NAKED GIRL MURDERED IN THE PARK

Robert Hoffman and Irina Demick

NAKED GIRL MURDERED IN THE PARK (aka Raga tutta nuda assassinata nel parco/1972). Director: Alfonso Brescia. 

A man named Wallenberger is found dead coming out of the Tunnel of Terrors in an amusement park in Madrid. Insurance investigator Chris Buyer (Robert Hoffman) is assigned to the case to see if he can save the company from a million dollar pay-out. To that end, the handsome fellow romances Wallenberg's daughter, Catherine (Pilar Velazquez of A White Dress for Mariale), then winds up at her estate, where he also sleeps with her sister, Barbara (Patrizia Adiutori), and almost gets it on with their mother, Magda (Irina Demick). Inspector Huber (Adolfo Celi of Who Saw Her Die?) is also on the case, especially when more murders begin to occur. Other characters and suspects include waitress Kirsty (Teresa Gimpera of The Night of the Scorpion), Chris' co-worker Martin (Philippe Leroy of The Possessed) and the rugged and mute stable boy, Gunther (Howard Ross of The Killer Reserved Nine Seats). 

Demick with Adolfo Celi

At one point in this sometimes confusing Italian murder mystery, there is indeed a dead nude woman, although she isn't found in the park. Naked Girl sets up some intriguing situations, even if it doesn't always milk them for all that their worth. Austrian-born Hoffmann makes a cool insurance investigator and unrepentant lover boy, and the ladies are all attractive and competent. The best thing about the modestly suspenseful film, which hasn't much style, is a clever final twist. A nominal giallo film. 

Verdict: Interesting if highly imperfect Italian thriller. **3/4. 

A WHITE DRESS FOR MARIALE

Ida Galli and Ivan Rassimov

A WHITE DRESS FOR MARIALE (aka Un bianco vestito per Mariale/1972). Director: Romano Scavolini.

Paolo (Luigi Pistilli), who lives in a cluttered castle on an isolated estate, is married to the emotionally-disturbed Mariale (Ida Galli). Unbeknownst to her husband, she has invited several of their friends to their home. These include Massimo (Ivan Rassimov of The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardj), Mercedes (Pilar Velazquez), Sebastiano (Ezio Marano), Jo (Giancarlo Bonuglia), Semy (Shawn Robinson), and her rather racist boyfriend Gustavo (Edilio Kim). As the evening proceeds the guests indulge in fun and games, dressing up in costumes they find in the basement. After an hour -- yes an hour -- of what mostly amounts to sheer tedium, at last there is a murder (and the almost obligatory lesbian love scene), after which virtually the entire cast is violently dispatched. Is the killer Mariale or Paolo? Who do you think? (The sinister butler, Osvaldo, played by Gengher Gatti, is one of the first to go.)

Luigi Pistilli

I would not be surprised if the ugly estate featured in this movie came first, with a script being hastily built around the location. Poor Luigi Pistilli [Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key], who was a serious theater actor in addition to being in several of these giallo films, has little choice but to wander around the castle in a state of bored ennui, just waiting for the damn thing to be over -- like the audience. One sequence shows an apparent wind storm that somehow manages to occur in the basement, but even this doesn't stay very interesting for long. There is absolutely no elan to the many murder sequences, and the whole thing has a disjointed, cheapjack ambiance to it. 

Verdict: Simply terrible giallo. *.