A man is strangled by a transvestite prostitute in his home.
A woman is killed on a bus by a man holding a wrench.
The only thing that ties these crimes together is an illustration from a children's book by the name of Der Struwwelpete.
Inspector Gaspare Lomenzo (Michele Placido) is on the case, reporting to higher ups played by Tom Skerritt and Eli Wallach. By sheer luck, he meets Jeanna (Corinne Cléry), who witnessed the death of a sex worker that may be part of this case. She was also at a party being held by a group called Wildlife's Friends - led by Hoffmann (John Steiner) - that hired a prostitute for one of their events and had to kill her after she learned that it was all a front for diamond smuggling. Now, one by one, members of this group - also a front for swinging, not just gems - are being killed off.
This also has a filthy cartoon by Gibba in the middle of all this, as well as the idea that perhaps Loemnzo shouldn't trust anyone, as Jeanna is a total noir character and the remaining members of the club contact Wallace for protection. And hey - didn't Heinrich Hoffmann write and draw Der Struwwelpete?
Director Paolo Cavara may be best-known for working with Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco E. Prosperi to create Mondo Cane, but he's not as celebrated as he should be for making two great giallo - this movie and one of the meanest in the entire genre, Black Belly of the Tarantula. He also wrote the script with Bernardino Zapponi (who wrote seven movies for Fellini and co-wrote Deep Red) and Enrico Oldoini.
A woman is killed on a bus by a man holding a wrench.
The only thing that ties these crimes together is an illustration from a children's book by the name of Der Struwwelpete.
Inspector Gaspare Lomenzo (Michele Placido) is on the case, reporting to higher ups played by Tom Skerritt and Eli Wallach. By sheer luck, he meets Jeanna (Corinne Cléry), who witnessed the death of a sex worker that may be part of this case. She was also at a party being held by a group called Wildlife's Friends - led by Hoffmann (John Steiner) - that hired a prostitute for one of their events and had to kill her after she learned that it was all a front for diamond smuggling. Now, one by one, members of this group - also a front for swinging, not just gems - are being killed off.
This also has a filthy cartoon by Gibba in the middle of all this, as well as the idea that perhaps Loemnzo shouldn't trust anyone, as Jeanna is a total noir character and the remaining members of the club contact Wallace for protection. And hey - didn't Heinrich Hoffmann write and draw Der Struwwelpete?
Director Paolo Cavara may be best-known for working with Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco E. Prosperi to create Mondo Cane, but he's not as celebrated as he should be for making two great giallo - this movie and one of the meanest in the entire genre, Black Belly of the Tarantula. He also wrote the script with Bernardino Zapponi (who wrote seven movies for Fellini and co-wrote Deep Red) and Enrico Oldoini.