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, who is the niece of the owner of the Catholic school where he... See full summary »

Director:

Massimo Dallamano

Writers:

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

Stars:

Fabio Testi, Karin Baal, Cristina Galbó

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fabio Testi	...	Enrico / Husband
Karin Baal	...	Herta / Wife
Cristina Galbó	...	Elizabeth / Enrico's student and lover (as Christine Galbo)
Joachim Fuchsberger	...	Barth / Inspector
Günther Stoll	...	Prof. Bascombe
Claudia Butenuth	...	Brenda / student
Camille Keaton	...	Solange
Maria Monti	...	Mrs. Erickson / Hilda's mother
Giancarlo Badessi	...	Mr. Erickson / Hilda's father
Pilar Castel	...	Janet / Student
Giovanna Di Bernardo	...	Helen / student
Vittorio Fanfoni	...	Enrico's friend
Marco Mariani	...	Father Webber / Teacher
Antonio Casale	...	Mr. Newton / Teacher (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, who is the niece of the owner of the Catholic school where he works and she studies. His estranged wife, Herta is the Music and German teacher. One day when Enrico and Elizabeth are in a boat in a grove, she sees a man hunting down a woman. Enrico believes she's making it up, but the next morning, he learns a teenager was murdered in the river bank in the grove. Inspector Barth goes to the school since the victim Hilda studied there and soon, Enrico is the prime suspect, though Elizabeth could give an him an alibi. When a second student's murdered, and then so is Elizabeth, Enrico decides to investigate, and teams up with Herta to find the of the mysterious Solange, but what might have happened to Solange?

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Plot Keywords:

serial killer | psycho killer | giallo | object in vagina | stabbed in vagina | 

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Genres:

Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy West Germany UK

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

May 1975 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Secret of the Green Pins

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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Quotes

Solange Beauregard: You're not going to hurt me now, are you, Tata?
Ruth Holden: If you do suffer a little, you'll deserve it. You others, hold her tight, understand? Keep the legs apart, huh? Now you just think about screwing and grit your teeth.

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Alternate Versions

The "uncut" DVD has some scenes in the still and artwork gallery that are not shown in that 2002 video release. These include: more nude shots of Elizabeth's body (Cristina Galbó); a scene of a topless Solange (Camille Keatton) being visited by the unidentified killer which is very crucial to the plot; the shower scenes are cropped so that the schoolgirls are only shown topless.

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Connections

Featured in What Have You Done to Decency? (2015)

User Reviews

One of the greatest ever!

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE? (1972): Enrico Rossini (Fabio Testi) is a married teacher involved in an affair with one of his students, Elizabeth (Christine Galbó). One afternoon in a park, while enjoying one of their amorous trysts, Elizabeth witnesses the murder of a young woman, a crime that her lover does not see. When the corpse of a student is found at the park, the teacher finally believes Elizabeth and decides to revisit the scene of the murder. More girls are killed and the police begin to suspect that Enrico is the murderer. In a desperate attempt to clear his name, Enrico turns detective and eventually discovers the secret of a young woman named Solange (Camille Keaton), whose shocking past is linked to both the killer's choice of victims and the gruesome manner in which he dispatches them. This solidly plotted and engrossing murder thriller is easily among the finest galls ever made. The conventional storyline is enlivened with genuinely surprising twists, strong characters and a shocking, unexpected ending. Slickly directed by Massimo Dallamano, and featuring striking cinematography by Aristide Massachessi (who, as Joe D'Amato, had a subsequent career as one of the most incompetent directors of all time), SOLANGE is an unusually well made and restrained Italian thriller. Excellent performances from Fabio Testi, Joachin Fuchsberger, Karin Baal and the beautiful Christine Galbo raise the movie's quality level even higher. A fine, moody Ennio Morricone score provides some necessary tension enhancement. If you've never seen a Gilli before, the film is a great starting point for anyone interested in taking an initial plunge into this fascinating genre.

The Shriek Show DVD is one of this small company's finest releases yet. The widescreen (1.85:1) transfer features gorgeous colors and sharp detailing, with only a few speckles, hair marks and some modest print damage. The movie itself is the real prize here as the extras are fairly skimpy: A poster and lobby card gallery is scored to the movie's main title theme and a nice 12 page booklet is provided with liner notes and quite a few stills. Finally, five trailers are included, for SOLANGE itself and some other related Shriek Show releases. Despite the lack of enticing extras, this is a worthy addition to any horror/suspense enthusiast's DVD library.