¿Qué le han hecho a Solange?

The intriguingly titled giallo classic "What Have You Done To Solange?" (1972) is a film that certainly does live up to its excellent word of mouth. While the less said about its twisty-turny story, the better, I can mention that the plot here concerns a string of brutal murders that have been plaguing an all-girls' Catholic school in London, and the hunky Italian gym teacher (well played by Fabio Testi) who is having an affair with one of the young women (the gorgeous Spanish actress Christine Galbo). But things get a bit complicated when this student witnesses one of the murders during a Thames pleasure outing... Regarding those murders, perhaps "brutal" isn't a strong enough word to describe them, as this giallo nutjob has a tendency to stick his knife...well, this is a family Web site, so perhaps I shouldn't say. Mercifully, these slayings are not at all graphic--the picture would have been rated XXX if they were, and would have been too terrible to watch. Indeed, this film features hardly any gore at all; the suggested acts are quite bad enough. Still, this is an excellent example of the giallo genre, with a meaty, involving story; numerous shifty-eyed suspects; loads of pretty women; and the requisite murder set pieces. Massimo Dallamano has directed his film impeccably, eliciting fine performances from every player; the legendary Ennio Morricone has supplied an alternately lovely/creepy score; and cameraman Aristide Massacasi has nicely captured the beauty of London and its countryside. The film has been superbly dubbed--indeed, it looks as if the actors were originally speaking in English!--but the image on the Shriek Show DVD that I just saw looks cropped at the edges, as the opening and closing credits reveal. Also, I couldn't get the extras to work, for some reason. Still, the film looks clean and bright, and is not to be missed. It was even better the second time I watched it!

In London, the Italian gym teacher Enrico 'Henry' Rosseni (Fabio Testi) is having a love affair with his eighteen year-old student Elizabeth Seccles (Christine Galbo), who is the daughter of the owner of the Catholic School where he works and she studies. His estranged wife Herta Rosseni (Karin Baal) is the mathematics teacher in the same school. On Sunday afternoon, Rosseni and Elizabeth are in a boat in a grove and the girl glances at a knife and a man hunting down a woman. Rosseni believes she is giving a pretext to avoid him and does not pay attention to her. On the next morning, Rosseni learns that a teenager was murdered in the river bank in the grove and he drives to the location. Inspector Barth (Joachim Fuchsberger) goes to the school since the victim Hilda studied there and soon Rosseni becomes the prime suspect since he protects Elizabeth, who could give an alibi to him. When a second student is murdered, Elizabeth recalls that the killer where a black soutane worn by priests. While the police investigate the suspects, Elizabeth is killed and Rosseni decides also to investigate. He teams up with Herta and the find the name of the mysterious Solange Beauregard. They seek her out but what might have happened to Solange?

"Cosa avete fatto a Solange?", a;k;a "What Have They Done to Solange?" , is an intriguing giallo with a totally unpredictable story full of mystery and tension. The erotic plot is well-written with many twist and suspects. The conclusion surprises the viewer and it is worthwhile watching this film that is not dated. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O quê Vocês Fizeram com Solange?" ("What Have You Done to Solange?)

Note; On 10 Jun 2020 I saw this film again.

This is a good murder mystery, based on an Edgar Wallace novel. It has all the ingredients of a good giallo: horrible murders, sex, religion and nightmarish flashbacks.(Especially the one at the end is bound to give you bad dreams).

The plot isn't always logical, and the acting isn't very convincing. But the direction is good and the music by Ennio Morricone is one of the best scores he has ever made.

If you like the movies of Dario Argento, you'll love this one.

WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE? (1972): Enrico Rossini (Fabio Testi) is a married teacher involved in an affair with one of his students, Elizabeth (Christine Galbó). One afternoon in a park, while enjoying one of their amorous trysts, Elizabeth witnesses the murder of a young woman, a crime that her lover does not see. When the corpse of a student is found at the park, the teacher finally believes Elizabeth and decides to revisit the scene of the murder. More girls are killed and the police begin to suspect that Enrico is the murderer. In a desperate attempt to clear his name, Enrico turns detective and eventually discovers the secret of a young woman named Solange (Camille Keaton), whose shocking past is linked to both the killer's choice of victims and the gruesome manner in which he dispatches them. This solidly plotted and engrossing murder thriller is easily among the finest galls ever made. The conventional storyline is enlivened with genuinely surprising twists, strong characters and a shocking, unexpected ending. Slickly directed by Massimo Dallamano, and featuring striking cinematography by Aristide Massachessi (who, as Joe D'Amato, had a subsequent career as one of the most incompetent directors of all time), SOLANGE is an unusually well made and restrained Italian thriller. Excellent performances from Fabio Testi, Joachin Fuchsberger, Karin Baal and the beautiful Christine Galbo raise the movie's quality level even higher. A fine, moody Ennio Morricone score provides some necessary tension enhancement. If you've never seen a Gilli before, the film is a great starting point for anyone interested in taking an initial plunge into this fascinating genre.

The Shriek Show DVD is one of this small company's finest releases yet. The widescreen (1.85:1) transfer features gorgeous colors and sharp detailing, with only a few speckles, hair marks and some modest print damage. The movie itself is the real prize here as the extras are fairly skimpy: A poster and lobby card gallery is scored to the movie's main title theme and a nice 12 page booklet is provided with liner notes and quite a few stills. Finally, five trailers are included, for SOLANGE itself and some other related Shriek Show releases. Despite the lack of enticing extras, this is a worthy addition to any horror/suspense enthusiast's DVD library.

What a remarkable film! In spite of high expectations and entirely praising comments by fellow Horror fans, Massimo Dallamano's "Cosa Avete Fatto A Solange" aka. "What Have You Done To Solange" of 1972 was still capable of astonishing me with its brilliance. This complex and mesmerizing film delivers cinematic perfection in every aspect and stands out as one of the most ingenious Gialli ever made. I am an avid fan of Gialli, and this is an absolute must-see for every fan of this great (sub-)genre. "What Have You Done To Solange" is not only essential to those who share my enthusiasm for Italian Horror cinema, however. Be it the convoluted plot, the ingenious camera work, the brilliant score by Maestro Ennio Morricone or the constant, tantalizing suspense - there is not a single aspect that is not brilliant about this stunning film, that I highly recommend to any suspense-lover in general.

Henry Rossini (Fabio Testi), a married Italian teacher at a Catholic London private school for girls, has an affair with one of his students (Christina Galbó). When they are having a romantic boat-ride on the Thames, the girl suddenly yells that she has just seen a knife. Henry first laughs her claims off as hysteria, until the body of another girl, also one of his students is found right at the exact same spot the following day. It is not long until other murders of girls occur, all carried out in the same, horrid manner...

The film is not as gory as many other brilliant Gialli (such as Dario Argento's films), but the manner in which the murders are carried out is more than a bit nasty. The film has one of the most compelling plots ever in Horror cinema, and is stunningly suspenseful from the very beginning. The eerie atmosphere is even intensified by a brilliant and mesmerizing score by none other than the great Ennio Morricone. The brilliant cinematography was done by Joe D'Amato, the infamous 'king of sleaze' himself who shocked audiences in the 80s when he directed gruesome productions such as "Antropophagus" and "Buio Omega". The performances are also excellent. Fabio Testi, who is famous among fans of Italian genre-cinema, mainly for starring in crime and police flicks, stars in his most memorable role here. Karin Baal is excellent as his German wife, and Joachim Fuchsberger delivers a solid performance as the investigating police detective. Great performances also come from the sexy female cast, most memorably from Camille Keaton, who is best known for the infamous Exploitation shocker "I Spit On Your Grave" of 1978.

Like two other excellent Gialli (Argento's "Bird With The Crystal Plumage" and Lenzi's "Seven Blood-Stained Orchids") this was heavily cut and sold as an Edgar Wallace film in Germany. People in German speaking countries: Avoid the mutilated German version and get uncut international versions instead. This is brilliant suspense cinema at its finest and an uncut version is absolutely essential! I could go on praising this film forever, but instead I will end my review with a recommendation: Get "What Have You Done To Solange" as soon as you possibly can! It is easily one of the most compelling Gialli ever made and absolutely essential for every Horror-lover to see! 10/10