Blood and Black Lace (1964)

A masked, shadowy killer brutally murders the models of a scandalous fashion house in Rome.

Director:

Mario Bava

Writers:

Marcello Fondato (story and screenplay), Giuseppe Barilla (collaboration)

Stars:

Cameron Mitchell, Eva Bartok, Thomas Reiner

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Cameron Mitchell	...	Massimo Morlacchi
Eva Bartok	...	Contessa Cristiana Cuomo
Thomas Reiner	...	Ispettore Silvestri
Arianna Gorini	...	Nicole
Dante DiPaolo	...	Franco Scalo (as Dante Di Paolo)
Mary Arden	...	Peggy Peyton
Franco Ressel	...	Marchese Riccardo Morelli
Claude Dantes	...	Tao-Li
Luciano Pigozzi	...	Cesare Lazzarini
Lea Lander	...	Greta (as Lea Krugher)
Massimo Righi	...	Marco
Francesca Ungaro	...	Isabella
Giuliano Raffaelli	...	Zanchin
Harriet Medin	...	Clarissa (as Hariette White Medin)
Mary Carmen	...	Model (as Mara Carmosino)

Storyline

Isabella, a young model is murdered by a mysterious masked figure at a boarding house run by Max Morlan and his lover Countess Christina Como. When Isabella's boyfriend is suspected of the killing, her diary, which apparently has some incriminating evidence linking her to the killer, disappears, the masked killer begins killing off all the models in and around the house to find the diary.

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Plot Keywords:

giallo | psycho sexual | multiple homicide | pair of killers | betrayed by boyfriend | 

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Taglines:

8 Most Chilling SHOCKS You've Ever Seen!

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actress Mary Arden wrote most of the English dialog for the film. The film was dubbed into English for overseas marketing.

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Goofs

When the first "dead" body is discovered in the wardrobe, there's a closeup of her head and shoulders and you can see her pulse beating in her neck.

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Quotes

Inspector Sylvester: Perhaps the sight of beauty makes him lose control of himself, so he kills.

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Alternate Versions

UK cinema and early video versions were cut by the BBFC to heavily edit the violence in the murder scenes including a woman being battered against a tree trunk, the bathtub killing, the gauntlet murder and shots of Peggy being held against a hot stove. The UK censor cuts were restored in the 2000 Nouveaux video release though the film was missing an overhead shot of blood flowing in the bathtub water.

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Connections

Referenced in Deep Red (1975)

User Reviews

Cinematic masterpiece.......Oh Yeah Baby

A Fashion House is being plagued by a mysterious masked serial killer who is picking the girls off one by one in a variety of gruesome ways…Why this Maniac is killing these girls is academic to the plot, as this film is STYLE driven and what style it is too…..we are of course as in any good thriller suspicious of everyone…Is the Killer a Man a Woman or is there more than one Killer….Bava takes great pleasure in teasing us into believing all of these at some stage……This is the Third film in my indoctrination into Mario Bava and it is again no disappointment…..Bava's use of light and shadow and of mirrors and reflection is stunning and never has colour been used so brilliantly and not just gaudy reds blues purples yellows but subtle use of pastels too……The fashion scene is perfect for Bava's visual flair with its very beautiful models and Haute Couture and both are given sublime treatment…….The score is also very memorable and reminiscent of Henry Mancini at his best……The killer bears an uncanny resemblance to Freddie Krueger only much better…..now don't tell me he wasn't an influence on the makers of Nightmare on elm street…..Even though this was dubbed it has one of the best dubbings I have seen and is not intrusive on the film…. You know some times you hear of certain directors or films that are just Brilliant Magnificent or Unmissable and How often have you been disappointed and wondered what the fuss was all about....Mario Bava is not in that category....He is a master of style and cinema.....To tell you I was dumbfounded by the films I have seen so far is an understatement....I was expecting cheap nasty gory and under-produced films that had some charm..... but what I got is one of the greatest and most sumptuous of Cinematic experiences....The Man truly is a Cinematic God...He is the Orson Welles of Horror and that means a lot coming from me……this film is Simply Wonderful

Details

Country:

Italy France West Germany

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

7 April 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Blood and Black Lace

Filming Locations:

Villa Sciarra, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Box Office

Budget:

ITL141,755,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Emmepi Cinematografica, Les Productions Georges de Beauregard, Monachia Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

88 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor) (Technicolor: US prints)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1