What Have You Done to Solange? (1972)

In London, the Italian gym teacher Enrico 'Henry' Rosseni is having a love affair with his eighteen year-old student Elizabeth Seccles, who is the daughter of the owner of the Catholic ... See full summary »

Director:

Massimo Dallamano

Writers:

Bruno Di Geronimo (story), Massimo Dallamano (story)

Stars:

Fabio Testi, Cristina Galbó, Karin Baal

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fabio Testi	...	Enrico 'Henry' Rosseni
Cristina Galbó	...	Elizabeth Seccles (as Christine Galbo)
Karin Baal	...	Herta Rosseni
Joachim Fuchsberger	...	Inspector Barth
Günther Stoll	...	Prof. Bascombe
Claudia Butenuth	...	Brenda Pilchard
Camille Keaton	...	Solange Beauregard
Maria Monti	...	Mrs. Erickson
Giancarlo Badessi	...	Mr. Erickson
Pilar Castel	...	Janet Bryant
Giovanna Di Bernardo	...	Helen Edmonds
Vittorio Fanfoni	...	Enrico's friend
Marco Mariani	...	Father Webber
Antonio Casale	...	Mr. Newton (as Antony Vernon)
Emilia Wolkowicz	...	Ruth Holden (as Emilia Wolkowich)

Storyline

In London, the Italian gym teacher Enrico 'Henry' Rosseni is having a love affair with his eighteen year-old student Elizabeth Seccles, who is the daughter of the owner of the Catholic School where he works and she studies. His estranged wife Herta Rosseni is the mathematics teacher in the same school. On Sunday afternoon, Rosseni and Elizabeth are in a boat in a grove and the girl glances at a knife and a man hunting down a woman. Rosseni believes she is giving a pretext to avoid him and does not pay attention to her. On the next morning, Rosseni learns that a teenager was murdered in the river bank in the grove and he drives to the location. Inspector Barth goes to the school since the victim Hilda studied there and soon Rosseni becomes the prime suspect since he protects Elizabeth, who could give an alibi to him. When a second student is murdered, Elizabeth recalls that the killer where a black soutane worn by priests. While the police investigate the suspects, Elizabeth is killed ...

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Plot Keywords:

upskirt | panties pulled down | nude modeling | nipples visible through clothing | female pubic hair | 

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy West Germany

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

May 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

Terror in the Woods

Filming Locations:

8 Evelyn Gardens, Kensington, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Italian International Film,Clodio Cinematografica,Rialto Film Preben-Philipsen

Technical Specs

Runtime:

107 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mindful of the American aversion to dubbed foreign films, the production team decided that the shooting would be exclusively made in English language despite the accent of the actors. Consequently the English looping coincided so well with the lip movements of the actors that no one in the U.S. noticed the film was dubbed.

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Connections

Featured in First Action Hero (2006)

User Reviews

Superb Giallo-Masterpiece!

What a remarkable film! In spite of high expectations and entirely praising comments by fellow Horror fans, Massimo Dallamano's "Cosa Avete Fatto A Solange" aka. "What Have You Done To Solange" of 1972 was still capable of astonishing me with its brilliance. This complex and mesmerizing film delivers cinematic perfection in every aspect and stands out as one of the most ingenious Gialli ever made. I am an avid fan of Gialli, and this is an absolute must-see for every fan of this great (sub-)genre. "What Have You Done To Solange" is not only essential to those who share my enthusiasm for Italian Horror cinema, however. Be it the convoluted plot, the ingenious camera work, the brilliant score by Maestro Ennio Morricone or the constant, tantalizing suspense - there is not a single aspect that is not brilliant about this stunning film, that I highly recommend to any suspense-lover in general.

Henry Rossini (Fabio Testi), a married Italian teacher at a Catholic London private school for girls, has an affair with one of his students (Christina Galbó). When they are having a romantic boat-ride on the Thames, the girl suddenly yells that she has just seen a knife. Henry first laughs her claims off as hysteria, until the body of another girl, also one of his students is found right at the exact same spot the following day. It is not long until other murders of girls occur, all carried out in the same, horrid manner...

The film is not as gory as many other brilliant Gialli (such as Dario Argento's films), but the manner in which the murders are carried out is more than a bit nasty. The film has one of the most compelling plots ever in Horror cinema, and is stunningly suspenseful from the very beginning. The eerie atmosphere is even intensified by a brilliant and mesmerizing score by none other than the great Ennio Morricone. The brilliant cinematography was done by Joe D'Amato, the infamous 'king of sleaze' himself who shocked audiences in the 80s when he directed gruesome productions such as "Antropophagus" and "Buio Omega". The performances are also excellent. Fabio Testi, who is famous among fans of Italian genre-cinema, mainly for starring in crime and police flicks, stars in his most memorable role here. Karin Baal is excellent as his German wife, and Joachim Fuchsberger delivers a solid performance as the investigating police detective. Great performances also come from the sexy female cast, most memorably from Camille Keaton, who is best known for the infamous Exploitation shocker "I Spit On Your Grave" of 1978.

Like two other excellent Gialli (Argento's "Bird With The Crystal Plumage" and Lenzi's "Seven Blood-Stained Orchids") this was heavily cut and sold as an Edgar Wallace film in Germany. People in German speaking countries: Avoid the mutilated German version and get uncut international versions instead. This is brilliant suspense cinema at its finest and an uncut version is absolutely essential! I could go on praising this film forever, but instead I will end my review with a recommendation: Get "What Have You Done To Solange" as soon as you possibly can! It is easily one of the most compelling Gialli ever made and absolutely essential for every Horror-lover to see! 10/10