Carnal Circuit (1969)

A man hides his best friend from the hoods who are out to get him, and suffers a violent beating as a result. The friend is eventually killed nevertheless so the man tries to find answers.

Director:

Alberto De Martino

Writers:

Alberto De Martino (story), Vincenzo Mannino (story) (as Vincenzo Flamini)

Stars:

Dorothy Malone, Robert Hoffmann, Luciana Paluzzi

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Dorothy Malone	...	Vanessa Brighton
Robert Hoffmann	...	Paolo Sartori
Luciana Paluzzi	...	Mary Sullivan
Frank Wolff	...	Frank Donovan
John Ireland	...	Richard Salinger
Roger Fritz	...	Giulio Lamberti
Romina Power	...	Gloria Brighton
Nicoletta Machiavelli	...	Luisa Lamberti
Ini Assmann	...	Salinger's secretary
Rainer Basedow	...	Donovan's henchman (as Reiner Basedow)
Elena Persiani	...	Clelia
Mario Chiocchio
Rosemarie Lindt	...	Patty
Antonietta Fiorito

Storyline

Paolo, a journalist, has just arrived in Los Angeles from Italy for a new job when he is attacked by two men who want to know where his old childhood friend Giulio Lamberti is. When the two leave, Giulio shows up and tells that someone wants to kill him, that he has a diary and that the next day he will let him know everything. But the next day he dies in a car accident. Paolo begins to investigate, starting from his wife Luisa and discovers that Giulio was no longer the man he had known, idealistic and attached to the family. After being hired by International Chemical he had begun to lead a loose life, going so far as to blackmail some International Chemical executives when they wanted to fire him. Amidst a thousand difficulties, Paolo continues the investigation.

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Plot Keywords:

giallo | german giallo | poliziottesco | german poliziottesco | b movie | 

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Taglines:

Today's male and female cannibals at work and play!

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Actress Romina Power was 16 when she filmed her nude scene.

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Soundtracks

I Want it All
Written by Audrey Nohra - Bruno Nicolai
Performed by Lara Saint Paul

User Reviews

No great shakes, but definitely entertaining

An Italian journalist (Robert Hoffman) is roughed up by two hired thugs looking for his friend, who it turns out is hiding in his attic. A couple days later the friend dies in a fiery car accident, and the journalist suspects foul play. He goes to America where the friend had been working as a kind of celebrity spokesman for a sinister company called "International Chemical". With the help of an American journalist friend played by John Ireland (who hilariously restricts himself to checking out the guy's strip club connections), the protagonist begins to interview his friend's wife and various people he knew, worked with, and/or slept with in America in an effort to solve the mystery.

This film does indeed resemble the 1946 film noir "The Killers". But that film, in fact, owed a lot more to "Citizen Kane" with its multiple flashback puzzle-piece narrative structure than it did the original Hemingway story. This is thus kind of third rate "Citizen Kane" as much as a second rate "The Killers" , but it certainly has far more exploitative material (i.e. strip clubs, hippie orgies) than either of those two films. It also has an original and genuinely surprising ending.

Robert Hoffman was a pretty bland actor, but he is ably assisted here by a good supporting cast. Ireland is very good, as is Frank Wolff, who plays an effete homosexual corporate executive. Dorothy Malone and Romina Powers play a mother and daughter, both of whom the murdered friend was sexually involved with (Powers is surprisingly good here, considering this was the same actress who suffered the indignity of being supremely dissed by Jess Franco after she appeared in his film "Justine"). Former Bond girl Luciana Paluzzi plays a secretary who falls in love with both men. She's pretty good too(even if she's the only actress here who seems to have used a body double for her gratuitous nude scenes). Then there's Ini Assman, who really doesn't have much a part, but what a great name for European exploitation actress!

This is pretty much like all of the films of director Alberto DeMartino's that I've seen, it's no great shakes, but it's definitely entertaining.

Details

Country:

Italy West Germany

Language:

Italian English

Release Date:

14 August 1969 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Carnal Circuit

Filming Locations:

Cinecittà Studios, Cinecittà, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Corona, Empire Films, Hape-Film Company GmbH

Technical Specs

Runtime:

99 min 106 min (uncut)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)