Una sobre otra

In Los Angeles, Dr. George Dumurrier (Jean Sorel) runs a clinic inherited from his father with his brother, Dr. Henry Dumurrier (Alberto de Mendoza). George is trying to find an investor to save the clinic that has many debts. He lives in a fancy mansion with his estranged wife Susan Dumurrier (Marisa Mell), who is asthmatic and is very sick, and has a lover, the photographer Jane Bleeker (Elsa Martinelli). While traveling with Jane, George learns that Susan has died. Further, he discovers that Susan had a one-million-dollar life insurance in his name. One night, George is having dinner with Jane in a restaurant and receives a phone call. He goes to a night-club where he sees the stripper Monica Weston, who is identical to Susan but has green eyes. George is intrigued and has one-night stand with Monica, who is worshiped by her client Benjamin Wormser (Riccardo Cucciolla). Meanwhile the insurance company investigates the death of Susan and concludes that she was murdered. Inspector Wald (John Ireland) is in charge to investigate who killed Susan and George is the prime suspect of the crime.

"Una sull'altra", a.k.a. "One on Top of the Other", is an excellent thriller by Lucio Fulci. The plot is erotic, with many beautiful actresses, has many great twists and the cinematography is very beautiful. The plot point in the final scene keeps the mystery and the tension until the last scene. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Uma Sobre a Outra" ("One on Top of the Other")

This is not a giallo film, nor is it in the lines of the fun but more exploitative Fulci film THE DEVIL'S HONEY. Nor is it a horror film, though you should watch fast for a Fulci cameo as a doctor in the film's one very gruesome moment. It has some nice well thought out plot twists and a fun 1960's San Francisco atmosphere. It's a very well made film on all levels.

This deserves a decent release as most copies look like crud. The film is well staged in and around San Francisco and features ample but appropriate nudity.

The whole things builds momentum and suspense with an especially cleverly done ending. Also watch for the use of mirror and mirror images throughout the film. Unlike many Euro films from this era it is also well acted and decently dubbed into English. It actually looks like it was all shot in English as there is none of the usual rubbery lip sync.

Fulci was not a one trick pony director (as the better known Dario Argento definitely is) and if you're interested in seeing his diversity, see this film. If all you want is horror look elsewhere.

Una sull'altra, which is more likely better known as One on the top the other is hard movie to categorize to a single genre. It has as much erotic and exploitative elements as it has elements from pre-giallos like Mario Bava's excellent Blood and black lace and his older work, Girl who knew too much. It isn't as psychedelic as Fulci's other giallos like Lizard in a woman's skin or as tense as his Don't torture a duckling or Sette notes in nero. Una sull'altra doesn't contain any gore or splatter either. Still, however, I found it very entertaining and I would even say it's one of the best non-gore movies from Fulci I've seen (and trust me on this one, I've seen lots of them too).

Movie follows a basic giallo structure, even though it was made in the same year with "the first actual giallo", Dario Argento's fabulous L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo, and in the way that it doesn't rip-off that movie as many other giallos does. That's why I cannot really say honestly that I found this one to be real giallo, but more like pre-giallo.

What comes to the plot of the movie, it's not really as simple as it might seem, but has many twists and misleads when police are trying to find out how the things really are (who is lying, who is telling the truth). Really nice twists and turns, I couldn't tell at the whole time how did what (and what comes to that matter, even who was who). Ending was really nicely surprising too, I really enjoyed it.

So, if you are bored with Fulci's not as good non-gore movies or if you just want a quick peak to the fantastic world of pre-giallos, One on top of other is highly recommended. At the scale of 1 to 10, I would give it 9, this movie really deserves it.

This little Italian number is superficially similar to the famous Hitchcock film "Vertigo" in its basic premise and in its San Francisco location. But I don't recall "Vertigo" having the nude dancing, the psychedelic body painting, and the abundance of straight and lesbian sex. And as great an actress as Kim Novak from "Vertigo" may have been, she was no Marissa Mell. Marissa Mell was a six-foot Austrian model/actress who became infamous in the late 1960's more for her antics off-screen than on (her various paramours supposedly included everyone from Warren Beatty to the Shah of Iran). She was the archetypal Bond girl, even though she never actually got around to appearing in a Bond movie. Actually, the only big movie she was ever in was Mario Bava's pop-art, comic book adaptation "Diabolik". This obscure movie was probably her second most famous role before her career fizzled and she died at a young age from cancer. She is excellent here in the dual role of an asthmatic, dying wife and a seductive stripper. She also has copious nude scenes (if you're into that sort of thing).

You might also have heard of the director of this one, guy named Lucio Fulci, made a few zombie movies or something. This is actually the first of a series of superior gialli Fuici directed early in his career (the others were "A Woman in Lizard's Skin" and "Don't Torture a Duckling"). Fulci fans will find the plot of this film to be surprisingly coherent, but will probably be disappointed at the lack of gore (aside from one grisly scene of a post, post-mortem). It also lacks much of the directorial flair Fulci would demonstrate in his later gialli and his zombie films. The last act is particularly weak with one of those tiresome innocent-man-on-death-row countdowns. The very last scene is a pleasant surprise, but by then much of the momentum has been lost. Still, it's definitely worth seeing, for Fulci and Mell if nothing else.

It's hard to believe that this thriller was directed by the same man who would go on to create such gory highlights as Zombie Flesh-Eaters and City of the Living Dead, but indeed this is a film from the Lucio Fulci that us gore hounds know and love. His later Giallo, such as A Lizard in Woman's Skin and Don't Torture a Duckling weren't as bloody as Fulci fans are used to, and this one is even less so; in fact, it isn't even a horror movie. Fulci does find time for graphic images, however, but things such as a badly decomposed corpse look out of place in a movie that is much more about mystery and suspense than shocking its audience. Fulci often doesn't get the respect he deserves when it comes to movie-making, and that's unfair as he really does know how to tell a story. One on Top of the Other focuses on themes of love and revenge, and follows the story of a doctor with a wife who suffers from chronic asthma. After her death, he is enticed to a nightclub along with his mistress, where he meets a young woman who is the double of his dead wife. Shortly thereafter, the corpse of his wife is unearthed and traces of poison are found in the body...

The film takes obvious influence from the great Alfred Hitchcock film 'Vertigo', but unlike a lot of Italian films from the sixties and seventies; this one is not merely a retread of its popular American influence. Fulci injects his own style and verve into the plot, and common Giallo elements such as crossed loyalties and compromising situation for the lead victim start to creep in. The acting on display here is superb, with Jean Sorel putting in a fabulous performance in the lead role in which he manages to captivate the audience and be convincing at the same time. The female leads are more striking; however, and both Marisa Mell and Elsa Martinelli get to act as well providing beautiful eye candy for the audience. Unlike a lot of Giallo's, this one takes place outside of Italy and makes San Francisco the central location. The landscapes look great, and the original jazz music by Riz Ortolani helps to ensure that swinging sixties feel comes across. There is a lack of murders in this film, which may disappoint Giallo and Fulci fans; but the intrigue that appears instead offsets this nicely, and overall I don't hesitate to say that One on Top of the Other is one of the great Giallo films!