Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971)

An American journalist temporarily stationed in Central Europe searches for his new girlfriend, who has suddenly disappeared.

Director:

Aldo Lado

Writers:

Aldo Lado, Rüdiger von Spies (additional dialogue) (as Ruediger von Spiehs)

Stars:

Ingrid Thulin, Jean Sorel, Mario Adorf

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ingrid Thulin	...	Jessica
Jean Sorel	...	Gregory Moore
Mario Adorf	...	Jacques Versain
Barbara Bach	...	Mira Svoboda
Fabijan Sovagovic	...	Professor Karting (as Fabian Sovagovic)
José Quaglio	...	Valinski
Relja Basic	...	Ivan
Piero Vida	...	Kommissar Kierkoff
Daniele Dublino	...	Doctor
Sven Lasta	...	Pravski - Blind Man
Luciano Catenacci	...	Morgue Employee
Michaela Martin	...	Girl with Jacques (as Micaela Martin)
Vjenceslav Kapural	...	Librarian
Jürgen Drews	...	Street Singer
Semka Sokolovic-Bertok	...	Nastassja - Gregory's Neighbor (as Semka Sokolovic)

Storyline

Greg Moore, an American journalist visiting Prague with his girlfriend Mira is found dead. However, he's actually only temporarily paralyzed, but the coroner fails to realize this and proceeds to prepare him for the autopsy. While Moore awaits his doom, he tries to recollect what has happened to him. It all starts when his girl disappears. He asks his friend, a local journalist, for help. They discover that this was just the latest in a series of disappearances of young pretty girls in the area. Their investigation leads them to a strange high profile private club, whose affluent members practice odd ritualistic orgies and bizarre dark rites.

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Plot Keywords:

female nudity | orgy | female frontal nudity | czech republic | sex party | 

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Taglines:

When things are not what they seem...

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Goofs

When blind man turns around while feeding the dogs to answer the question about music, he is already holding bread in his hand, over the fence. In the previous shot, he was just reaching for it.

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Quotes

Gregory Moore: [we hear his unspoken thoughts while he is waiting to be taken to the morgue] Dead? I'm dead? Can't be. I'm alive. Can't you tell I'm alive? I've got to make them see. You! Listen to me! Look at me! Can't you hear me? Maybe it's a nightmare. I'll try to wake up. I've got to move. Yeah, a finger. Ca' Can't! I must! Don't leave me like this. Help me! HELP ME!

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Connections

Referenced in The Spaghetti West (2005)

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Soundtracks

The Short Night of the Butterflies
Sung by Jürgen Drews

User Reviews

Tension till the last seconds

Hardly ever a movie got me clinging to my chair so much till literally the last seconds! "Malastrana" tells the story of a journalist (Jean Sorel) in Prague. He lies helplessly in a hospital and remembers in flashbacks how his girlfriend (young Barbara Bach) disappeared. Since the police was not helpful, he tried to find clues what has happened to her. Abduction, murder, or did she just run away?

In true giallo tradition, this is a movie about bizarre killings employing an eccentric visual style, dark and mysterious, but "Malastrana" is more than that. In a dialogue which was cut from the original German version (restored for the DVD release 2006), an old man bitterly sums up how the rich and powerful will always find somebody else to die for them, from the soldier on the battlefield to the... well, butterflies. You don't understand my last remark, I guess. You will when you watch this movie. Hush! No more.

Details

Country:

Italy West Germany Yugoslavia Czechoslovakia

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

30 May 1972 (West Germany)

Also Known As:

The Short Night of the Butterflies

Filming Locations:

Ljubljana, Slovenia

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dieter Geissler Filmproduktion, Doria G. Film, Dunhill Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technicolor) (Techniscope)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1