L'assassino... è al telefono (1972)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Alberto De Martino

Writers:

Adriano Bolzoni (writer)
Alberto De Martino (writer)

Release Date:

17 April 1975 (Netherlands)

Genre:

Thriller | Horror

Plot:

A woman whose husband was murdered five years previously, is stalked by his killer, who wants to eliminate her as a potential witness...

Plot Keywords:

Murder | Amnesia | Actress | Nudity | Theater

Cast

Telly Savalas	...	Ranko Drasovic
Anne Heywood	...	Eleanor Loraine
Osvaldo Ruggieri	...	Thomas Brown
Giorgio Piazza	...	George
Willeke van Ammelrooy	...	Dorothy
Rossella Falk	...	Margaret Vervoort
Antonio Guidi	...	Dr Chandler
Roger Van Hool	...	Peter Vervoort
Ada Pometti	...	Nurse
Alessandro Perrella	...	Psychiatrist
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marc Audier
Piet Balfoort
Georges Bossair
Sandra L. Brennan
Suzy Falk
Leonardo Scavino	...	Killer
Serge-Henri Valcke

Also Known As:

Moordenaar aan de telefoon (Belgium: Flemish title)
Scenes from a Murder
The Killer Is on the Phone

Runtime:

Belgium:105 min | USA:92 min | West Germany:91 min

Country:

Italy | Belgium

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | Netherlands:16

Filming Locations:

Brugge, West-Vlaanderen, Belgium

Company:

Belga Films

Poor example of the Giallo

I'm a big fan of the Giallo sub-genre; so much so that I can often find things to like in even the worst of the genre. However, I'm really struggling for good things to say about this one! I often find that Giallo's which try to focus on a single character are the most disappointing, and the genre is best known for stylish and gory death scenes for a reason! The main problem with this film is undoubtedly that it's just too slow and boring, and the reason for that is simply that not enough interest is created in the lead character and her situation. The film focuses on a woman named Eleanor. Eleanor is suffering from amnesia. Her husband was murdered five years previously and she passed out at the sight of an imposing bald man named Ranko. She wakes from a coma and has blanked out the last five years of her life and doesn't recognise her new husband George. It also just happens that Eleanor is about to appear in a stage play, but ends up having to ask her sister to replace her. Eleanor continues to have nightmares about the mysterious Ranko...

Alberto De Martino is not one of the better known Italian directors, and judging by the films I've seen from him; I have to say I'm not really surprised about that (despite the excellent Formula for a Murder). The acting is not really up to much either, with British actress Anne Heywood failing to impress or inspire sympathy in the lead role, while Telly Savalas does not deliver the kind of performance that previous roles have shown he can deliver. The cinematography and locations used are both surprisingly bland, which is a shame. The film reminded me somewhat of Mario Bava's disappointing Lisa and the Devil (not just because both films feature Telly Savalas), although Bava's film has a lot more going for it than this one does. Music is often an important part of this type of film also and there have been many memorable scores written - again, however, you will not find one here. It all boils down to a dull finale and overall, unless like me you are a big fan of the genre and ultimately aiming to see every Giallo ever made; I would highly recommend giving this film a miss!