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. 

THE FOX WITH THE VELVET TAIL

Husband (Kendall), wife (Gade), lover (Sorel)

THE FOX WITH THE VELVET TAIL (aka In the Eye of the Hurricane/1971). Director: Jose Maria Forque. 

Wealthy Ruth (Analia Gade of The Murder Mansion) is bored with her husband, Miguel (Tony Kendall of Kommissar X: Kill Panther Kill), and tells him she's filing for divorce. She takes off for her gorgeous summer place with her equally attractive new boyfriend, Paul (Jean Sorel of Paranoia). Things are going great for the couple until Ruth nearly dies in a couple of accidents, and then Miguel shows up. She wonders if Miguel was somehow responsible for her near-death incidents, but Paul poo poos. A beautiful woman named Danielle (Rosanna Yanni) observes everything from a distance, and then Ruth overhears the two men in her life having a very strange conversation ... 

Jean Sorel

Bolstered by beautiful locations and some adept players, as well as a stylish and romantic aura, The Fox with the Velvet Tail is an intriguing if basically bloodless suspense tale. Analia Gade offers a comparatively perfunctory performance, but the two men are better, and the whole production is smooth and well-paced. The scene when Ruth's brakes fail is thrilling, and a completely silent attempted murder scene late in the picture is very well-shot and edited. Of course, as in most of these movies, there is a slight touch of lesbianism. Viewers expecting a gory giallo film will have to look elsewhere, but this somehow works despite the lack of gruesome killings. 

Verdict: Sorel makes a convincing lover boy. ***. 

THE MURDER MANSION

THE MURDER MANSION (aka La mansion de la niebla/1972). Director: Francisco Lara Polop. 

Hitchhiker Laura (Lisa Leonardi) is first picked up by Porter (Franco Fantasia of Kommissar X: Kill Panther Kill), who can't keep his hands to himself, and then given a motorcycle lift by Fred (Andres Resino). As they travel to Milan on a foggy night, they are nearly run off the road by a Mercedes with two occupants. Traveling the same dark byway are Elsa (Analia Gade), whose husband Ernest (Alberto Dalbes) is off with his mistress, Ellen (Ingrid Garbo); and Elsa's friends Mr. and Mrs. Tremont (Eduardo Fajardo and Yelena Samarina). Most of this bunch wind up in a secluded mansion near a cemetery which is owned by hostess Martha (Ida Galli of A White Dress for Mariale). Martha tells the assemblage a tale about how 12 people were murdered in one night in the mansion by vampires, which may include her Aunt and the old lady's chauffeur (Jose Luis Velasco), both of whom died decades before and supposedly haunt the graveyard. As everyone decides to spend the night despite the absence of electricity, Fred decides to explore the basement level of the building, determined to figure out if there are supernatural elements at play or not. Before he arrives at the solution, there is more than one death. 

In the basement crypt: Andres Resino and Lisa Leonardi

The Murder Mansion is a weird one. Its greatest strength is its unpredictability, although after awhile you get a bit impatient for things to happen and to make sense. The acting seems credible even if the dubbing is strange, and there's a degree of atmosphere. A very strange sequence has Fred and Laura encountering a cloaked man on the roadway who is carrying a huge scythe, and they don't even remark upon it! Even at the end of the film you may not be entirely certain as to exactly what has happened, but it's entertaining enough. Dalbes and Samarina both appeared in Night of the Skull. 

Verdict: Oddball Spanish-Italian co-production will have you guessing or put you to sleep. **1/2.