Post by petrolino on Jan 1, 2018 4:22:11 GMT
'Suspected Death Of A Minor' (aka. Morte sospetta di una minorenne) follows Detective Paolo Germi (Claudio Cassinelli) as he works undercover in Milan, Italy to identify the motive behind the killing of working girl Marisa (Patrizia Castaldi) by a hired assassin who hides behind sunglasses (Roberto Posse). Germi's investigation is constantly thwarted by thugs from a crime syndicate.
'Suspected Death Of A Minor' is an extraordinary hybrid of crime subgenres made by a technical filmmaker operating at the height of his powers. Sergio Martino's tight direction grips like a vice from the get-go and never lets up for a minute. If taken as a traditional three-act play depicting a disguised police procedural, the first third plays like a traditional giallo mystery, the second third mines a stream of mordant humour while drawing from the history of the commedia all'italiana, and the final third occupies the space of a violent poliziesco thriller, but the overall, overlapping fusion is more convoluted than that. The expertly crafted screenplay by Martino and Ernesto Gastaldi is keenly researched and blessed with small insights. The writing has opened my eyes to different aspects of criminality by exploring it in so many different ways (my favourite example has to be the cash stash being concealed by the television, and more importantly, how it's then used). I'd contend the scabrous humour found within the dialogue is direct, relevant and challenging, including the many Catholic quips that might be considered irreligious due to their context. The social commentary serves up some stark reminders of the grave consequences that often befall poor people who steal from other poor people, with one horrific moment now scorched upon my memory, like the first time I witnessed the extremity of underground retribution dished out in Paul Verhoeven's damaging dirtbike drama 'Spetters' (1980).
Martino's forte is constructing exciting action sequences and there's enough in 'Suspected Death Of A Minor' for three movies. In keeping with the theme of corrupted innocence, he mounts meticulous set-pieces at a cinema and an amusement park. There's also a blistering pursuit in which the police chase each other that has moments I doubt you'd see in any other crime picture, or at least I never have. To achieve this Martino worked closely with one of the best cameramen in the business, his trusted collaborator Giancarlo Ferrando, and also action filmmaker Michele Massimo Tarantini who shot some second unit. The intelligent camerawork is rife with technical ingenuity and the depressed finale in a dark tunnel is a mini-masterpiece in tension release and suspense dynamics that shifts the tone seamlessly. The music to capture all these mood changes is composed by Luciano Michelini.
The primary focus throughout 'Suspected Death Of A Minor' falls upon leading man Claudio Cassinelli who's note-perfect as secretive mole Detective Paolo Germi. There are scorching character turns from American star Mel Ferrer (fluent in Italian) as the Police Superintendent overseeing the case, Gianfranco Barra as officious police snoop Detective Teti, Aldo Massasso as street whisperer Detective Listri, Massimo Girotti as respected businessman Gaudenzio Pesce and Adolfo Caruso as petty thief Jumpin' Giannino. The working girls being targeted are portrayed by Lia Tanzi, Patrizia Castaldi, Jenny Tamburi and Barbara Magnolfi.
'Suspected Death Of A Minor' is an exceptional poliziottesco entry exposing the seedy underbelly of polite society in northern Italy that's often been described as Sergio Martino's last giallo among his successful run of the 1970s. I've not seen 'The Scorpion With Two Tails' (1982) and that's sometimes referred to as a giallo mystery too (horror critics tend to ignore great giallo directors' later attempts when the cycle had long ended, Martino contributing a last minute addition at the end of the 1990s). For years now, horror fans have been hearing about this movie and finally it's available in a dvd package from Arrow Video. It's taken me longer to see Martino's films than other directors I could mention, due to availability issues regarding English subtitles, but by now I'm fortunate enough to have seen many. As 2017 closes, I think I've now been lucky enough to see every classic giallo made in the 1960s and 1970s by my all-time top 5 makers of gialli - Mario Bava, Lucio Fulci, Umberto Lenzi, Dario Argento & Sergio Martino - and this is cause for me to to celebrate as it wasn't an easy task. 'Suspected Death Of A Minor' is adventurous genre filmmaking at its very best.
"It's unwise to tell a lie just before you meet your maker."
'What Is Hip' - Alessandra Scaravilli
'Suspected Death Of A Minor' is an extraordinary hybrid of crime subgenres made by a technical filmmaker operating at the height of his powers. Sergio Martino's tight direction grips like a vice from the get-go and never lets up for a minute. If taken as a traditional three-act play depicting a disguised police procedural, the first third plays like a traditional giallo mystery, the second third mines a stream of mordant humour while drawing from the history of the commedia all'italiana, and the final third occupies the space of a violent poliziesco thriller, but the overall, overlapping fusion is more convoluted than that. The expertly crafted screenplay by Martino and Ernesto Gastaldi is keenly researched and blessed with small insights. The writing has opened my eyes to different aspects of criminality by exploring it in so many different ways (my favourite example has to be the cash stash being concealed by the television, and more importantly, how it's then used). I'd contend the scabrous humour found within the dialogue is direct, relevant and challenging, including the many Catholic quips that might be considered irreligious due to their context. The social commentary serves up some stark reminders of the grave consequences that often befall poor people who steal from other poor people, with one horrific moment now scorched upon my memory, like the first time I witnessed the extremity of underground retribution dished out in Paul Verhoeven's damaging dirtbike drama 'Spetters' (1980).
"Sergio Martino was born in Rome on July 19, 1938. Since his family had long been involved in cinema and filmmaking (his grandfather Gennaro Righelli was a well known Italian director in the '30s and '40s, his brother Luciano a writer-producer), it's no surprise that Sergio chose the director's seat as a comfortable spot. Truly a helmsman of numerous genres, Martino's movies range from horror thrillers to spaghetti westerns to post apocalyptic rips to cannibal feasts. One of Martino's first forays into the world of filmmaking was working as a second level assistant director to Mario Bava on 1963's gothic ghost shocker The Whip and the Flesh."
- Dan Hunter & Jason Knowles, The Terror Trap
- Dan Hunter & Jason Knowles, The Terror Trap
Martino's forte is constructing exciting action sequences and there's enough in 'Suspected Death Of A Minor' for three movies. In keeping with the theme of corrupted innocence, he mounts meticulous set-pieces at a cinema and an amusement park. There's also a blistering pursuit in which the police chase each other that has moments I doubt you'd see in any other crime picture, or at least I never have. To achieve this Martino worked closely with one of the best cameramen in the business, his trusted collaborator Giancarlo Ferrando, and also action filmmaker Michele Massimo Tarantini who shot some second unit. The intelligent camerawork is rife with technical ingenuity and the depressed finale in a dark tunnel is a mini-masterpiece in tension release and suspense dynamics that shifts the tone seamlessly. The music to capture all these mood changes is composed by Luciano Michelini.
"Massimo Girotti was the most engagingly handsome of the young actors who emerged in the Italian cinema of the last years of fascism and the early postwar period. He played important roles for Roberto Rossellini and Vittorio De Sica, and was the male lead in the debut features of Luchino Visconti, Giuseppe De Santis and Michelangelo Antonioni. Though he never achieved the charismatic status of a top star, he had a distinctive career on screen and stage. A swimming champion in his teens, Girotti was spotted at the newly opened Cine Citta studios in the late 1930s, and offered a small part in Dora Nelson, the first feature directed by writer Mario Soldati. In Alessandro Blasetti's mythological extravaganza, La Corona Di Ferro (The Iron Crown, 1939), he took the double role of the fairytale King, killed in the prologue, and his Tarzan-like son Arminio, who has been nurtured by lions in the forest. Blasetti's film made him a popular star, and Rossellini cast him in his next film, Un Pilota Ritorna (A Pilot Returns, 1942), written by Mussolini's son Vittorio, then head of the Italian film industry. Antonioni was among the scriptwriters; Girotti played an Italian pilot taken prisoner by the British in Greece. Earlier in the war, he had met Luchino Visconti, and went on to play the rugged Gino in the director's first film, Ossessione (1943), the Italian version of James M Cain's The Postman Always Rings Twice. The combined sexiness of Girotti and Clara Calamai was provocative for the times - as was the daring earthiness of the story - and marked the birth of what was later known as "neo-realism". When the fascists saw the film, it was hurriedly withdrawn. Girotti said: "We realised that the theme of the film was personal liberty, which was a taboo subject at the time. I had very little experience as an actor, so it wasn't easy for me to render the kind of subtlety that Visconti expected. I remember him obliging me to drink real liqueurs, with the result that after many takes I was drunk and we had to shoot the scene the next day."
- John Francis Lane, The Guardian
Clara Calamai & Massimo Girotti in Luchino Visconti's 'Ossessione' (1943) :
- John Francis Lane, The Guardian
Clara Calamai & Massimo Girotti in Luchino Visconti's 'Ossessione' (1943) :
The primary focus throughout 'Suspected Death Of A Minor' falls upon leading man Claudio Cassinelli who's note-perfect as secretive mole Detective Paolo Germi. There are scorching character turns from American star Mel Ferrer (fluent in Italian) as the Police Superintendent overseeing the case, Gianfranco Barra as officious police snoop Detective Teti, Aldo Massasso as street whisperer Detective Listri, Massimo Girotti as respected businessman Gaudenzio Pesce and Adolfo Caruso as petty thief Jumpin' Giannino. The working girls being targeted are portrayed by Lia Tanzi, Patrizia Castaldi, Jenny Tamburi and Barbara Magnolfi.
Audrey Hepburn & Mel Ferrer step out in Rome, Italy :
'Suspected Death Of A Minor' is an exceptional poliziottesco entry exposing the seedy underbelly of polite society in northern Italy that's often been described as Sergio Martino's last giallo among his successful run of the 1970s. I've not seen 'The Scorpion With Two Tails' (1982) and that's sometimes referred to as a giallo mystery too (horror critics tend to ignore great giallo directors' later attempts when the cycle had long ended, Martino contributing a last minute addition at the end of the 1990s). For years now, horror fans have been hearing about this movie and finally it's available in a dvd package from Arrow Video. It's taken me longer to see Martino's films than other directors I could mention, due to availability issues regarding English subtitles, but by now I'm fortunate enough to have seen many. As 2017 closes, I think I've now been lucky enough to see every classic giallo made in the 1960s and 1970s by my all-time top 5 makers of gialli - Mario Bava, Lucio Fulci, Umberto Lenzi, Dario Argento & Sergio Martino - and this is cause for me to to celebrate as it wasn't an easy task. 'Suspected Death Of A Minor' is adventurous genre filmmaking at its very best.
