La Mort lente

This is a very obscure Italian giallo that I'd previous only heard of via the trailer in "42nd Street Forever" (a trailer that made it look like a police action film as I recall!). This is actually an old-fashioned giallo. Marisa Mell is a young woman who comes to Rome and soon drifts into de facto prostitution in order to survive. She meets a misanthropic doctor and would-be poet(Farley Granger), but soon falls in love with another man. Murder ensues and she soon finds herself being blackmailed, sexually and financially, by her husband's shady driver, who saw something he shouldn't have.

This movie has a rather unusual narrative structure time-wise that jumps back and forth through time (often without much warning), which might confuse some viewers, but for me it made this rather pedestrian story much more interesting. The movie also has a truly tragic tone to it and a social commentary (both the wife and the blackmailing driver bring about their own downfall in an effort to become privileged bourgeosie)not usually found giallo thrillers. The ending is a little weak, but up until then it's a good movie.

Marisa Mell is considered a top-tier Eurobabe today (although she died penniless in the early 80's). And Helga Line, another ubiquitous "sexy" actress of the era, has a supporting role as her best female friend and confidante (and there are nude scenes all around, of course). The English-language title "Death Will Have Your Eyes" (after one of the husband's cheerful efforts at poetry) is actually much better than the Italian title for a change. This is worth checking out.

Death Will Have Your Eyes is a lesser-known giallo that seems to have a poor reputation, judging from the low rating on IMDb. However, while not a lost classic of the genre, the film is certainly as good as some of the more popular entries.

The plot is not told in a linear fashion. Louisa (Marisa Mell) makes a late-night phone call to her best friend, played by Helga Line. The friend, believing that it is more of the protagonist's marital problems, tells Louisa it will all work out and to call her in the morning. Then, we get a flashback. Marisa Mell is a lady new to the city who attracts the eye of a rich doctor (Farley Granger). They soon marry. The doctor is an aesthete, having a love for art, classical music, poetry, and fine dining. Louisa comes from humble origins and does not share his love for these things. What she craves is human passion, something the doctor is in short supply of. Before long, Louisa is looking around for a lover.

Death Will Have Your Eyes is a psychological giallo. Its protagonist gets herself into a compromising position and has to try to get out of it. Those looking for black glove killers and gruesome death scenes should look for a different giallo. Instead, Death Will Have Your Eyes creates realistic characters and then observes the consequences of their actions. The actors are all good in their roles, and Stelvio Cipriani's music, particularly at the finale is quite good.

Death Will Have Your Eyes may not be everyone's type of giallo, but there is a mystery and there is a murder. I was pleasantly surprised by it, maybe because of low expectations.