Una sull'altra

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!

Old school giallo with a low body count. this one is not about the gore. it's more concerned with solving a central murder. stylish and sexy. the ending was quite suspenseful. def worth checking out once if you're a thriller/mystery fan

I would hesitate to class Lucio Fulci's One On Top Of The Other as a giallo: it's lacking that genre's trademark 'leather gloved killer' and creative murders. It is, however, an entertaining if improbable thriller with bags of cool '60s style - definitely one of the director's more accomplished efforts.

Jean Sorel stars as Dr. George Dumurrier, who finds to his surprise that his late wife Susan (Marisa Mell) has left him $2 million richer thanks to a recently acquired insurance policy. The police find this rather strange and investigate, coming to the conclusion that Dumurrier killed his wife for the money. Does stripper Monica, Susan's doppelganger, hold the key to proving George's innocence, and will someone uncover the truth before he is sent to the gas chamber?

A product of the trippy, hippy psychedelic era, One On Top Of The Other features swinging sex and plenty of nudity, a scene at a strip-club where patrons play with balloons (how wild!), an Austin Powers-style photographer with a droopy moustache (You're a tiger! You're a lemur! And I'm spent.), and groovy split screen imagery a la DePalma. It's also got an excellent jazzy score by Riz Ortolani, that adds plenty of pep to proceedings.

There's almost none of the outrageous gore for which the director would become known (just a brief shot of a rotting corpse), but there's plenty of intrigue, with a twisty plot and a suspenseful finalé in which Fulci doesn't let on till the very last moment whether George has been executed or not.

The final scene, in which a radio reporter speaks to the camera and points at various objects as though his listeners can see what he is talking about, provided a few unintentional chuckles as well.

Lucio 'godfather of gore' Fulci may be best known for his ultra-gory Zombie films, but the majority of my fellow fans of Italian Genre-Cinema will probably agree that his Gialli from the early 70s, most notably his greatest masterpiece "Non Si Sevizia Un Paperino" aka. "Don't Torture A Duckling" (1972) are easily as noteworthy. The master's first Giallo, "Una Sull'Altra" aka. "Perversion Story"/"One on Top of the Other" pf 1969 is a very gore-less but utterly fascinating Thriller/Mystery which no Cult-fan should consider missing.

As some other early specimen for the genre, this isn't a typical example for the Italian Giallo, as it doesn't focus on a series of murders. The womanizing San Francisco Doctor George Dumurrier (Jean Sorel) is with his mistress, the erotic photographer Jane (Elsa Martinelli) when he hears that his wife, who suffered from grave asthma, has died. Soon thereafter, George makes the acquaintance of the sexy and mysterious stripper Monica Weston (Marisa Mell), who happens to be the spitting image of his wife. Shortly thereafter, it is revealed that his wife was poisoned...

I do not want to go into detail about the wonderfully convoluted storyline, but I can assure that "Una Sull'Altra" should satisfy any fan of suspenseful mysteries in general and Italian Cult cinema in particular. Italian cult-directors had a unique talent for combining sleaze and elegance; the late 60s in particular were a period when elegant films about sexual perversion (such as "Femina Ridens" or "La Malizie Di Venere") would lead from the restrictions of 60s cinema into the openly and explicitly sleazy 70s. "Una Sull'Altra" is from that period, and while the film is not yet quite as graphically explicit as many 70s Gialli, the focus on erotic elements is strong. Especially the gorgeous Austrian cult-beauty Marisa Mell ("Diabolik", "La Belva Col Mitra", "Milano Rovente"...) epitomizes eroticism as the femme-fatale stripper Monica. The film is full of tasteful female nudity, most notably by Mell. Elsa Matinelli makes another great, strong and sexy female as the sleaze-photographer Jane and Jean Sorel ("La Corta Notte Delle Bambole Di Vetro", "Una Lucertola Con La Pelle Di Donna", "Belle De Jour") makes a very good lead. The rest of the cast includes several other well-known cult-actors such as Alberto De Mendoza ("Lo Strano Vizio Della Signora Wardh", "La Coda Dello Scorpione"), John Ireland and Riccardo Cucciola, who is probably best known for his role in Mario Bava's 1974 masterpiece "Cani Arrabbiati".

As Fulci's later Gialli, "Una Sull'Altra" is elegantly shot. While the San Francisco setting differs from the typical Italian Giallo-Settings it has a great potential for atmospheric beauty which Fulci makes best use of. The psychedelic score by maestro Riz Ortolani is hypnotic and brilliant and one of the most mesmerizing atmospheric aspects of the film. While the film is almost completely gore-less, Fulci's talent for gore manifests in one sequence in a morgue. "Una Sull'Altra" is a suspenseful, atmospheric and highly interesting film that is worth watching for many reasons. The gorgeous Marisa Mell is only one of these many reasons, but she's undeniably the most obvious one. 8/10

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")