Passi di danza su una lama di rasoio (1973)

User Rating:

5.4/10   

Director:

Maurizio Pradeaux

Writers:

Alfonso Balcázar (writer)
Arpad DeRiso (writer)

Release Date:

5 January 1973 (Italy)

Genre:

Thriller | Horror

Plot Keywords:

Voyeur | Psycho Killer | Obsession | Trauma | Strangulation

Cast

Robert Hoffmann	...	Alberto Morosini
Nieves Navarro	...	Kitty (as Susan Scott)
George Martin	...	Inspector Merughi
Anuska Borova	...	Lidia Arrighi & Silvia Arrighi
Serafino Profumo
Simón Andreu	...	Marco
Anna Liberati	...	Secretary at dance academy
Rosita Torosh	...	Nina Ferretti
Cristina Tamborra	...	Magda Hopkins
Nerina Montagnani	...	Marta
Orlando Baralla	...	Generale
Gianni Pulone	...	Fireman (as Giovanni Pulone)
Sal Borgese	...	Asdrubale Magno
Rodolfo Lolli	...	Lolli - the Inspector's assistant
Carlo Carli

Also Known As:

Death Carries a Cane
Maniac at Large
Pasos de danza sobre el filo de una navaja (Spain)
The Tormenter
Trauma

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

Italy | Spain

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:16 (re-rating) (2008) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Norway:18 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Filming Locations:

Incir De Paolis Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company:

Balcázar Producciones Cinematográficas

Dance steps on a razor blade

"Passi di danza su una lama di rasoio" (Death carries a cane) is not what one would call a plot-driven film (like "My dear killer", for instance, with its very intricate plot). Anyway, "Death carries a cane" tells a story that managed to keep my attention till the end, but the highlights of the film are the images and the soundtrack.

I think of cinema as a conjunction of images, sounds and words used to tell a story. In this way a film can reach dimensions far beyond the reach of literature - the images/sounds should not be just servants of the words (or story), they should also be active agents in the film. From the sixties onward, under the influence of the nouvelle vague, the camera became much freer. Godard was one of the icons of that era - his creative use of images, music, lighting and words, was a shining light for many filmmakers that came after.

In "Death carries a cane" one can feel this freedom of creation. The story is simple enough: Kitty (Susan Scott), a fashion photographer, witnesses a murder. She sees indistinctly through a telescope a man all dressed in black, crowned with a black hat (typical giallo!) stabbing a girl to death. She warns the police but no one takes her seriously - Kitty didn't know where exactly the killing had taken place, and where was the body? The body is at last found and the investigations begin. More killings occur and with each killing the killer seems to be getting nearer Kitty...

"Death carries a cane" offers everything one can expect from a giallo - intelligent cameras, lighting and editing, pretty women and sensuality galore. And one can say that Maurizio Pradeaux has learnt his Argento. The staging of the killings is creatively done - sounds, cameras, soundtrack and lighting are effectively used to create a suspenseful atmosphere. Many red herrings are thrown around to confuse the viewer and enhance the fun.

There are many pretty women: "Scream Queen" Susan Scott (Nieves Navarro), Anuska Borova (playing two different roles!), Cristina Tamborra etc...

This is a hard-to-find film, but years ago "Death carries a cane" was released in Germany under the title "Die Nacht der rollenden Köpfe" with audio versions in English and German. As a matter of fact "Die Nacht der rollenden Köpfe" was rereleased this year (2008), but unfortunately only in the German version.