La morte accarezza a mezzanotte

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Death Walks at Midnight
La morte accarezza a mezzanotte poster.jpg
Directed byLuciano Ercoli
Written byErnesto Gastaldi


Story bySergio Corbucci
Produced byLuciano Ercoli
Alberto Pugliese
StarringSusan Scott
Simón Andreu
Peter Martell
Claudie Lange
Carlo Gentili
CinematographyFernando Arribas
Edited byAngelo Curi
Music byGianni Ferrio
Production
companies
C.B. Films S.A.
Cinecompany
Distributed byC.B. Films
Release date
  • 17 November 1972 (1972-11-17) (Italy)
Running time
103 minutes
Countries
  • Italy
  • Spain
LanguageItalian

La morte accarezza a mezzanotte is a 1972 giallo film directed by Luciano Ercoli. The film was written by Ernesto Gastaldi, , and . It starred Susan Scott, Simón Andreu, Peter Martell, Claudie Lange and Carlo Gentili.

Plot[]

Fashion model Valentina (Susan Scott) agrees to help her journalist boyfriend Giò Baldi (Simón Andreu) research the effects of LSD. While under the influence of the drug, Valentina sees a man bludgeon a woman to death with a spiked gauntlet. Baldi publishes a report of her hallucinations; however, Valentina believes what she has seen is real. She begins to realise that the killer is stalking her, although neither Baldi nor the police will believe what she tells them.

Production[]

La morte accarezza a mezzanotte marks the third collaboration between director Luciano Ercoli and screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi, who had previously worked together on 1971's La morte cammina con i tacchi alti and 1970's Le foto proibite di una signora per bene.[1] Ercoli's wife Nieves Navarro, credited here as Susan Scott, featured in several of his other films, often in similar roles as "tough, independent" women.[2] The director's preference for this type of character has been noted as being inspired by fumetti, a form of Italian photonovel often featuring such roles.[3]

Release[]

La morte accarezza a mezzanotte was released in Italy on 17 November 1972.[4] It was released under that title in English by NoShame Films as part of a box set with La morte cammina con i tacchi alti, titled Luciano Ercoli's Death Box Set.[5] It has also been distributed under the title Muerte acaricia a medianoche,[6] and Cry Out in Terror.[7]

Reception[]

Writing for Allmovie, Robert Firsching gave the film one star out of five, calling it "laughably camp fun".[4] Writing for DVD Talk, Stuart Galbraith described the film as having "an exciting knock-down, drag-out climax". Reviewing the film alongside La morte cammina i tachi alti, Galbraith felt that La morte accarezza a mezzanotte had "a stronger, less-predictable screenplay [and] a bit more visual flair" than its companion film; he ultimately rated both films together three-and-a-half stars out of five.[5] A retrospective of Gastaldi's films by the Italian magazine described it as "flow[ing] smoothly and with some good jolts", highlighting Scott's screen presence as the film's main strength.[nb 1][8]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Original text—"scorre via senza intoppi e con qualche buon sussulto".

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ Jane, Ian (March 9, 2006). "The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video". DVD Talk. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  2. ^ Shipka 2011, p. 93.
  3. ^ Shipka 2011, p. 95.
  4. ^ a b Firsching, Robert. "La Morte Accarezza a Mezzanotte". AllMovie. Archived from the original on June 24, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
  5. ^ a b Galbraith, Stuart (February 28, 2006). "Luciano Ercoli's Death Box Set (Death Walks on High Heels / Death Walks at Midnight) : DVD Talk Review of the DVD Video". DVD Talk. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
  6. ^ "BFI | Film & TV Database | La morte accarezza a mezzanotte". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on February 12, 2009. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
  7. ^ Luther-Smith 1999, p. 29.
  8. ^ Pulici, Davide. "I Gialli Alla Gastaldi" (in Italian). Nocturno. Retrieved August 29, 2021.

References[]

  • Shipka, Danny (2011). Perverse Titillation: The Exploitation Cinema of Italy, Spain and France, 1960–1980 (illustrated ed.). McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0786448883.
  • Luther-Smith, Adrian (1999). Blood and Black Lace: The Definitive Guide to Italian Sex and Horror Movies. Stray Cat Publishing Ltd.

External links[]

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