THE TRAP SNAPS SHUT AT MIDNIGHT

Jerry Cotton (George Nader) goes into action!

THE TRAP SNAPS SHUT AT MIDNIGHT (aka Um Null Uhr schnappt die Halle zu/1966). Director: Harald Philipp.  

A small-time operator named Hatton (Gert Gunther Hoffmann) steals a truck and is alarmed to discover it is stuffed with vats of nitroglycerine. The cool blonde Maureen (Dominique Wilms of OSS 117 -- Panic in Bangkok) acts as go-between for him and big-time operator Larry Link (Horst Frank of Eye in the Labryinth), but Hatton isn't in the picture for long. Link contacts the authorities and threatens to use the nitro to blow up Manhattan if he isn't paid one million smackers. FBI agent Jerry Cotton (George Nader) and his partner Phil Decker (Heinz Weiss) are assigned to get the crooks and find the nitro -- before a summer heat wave causes it to explode! 

Dominique Wilms and George Nader

This is the third of the West German Jerry Cotton films starring George Nader, and as usual it's entertaining and well-played. The film is distinguished by two exciting action scenes: when Jerry masquerades as a window washer and nearly falls to the sidewalk far below; and a tense sequence on the Manhattan Bridge when Jerry has to fight off a thug and get rid of a bomb attached to one of the nitro canisters at one and the same time. The editing manages to blend Jerry and the other characters into the New York City exteriors quite well, and the irritating theme music is used sparingly for a change. 

Verdict: More than decent action film from West Germany. ***. 

EYE IN THE LABRYINTH

Rosemary Dexter and Michael Maien

EYE IN THE LABRYINTH (aka L'occhio nel labirinto/1972). Director: Mario Caiano. 

Julie (Rosemary Dexter) goes in search of her missing boyfriend, Lucas (Horst Frank of So Sweet ... So Perverse), a psychiatrist who went off for a weekend and never returned. With the assistance of an old goat named Frank (Adolfo Celi of Ten Little Indians), the trail leads her to the beautiful villa of Gerda (Alida Valli), who invites her to stay but denies knowledge of Lucas. Gerda has a much younger boyfriend named Louis (Michael Maien), as well as several house guests, including Toni (Sybil Danning) and trans woman Corrine (Peter Krause). But Julie not only discovers unsavory things about Lucas -- and indeed Gerda and her guests -- but there are indications that everyone is lying about Lucas and his whereabouts. When there is more than one attempt on Julie's life, she must again rely on Frank's help, but will she be able to fight off his advances? And if somebody murdered Lucas, who was it? 

Alida Valli

Eye in the Labryinth can be confusing, but everything in this twisty thriller comes together at the end. Unlike a lot of giallo films, this is not a slasher flick with a mad killer on the loose -- at least not in the typical sense, although there are a couple of homicides. The direction and production values are nothing special, the score is pretty bad, the acting is more than acceptable. Benjamin Lev makes an impression as Saro, a horny orphan boy who comes to a very bad end. Dexter was a Pakistani actress; Austrian-born Danning had a run as a "B" movie queen without ever breaking out into mainstream success. Alida Valli was the star of Hitchcock's Paradine Case, but her American career did not last long. 

Verdict: Imperfect but interesting Italian murder mystery. **3/4. 

SO SWEET ... SO PERVERSE

Jean-Louis Trintignant and Carroll Baker

SO SWEET ... SO PERVERSE (aka  Cosi dolce ,,, cosi perversa//1969). Director: Umberto Lenzi. 

Jean Reynard (Jean-Louis Trintignant) lives with his wife, Danielle (Erika Blanc), in a Paris apartment. Danielle has stopped sleeping with Jean, which necessitates his having affairs. Jean becomes intrigued with the woman, Nicole (Carroll Baker of The Fourth Victim), who has moved into the apartment upstairs, and learns that she is being dominated by a lover named Klaus (Horst Frank). It isn't long before one of these people is murdered, while the other three accuse the others of pretending this victim is still alive -- which may even be true ...

Jean-Louis Trintignant and Erika Blanc

So Sweet ... So Perverse is essentially a retread of Diabolique, with its own twists, including that one of the female characters has come to realize she is a lesbian. The actors use their real voices, but the over-dubbing makes their performances, especially Baker's, seem a little off. Erika Blanc decidedly gives the most impressive performance. An unintentionally hilarious moment occurs when the police insist on one character making an ID in the morgue, although the corpse has been described as "completely unrecognizable!" This is one of four movies that Carroll Baker did for director Umberto Lenzi: Knife of Ice; Paranoia, which was originally called Orgasmo; and A Quiet Place to Kill, which was originally called Paranoia! Go figure!

Verdict: Minor but absorbing suspense film -- and nominal giallo -- with some new twists on an old idea. **1/2.