The Night Caller (1975)
"Peur sur la ville" (original title)

Commissaire Letellier and Inspector Moissac are tracking Minos, a serial killer whose victims are women.

Director:

Henri Verneuil

Writers:

Jean Laborde (dialogue), Francis Veber (dialogue),

Stars:

Jean-Paul Belmondo, Charles Denner, Adalberto Maria Merli

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean-Paul Belmondo	...	Le commissaire Jean Letellier
Charles Denner	...	L'inspecteur Moissac
Adalberto Maria Merli	...	Pierre Valdeck / Minos
Rosy Varte	...	Germaine Doizon
Roland Dubillard	...	Le psychologue
Jean Martin	...	Le commissaire divisionnaire, Sabin
Catherine Morin	...	Hélène Grammont
Germana Carnacina	...	Pamela Sweet
Giovanni Cianfriglia	...	Marcucci
Henry Djanik	...	Un inspecteur de police
Louis Samier
Jacques Paoli	...	Lui-même
Jean-Louis Fortuit
Gilberte Géniat
Philippe Brigaud

Storyline

A serial killer frightens Paris by phoning young ladies at night, telling them insults about their lives. Minos, as he calls himself, wants to prevent the world from free women and so he targets them. Commissaire Letellier is given the investigation and has a hard time with the maniac.

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Plot Keywords:

serial killer | heart attack | dante's inferno | recorded voice | pursuit | 

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Genres:

Action | Thriller | Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

France Italy

Language:

French

Release Date:

9 April 1975 (France)

Also Known As:

Fear Over the City

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Gross:

SEK 644,015 (Sweden)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cerito Films, Mondial Televisione Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min 90 min (cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Was released in the UK (as "The Night Caller") as the supporting film in a double bill with White Line Fever (1975).

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Goofs

When Minos visits the police station in order to talk to Letellier, two healthy eyes can be seen behind his sunglasses.

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Connections

Referenced in Scream (1996)

User Reviews

Prototypical serial-killer thriller.

"Fear Over The City" is one of those films that invented what later became known as the clichés of the "serial-killer thriller" subgenre. It's all here: the mad killer who fancies himself a moral avenger, the "Freudian" explanations of his behavior, the threatening phone calls to the potential victims and the taunting ones to the police, the hostage situation at the end, etc. The structure of the film is almost experimental, with a chase sequence in the middle that goes on for about 30 minutes, and an entire subplot (about a bank robber who killed Belmondo's previous partner) that is little more than a mere distraction. Belmondo is good as the cynical, hard-as-nails cop, and yes, he does perform some stunts in this movie that are worthy of Jackie Chan at his finest. He has some great moments of black humor, too ("his heart really IS bleeding!") (**1/2)