I watched this last night and enjoyed quite a bit. Things start off slowly as we're introduced to five young couples on a weekend fling to a gothic castle (fun!
). I did like the bit when the sexes split up and the men discuss which of the women they want to hook up with, after which we're presented with a similar conversation from the women's point of view. It's like some crazy mid-60s twenty-something swingers party. The plot is initially confusing in that the movie throws 14 characters at the viewer almost immediately and asks you to keep everyone sorted out. After a bit of merriment, the movie then begins to go down a "ten little indians" path. There's certainly enough young potential victims, but ultimately not much goes down murder-wise. There are plenty of twists and turns and mysterious goings on to entertain, however, and the final denouement wraps the whole thing up quite nicely. Not a masterpiece by any means, but a nicely done pre-giallo thriller.
The print I viewed was an English dub issued by Sinister Cinema. Watchable, but suffering from a cropped to 4:3 image and a mostly atrocious English dub job that detracts from the potential "Continental feel" that would add atmosphere. With so many characters on screen it seems that the dubbers had to come up with some outlandish and goofy voices to give each a unique identity. This film really deserves a quality widescreen, Italian dub, English subtitled release to be re-visited and appreciated. From reading the information above and seeing the sample from what apparently exists, it's a damn shame this hasn't been given the opportunity for a wider audience that would sincerely revel in its many charms.
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Topic: Delitto allo specchio / Death On The Fourposter (Josipovici-Molteni, 1964) (Read 6400 times)