Le Manoir aux filles

There is a bunch of Gialli that tell a story about an inheritance. Most of them tend to be rather crime movies than Gialli in the classic sense.

This film by Alfonso Brescia also tells a story about an inheritance that spreads murder, and in the first half of the film, only one killing happens (in the opening scene), and then the film goes on rather as a family drama than a Giallo. But in the middle of the film, the title happens (a member of the family is indeed found nude and killed in a park), and from now on, it's a typical Giallo. The bodies are piling up (the murder scenes are not very graphic, but there are some stylish moments), and towards the climax, there is the usual surprise as the identity of the killer is revealed. The revelation is as implausible as often with Gialli, but it works better than in other similarly mediocre ones.

Brescia's direction is nothing special, the lead actors are only average, but there is some fine supporting cast lead by Adolfo Celi as the investigating Police inspector. So, the first half is a bit dreary, but the second half is surely capable of satisfying Giallo afficionados.

The best thing I can say about this minor giallo is that there really IS a naked girl killed in a park. In fact, as per the Italian title there is a COMPLETELY naked girl killed in a park. (There's a couple other naked girls too, but only one of them is killed in a park). That's pretty much the highlight of the movie though.

It starts off in a pretty interesting way with the first-person POV of a funhouse ride which turns out to be from the POV of a dead man!The dead man had just bought a million dollar life insurance, so an intrepid insurance investigator (Robert Hoffman) is called in. He dodges the police investigator on the case (former Bond villain Adolf Celli)and becomes involved with the man's two sexy but neurotic daughters as well as his sexy but neurotic widow (who judging by the looks of her must have given birth to her two daughters when she was about ten). More people die before the final revelation which, unfortunately, is pretty stupid and involves the guilty party delivering a ridiculous soliloquy to a giant portrait of the dead man. It ends back in the amusement park with yet another pretty dumb turn of events.

The lead Hoffman is awful, but Celli is pretty good if underused. The women are pretty, but they're definitely not at the acting level of an Edwige Fenech, Rosalba Neri, or Erica Blanc, or even lesser lights of the gialli like Nieves Navarro or Femi Benussi. Pretty forgettable overall--except for the naked girl killed in park.

Wealthy financier Johan Wallenberger is murdered in a House of Horrors of Madrid amusement park.His daughter Catherine(Pilar Velazquez)is taunted by mysterious and highly menacing phone calls and stalked by a stranger.An investigator from insurance company named Chris(Robert Hoffman)comes to Catherine's mansion where her wealthy family lives including her often drinking mother Magda(Irina Demick)and her sexually active elder sister Barbara(Patrizia Adiutori)who will be later found naked and slashed in the park.Mediocre giallo directed by highly prolific Italian director Alfonso Brescia.The film is poorly paced and quite tedious at times.Still Spanish scenery is wonderful and there is plenty of nudity.There is an interesting back story about Nazi war criminals and pretty unexpected climax.6 razors out of 10.

A man is murdered on a carnival ride, and his daughter (Pilar Velazquez) starts getting terrifying telephone calls. She's soon stalked by a mysterious man in black.

Meanwhile, Insurance investigator Chris Buyer (Robert Hoffmann) attempts to get to the truth about the death by infiltrating the victim's family. Buyer finds that many dark secrets are hidden in the Wallenberger mansion. He also encounters the beautiful trio of Wallenberger women.

Of course, someone is watching, resulting in death.

NAKED GIRL MURDERED IN THE PARK is a giallo boasting a cast of odd, intriguing characters. It's filled with mystery and suspense, culminating in a twist finale.

Yes, nudity / carnality abounds, befitting of the film's era. Co-stars the stunningly beautiful Irina Demick and Patrizia Adiutori...

This early '70s giallo from director Alfonso Brescia does indeed feature a naked girl killed in a park. Prior to her untimely demise, the woman in question, rich bitch Barbara Wallenberger (Patrizia Adiutori), also sheds her clothes for a romp in the hay with her stable boy Günther (Howard Ross) and gets jiggy with insurance investigator Chris Buyer (Robert Hoffmann), who is on the scene to probe into the mysterious death of her businessman father Johan. Ladies' man Chris also gets to romp in the sack with Barbara's beautiful brunette sister Catherine (Pilar Velázquez), meaning that those looking for some T&A to go with their murder/mystery are more than catered for.

But while Brescia delivers in the boobs and bums department, he doesn't do so well when it comes to the intrigue, the brutality, or the sense of style that is synonymous with the genre. His film is visually bland, the plot is mediocre at best, and the death scenes lack imagination (and gore), making this far from essential viewing for giallo fans. As is usually the case with such films, some fun can be gleaned from trying to figure out who the killer is, although the motive is so abstruse that correctly predicting the murderer's identity is unlikely (it's even harder to guess if watching the atrocious VHS-quality pan and scan version I originally found, which was not just missing most of the nudity, but also the all-important wartime prologue).