Der Tod trägt schwarzes Leder

While the original Italian title – THE POLICE ASKS FOR HELP – clearly pigeonholes this one in the then-popular (and incredibly prolific) poliziottesco genre, the English title under which it is better known around the world – WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOUR DAUGHTERS? – implies a giallo in the same vein as Dallamano’s best-known film, WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO SOLANGE? (1972). In any case, while both elements are effectively present – a hatchet-wielding murderer is the subject of the climactic manhunt – the police procedural themes are more prevalent.

The film deals with a teenage suicide which eventually uncovers a child prostitution ring which, as usual, includes not just the petty sleazy oddballs (here personified by Franco Fabrizi) but also high-profile professionals (a celebrated doctor) and high-ranking government officials (a Minister). The cast is surprisingly good for this type of genre effort: Claudio Cassinelli (as the investigating Police Chief), Giovanna Ralli (unusually cast as a female D.A.), Mario Adorf as the policeman who finds the first body and also discovers that his own teenage daughter was once a “victim” of these perverts, the afore-mentioned Fabrizi and Hollywood veteran Farley Granger in a smallish role as the first victim’s father.

As usual for Italian genre movies, the music score is an asset and here it is provided by Stelvio Cipriani whose motif, while simple and repetitive, is extremely effective given that it involves children singing gibberish (and thus commenting on the main theme of the movie itself even through its performers). Alarmingly, the end titles claim that every year in Italy, 8000 teenagers run away from home but only a small percentage returns to the fold – the majority are never found!

Second in Dallamano's schoolgirls-getting-killed trilogy, it's not as good as Who's Next? (Solange) but not bad in its own right. The killer is someone who rides a motorino (hey, it is Italy!) and never takes off his/her riding helmet, ala Magnum Force, the 2nd Dirty Harry film. This one's more exciting than scary, as the police hunt down this maniac. He's one of the cooler villains in film history though, because unlike the traditional drag-ass killer, this guy never speaks and just RUNS at you with a machete. He really SPRINTS at top speed, which is actually very scary, especially to a jaded horror buff used to the Michael Myers/Jason/zombie method of ambling on over to their victims, who usually have to trip in order to be caught. And there's one scene involving a light switch that will make you jump out of your undies. Stelvio Cipriani's score is again top-notch (he later reused part of it for Tentacles), the dubbing tolerable.

After an anonymous phone call, a teenage girl is found hanged in the attic of an old building in Lombardia and the police assume she committed suicide. The efficient Insp. Silvestri (Claudio Cassinelli) and the newcomer Asst. DA Vittoria Stori (Giovanna Ralli) assume the case and while checking the location, Insp. Silvestri sees a middle age man, Bruno Paglia (Franco Fabrizi), taking pictures of the place from a nearby building. The man is arrested and soon Insp. Silvestri learns that the 14-year-old victim, Silvia Polvesi (Cheryl Lee Buchanan), was part of a teenage prostitution ring, including the beloved daughter of Insp. Valentini (Mario Adorf). His further investigation with the Asst. DA Stori discover a tape where sexual encounters with important names in the Italian society are recorded. Meanwhile a motorcycle rider wearing black uses a cleaver to get rid of suspects and witnesses.

"La polizia chiede aiuto", a.k.a. "What Have They Done to Your Daughters?", is an excellent police story and one of the best Italian movies of the genre. The plot is surprisingly believable and with no flaws or tricks that are usual in giallos. Claudio Cassinelli and Giovanna Ralli have magnificent performances and the conclusion is realistic. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "O Que Eles Fizeram a Suas Filhas?" ("What Have They Done to Your Daughters?")

'What Have They Done To Our Daughters?' is an above average giallo directed by Massimo Dallamano, who was the cinematographer for Leone's spaghetti western classic 'For A Few Dollars More'. It's a kinda sorta sequel to 'What Have They Done To Solange?', which I haven't seen. But I have seen Dallamano's swinging De Sade 'Venus In Furs' and both movies have made me very interested in his work. The story concerns a police investigation into the shocking murder of a teenage girl which uncovers a prostitution ring. It stars Giovanna Ralli who was in another pretty good giallo 'Cold Eyes Of Fear' and Claudio Cassinelli who co-starred in the nunsploitation classic 'Flavia The Heretic'. It's also quite a surprise to see Farley Granger (of Hitchcock's classics 'Rope' and 'Strangers On A Train') in the supporting cast, though his performance is forgettable. Giallo fans will enjoy this one, but if you are new to genre try some Dario Argento (especially 'Tenebre') or Fulci's 'Don't Torture A Duckling' to see some of the best examples of this style of thriller. Still, this is a pretty good movie with some gruesome and sensationalistic touches.

From the director of the excellent what have you done to Solange, Massimo Dallamano, here is a strange Italian giallo, more a police procedural (an a really lurid tale, a ring of teens used as prostitutes by people in very high places - that was the time, in Italy, when several directors and scripwriters tried their hands on very hot subjects, like this one) than an Argentian thriller (but it is scary enough in a few places and also very gory). It starts with the false suicide of a very young girl, hanged nude under a roof and then proceeds with a lot of cars and bikes chases (the killer is always covered by a motorcycle helmet until the very end - it is possible that the director of Night School took from here the idea of the killer masked with an helmet), almost always running without pauses. Tense and scary enough, good almost till the end (a lot too Dillenger for my tastes).