Das Geheimnis der schwarzen Handschuhe

One of my sci-fi/horror/fantasy reviews written 50 years ago: Directed and Written by Dario Argento; Produced by Salvatore Argento (an Italian-German co-production); released in American by UMC (United Marion Corporation). Photographed by Vittorio Storaro; Edited by Franco Fraticelli; Music by Ennio Morricone. Starring Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrio Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi and Mario Adorf.

Argento's first film is an Italian tour of Hitchcockland. This tale of psychological terror is an incredibly scary murder mystery about a black hatted and coated maniac on the loose in Rome. Fine photography by Vittorio Storaro and Ennio Morricone's beautiful/terrorific score help to build up tension. The key to the mystery is shown but is quite difficult to spot. It's quite representative of the new "case study' style of psychological horror films.

An American writer witnesses an attempted murder and gets on the wrong side of the attacker as they try to finish him off to keep him from investigating any further.

While not as explicit as future gialli, The Bird With the Crystal Plumage ushered in a new kind of suspense film. It's violent, gory, and overtly sexual at times. The major twist is a real shocker.

I recently bought a bunch of Argento movies on laserdisc because I'd seen a few and really liked them. I was pleased to find that the new titles in my collection are really good as well.

This film was Argento's first as director, and it's easy to see how he got work after that- it's great. It begins with an intriguing premise- that a witness to an attack saw more than he perceived- and pays off with a nice thriller.

My only beef is that I rewatched the beginning after it was over and, well, try it for yourself.

If you liked this and can stomach some much more extreme gore, try TENEBRAE. Maybe you shouldn't watch them back-to-back as I did, but give it a spin some time.

Ominous music and lush cinematography override a sparse script to create a Jack-the-Ripper type thriller, which is deeply introspective, moody, and haunting.

Indeed, the script can be treacherous if used to try and solve this whodunit puzzle, which is best handled by removing psychological assumptions rather than by piecing together logical clues. Even so, the murder mystery plot is to some extent illogical.

The strength of the film though lies in its suspense, which is almost unbeatable. It rivals any of Hitchcock's works, to which it is repeatedly compared. The scene showing a knife chipping away at a wooden door is reminiscent of, and more frightening than, scenes showing bird beaks chipping away at a farmhouse door in Hitchcock's "The Birds".

I like the film too because it is so nostalgic. The reel-to-reel tape recorder and dozens of other props and visual cues, the references to philosophy and mysticism, the Morricone film score which at times sounds like the film scores from his spaghetti Westerns, all conspire to transport the viewer back to the Age of Aquarius.

The acting is fine. Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, and Enrico Salerno are perfect for the roles they play.

This is one scary movie. Minor flaws notwithstanding, "The Bird With The Crystal Plumage" is top-notch entertainment for fans of suspense thrillers.

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970) was the film that made Argento a european sensation. His murder/mystery T.B.W.T.C.P. was hailed as a success and made him a star. This tense film is about a american who's caught up in a mysterious murder case. He decides to play Sherlock Holmes and find out who did it. A cool soundtrack, nifty direction and camera work makes this one and interesting watch. Recommended for Giallo fans and admirers of Dario Argento.

A

P.S. Watch out for people in brown raincoats who are armed with shiny cutlery!