| Daria Nicolodi | ... | Clara / Venus | |
| Marc Porel | ... | Matthew | |
| Fausto Di Bella | ... | Alfonso De Payhorrade | |
| Adriana Innocenti | ... | Mrs. De Peyhorrade | |
| Diana De Curtis | ... | Maria | |
| Francesco Di Federico | ... | Guide | |
| Mario Maranzana | ... | Mr. De Peyhorrade | |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Massimo Pittarello | ... | Capo dei giocatori di pelota | |
| Fabrizio Bava | ... | Little Boy at wedding (uncredited) | |
| Franca Scagnetti | ... | Wedding breakfast's guest (uncredited) | |
Directed by | |||
| Lamberto Bava | |||
| Mario Bava | |||
Writing credits(in alphabetical order) | ||
| Lamberto Bava | screenplay | |
| Cesare Garboli | screenplay | |
| Prosper Mérimée | novel | |
Produced by | |||
| Franca Franco | .... | producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| Ubaldo Continiello | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Sebastiano Celeste | (as Nino Celeste) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| Fernanda Papa | |||
Production Design by | |||
| Alessandro Dell'Orco | |||
Art Direction by | |||
| Alessandro Dell'Orco | |||
Set Decoration by | |||
| Alessandro Dello'Orco | |||
Costume Design by | |||
| Sandro Bellomia | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| Corrado Cristofori | .... | hair stylist | |
| Massimo Giustini | .... | makeup artist | |
Production Management | |||
| Massimo Alberini | .... | production manager | |
| Gianni Federici | .... | production manager | |
| Bruno Ricci | .... | production supervisor | |
Sound Department | |||
| Pierangelo Civera | .... | dubbing director | |
| Raffaele De Luca | .... | sound | |
| Adriano Taloni | .... | sound mixer | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| Fabio Conversi | .... | assistant camera | |
Other crew | |||
| Nino Lembo | .... | jewellery | |
| Rossana Rocchi | .... | continuity | |
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| The Good Earth | The Barefoot Contessa | Il fiore delle mille e una notte | Gone with the Wind | Tre fratelli |
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| Full cast and crew | Company credits | IMDb Drama section |
| IMDb Italy section | Add this title to MyMovies |
I came upon this by chance on late-night Italian TV; it was shown unannounced following a screening of the director's HATCHET FOR THE HONEYMOON (1970)! This rarely-seen (and, consequently, legendary) TV production emerges as a more fitting swan-song for Bava than his last disappointing feature film, SHOCK (1977)!
As in that title, the female lead is played by Dario Argento muse Daria Nicolodi who, while no great beauty, is very well-cast here as the lookalike/reincarnation of a Greek goddess/femme fatale. On the other hand, in the role of the narrative's cultured yet bewildered hero appears Lucio Fulci alumnus Marc Porel who, interestingly, bears an uncanny resemblance to latter-day Hammer Films star Ralph Bates! Similarly, the compactly-told supernatural tale (from Prosper Merimee' and filmed three more times in 1922, 1962 and 1980!) feels like one of Hammer's TV episodes: it was, in fact, part of a horror series (all of them with a period setting) entitled THE DEVIL'S GAMES though Bava's involvement here, naturally, guarantees a more subtly artistic approach. While somewhat talky and languidly-paced, the meticulousness of its detail and the inclusion of a couple of classic Bava moments (the sudden appearance of the statue's reflection in a window and the eerie, intense climax) makes the film a more than suitable follow-up to the director's earlier gothics THE WHIP AND THE BODY (1963) and KILL, BABY KILL! (1966).
In conclusion, I'd certainly be interested in checking out other episodes in this rather obscure series not to mention Bava's other made-for-TV effort, the "Polifemo" episode from the mini-series THE ODYSSEY (1968; which was actually broadcast some years back on early Saturday mornings). As for co-director Lamberto (son and former assistant of the Euro-Cult master), I haven't been at all impressed with what little I've caught of his stand-alone work though, with four more titles from him that I have lined-up, I'll do better to reserve a more objective judgment for a later date...