ABUSED BY CLERGY
IN NEW YORK?
DO YOU KNOW THESE MEN?
David Carson
John F. Carson
Daniel Cassiero
Vincent Clyne
Charles Coen
Kevin Colleran
Eugene Connolly
Daniel Croston
Bernard Cullen
Donald Dickson
Edward Dobransky
If you have information regarding alleged abuse
or its cover-up involving these men, CONTACT US.
The NY Child Victims Act may be able to help you!
New York, NY 10007 917-909-8475
52 Duane Street, 7th Floor
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GIALLO FILMS, from p.30
her body is discovered in the trunk
of a car belonging to the Swiss ambassador
(Anton Diffring), Inspector
Lawrence (Arthur O’Sullivan) is
put on the case. He takes the unorthodox
move of having Detective
John Norton (Luigi Pistilli) investigate.
John is soon caught up in a
web of scandals, lies, and multiple
murders that gets complicated
when clues are dropped at various
crime scenes. The fi lm, which
takes its title from the reptile disguising
itself, keeps viewers guessing,
especially as the murderer
wears opposite-gender clothes to
commit one killing. There is also
some mild queer subtext involving
one character being disappointed
that his invitations (made in a
sauna) for an all-male evening are
rejected. The mystery is intriguing,
but the fi lm is pretty bloody — a
scene involving an animal’s death
is both gratuitous and gruesome.
While “Iguana” is mostly satisfying,
the jarring music every time a
pair of sunglasses are seen is unintentionally
hilarious.
“Perversion Story (aka One on
Top of the Other)” has San Francisco
doctor George Dumurrier
(Jean Sorel) spending time with his
mistress, Jane (Elsa Martinelli), in
Reno when he learns that his asthmatic
wife, Susan (Marisa Mell),
has died. When George and Jane
meet Monica (Mell in a double role),
a stripper in a club, they marvel
at her likeness to Susan. George
sleeps with her to satisfy his curiosity,
and Jane has a seductive
photo session with Monica hoping
to uncover her… identity. However,
George, who inherited Susan’s insurance
policy, is arrested for her
murder. As he faces the gas chamber,
it becomes a race against time
to prove his innocence. “One on
Top of the Other” features copious
sex — one fantastic sequence
of George and Jane in bed is shot
from the mattress’s point of view —
but very little violence. This fi lm is
very much a melodramatic mystery
with a large debt to “Vertigo.” If the
fi lm sags a bit during the investigation,
the ending, where the truth
is revealed and consequences ensue,
is a corker.
“The Forbidden Photos of a
Lady above Suspicion” is also a
melodramatic mystery but this giallo
is notable for featuring a woman
in the central role. Minou (Dagmar
Lassander) is threatened by a
man (Simón Andreu) at knifepoint
one night. He tells her that her
husband, Peter (Pier Paolo Capponi),
who is in debt, is a murderer.
When she recognizes the man
in some pornographic photos her
friend Dominique (Susan Scott)
shows her, Minou is suspicious.
However, the man blackmails Minou
— threatening to turn in her
husband unless she has sex with
him (which she does). But when
Minou confesses what has transpired,
no one believes her. Is Minou
being gaslighted? The fi lm builds
very little tension as the plot,
which is hardly airtight, unfolds.
But there are many pleasures from
the costumes, art direction, and
production design — the houses
are fabulous — as well as the effective
score by famed composer
Ennio Morricone. Lassander is
fi ne as the lead, doing her best
with a weak role, but Scott (Spanish
actress Nieves Navarro, acting
under an Anglo pseudonym — a
common practice in pop Euro cinema)
gives a delicious supporting
performance that is all sex appeal
and sultriness. Her fl irtation with
a man she asks for a cigarette is a
highlight in this otherwise underwhelming
effort.
Rounding out the series is “The
Possessed,” a black-and-white
entry from 1965. Bernard (Peter
Baldwin) is a writer who heads to
a lakeside town on the off-season
hoping to reconnect with Tilde (Virna
Lisi). Once there, he discovers
Tilde is dead from an apparent suicide.
But Bernard learns she may,
in fact, have been murdered. As
he investigates, Bernard has vivid
dreams and even imagines things.
“The Possessed” is certainly atmospheric,
with gorgeous cinematography
and some nifty visuals that
capitalize on the fi lm being shot
in black and white. However, the
thin plot unfolds too slowly. Even
when a death occurs and people
act strangely, the effect is soporifi c,
rather than suspenseful. As an
early giallo, “The Possessed” is not
as pulpy or as naughty as the other
fi lms in the series — and it comes
off as the weakest.
FRESH MEAT: GIALLO RESTORATIONS
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