damn satisfying. The leads are all good, especially the sexy Nieves Navarro, director Luciano Ercoli's real-life wife. Navarro turned in really good performances in her husband's other movies ("Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion" and "Death Walks at Midnight")and was scrumptious bit of tail in everybody else's ("The Slasher is a Sex Maniac", "Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals"). Here she is really good AND a scrumptious bit of tail. She was probably the hottest Spanish actress of the era with the exception of Soledad Miranda (who was a good ten years younger). But I digress. The new DVD version of this looks great and includes "Death Walks at Midnight", an interesting booklet, and a groovy soundtrack CD. Highly recommended