Omicidio per appuntamento (1967) User Reviews

Unknown but very adequate Italian crime/thriller

[Coventry · 6/10 · 8 July 2006]

Since this is the very first user-comment submitted for "Date for a Murder", I was really hoping to enlighten all you readers about another totally forgotten and fascinating Italian cult film from the late 60's! Sadly, it didn't turn out to be the undiscovered gem that I was desiring to see (with the recent popularity towards for Italian cinema, I assume all the greatest films have already been identified), yet it's nonetheless an interesting crime/thriller with some raw action sequences and a fairly compelling plot. Two American friends coincidentally meet each other in the Italian countryside and agree to get back together again a couple of days later in Rome, after they both settled some private affairs. When one of them doesn't show up, the other one gets concerned and fears that something suspicious happened. He investigates the case himself and it doesn't take long before he's entangled in a network of industrial espionage, blackmail and even cold-blooded murder. The story, especially towards the finale, is rather predictable and the obligatory love-story is completely pointless. The heroic duo (the American and a local police commissioner) are likable characters and all the villains look effectively menacing, most notably the creepy guy in motorized wheelchair! To finish up, the film contains several beautiful images of Rome, the soundtrack is exciting and the action scenes (on rooftops, on remote highways, in dark alleys, ...) are well choreographed. "Date for a Murder" was written by Fernando Di Leo – who's really an expert in the genre – but perhaps it also needed a famous and experienced director to make it more memorable. Someone like Umerto Lenzi ("Violent Naples", "Almost Human"), Ruggero Deodato ("Live like a Cop, die like a Man") or Enzo G. Castellari ("Street Law", "The Big Rocket").

Poor Eurospy entry

[gridoon2024 · 3/10 · 15 April 2012]

What a mess! "Date For A Murder" could have been a decent Eurospy (it is shot in and around Rome, and the lead, George Ardisson, had already had genre experience), but it's very badly directed by Mino Guerrini, who seems to have assembled the scenes out of order! As a result, the story is difficult to follow right from the start, and we have to put up with his amateurish camera tricks, as well (think Jess Franco at his worst). Halina Zalewska, as the spoiled daughter of a millionaire, tries to inject some spunk into the dead proceedings, but it's a lost cause. Apart from her few scenes, the only other thing I'll probably remember out of this film is a bad guy's motor-wheelchair! * out of 4.