The Flower with the Deadly Sting (1973)

A wealthy doctor Andrea Valenti (Gianni Garko) accidentally kills his mistress, then the doctor falls victim of blackmail.

Director:

Gianfranco Piccioli

Writers:

Gianni Martucci (screenplay), Gianni Martucci (story)

Stars:

Gianni Garko, Carroll Baker, Ivano Staccioli

Cast

Cast overview:
Gianni Garko	...	Dr. Andrea Valenti
Carroll Baker	...	Evelyne Graffi
Ivano Staccioli	...	Ispettore Garrano
Pilar Velázquez	...	Lena
Paola Senatore	...	Daniela
Umberto Raho	...	Psychiatrist
Eleonora Morana	...	Female surgeon
Angelo Bassi
Giuseppe Mattei
Alessandro Perrella	...	First young surgeon
Alba Maiolini	...	Female porter

Storyline

A well known surgeon Andrea Valenti (Gianni Garko) accidentally kills his mistress with a metal sculpture of a flower, later he tries to cover-up his crime never realizing he's being watched by someone lurking, then he begins receiving menacing phone calls from an alleged witness. Who could it be behind the blackmail?

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Plot Keywords:

mistress | doctor | accidental murder | murder | dead woman | 

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Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

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Details

Country:

Italy Spain

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

13 November 1973 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Flower with the Deadly Sting

Filming Locations:

Incir De Paolis Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Parva Cinematografica,Producciones Cinematográficas D.I.A.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

User Reviews

Solid giallo movie with a few distinctive ideas

A surgeon kills a lover by accident when she is impaled by a steel petal from an elaborate sculpture during the course of a physical argument in his apartment. He dismembers and disposes of the body but soon a secret blackmailer starts sending him communications indicating a knowledge of his crime.

Everyone seems to have been sleeping with one and other at some time or other in this obscure Italian giallo. The plot-line, therefore, is quite convoluted like many of the films in this sub-genre. Another characteristic familiar to the genre is that none of the characters are particularly sympathetic with the lead character played by Gianni Garko being an especially unlikable misogynist. So, welcome to the wonderful world of giallo where everybody is amoral and there is no obligation from the film-makers to spoon feed the audience with any nice characters to empathise with!

This one is overall not one of the entries in the genre that follows the classic-style serial killer format and instead focuses on the psychology of the central character and the escalation of events off the back of a murder. We still nevertheless have pleasingly familiar elements such as absurd plot twists, abundant nudity and dark secrets of the past informing the present. It would probably also be fair to say that this one isn't as visually stylish as most, although it does have a couple of beautifully shot underwater sequences which bookend the film, the latter of which culminates with a pretty audacious lesbian love scene! In truth, the gorgeous and evocative underwater opening is so captivating it does mean that the subsequent story pales a little by direct comparison to it but its relevance is confirmed by the end scene; I would probably say that those two distinctive sequences constitute the highlight of the movie overall. The Flower with the Petals of Steel is ultimately another involving giallo. It isn't really an upper bracket entry in the genre or anything but it is a solid movie which will definitely appeal to seasoned fans of the genre.