Una sull'altra

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.

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.

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")

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

Pretty decent stab at an erotic thriller from the Goremeister General. It's all the things you would want: stylish, sexy, and gripping. It's also crisply shot and has an excellent Riz Ortolani score. Again, the dubbing is pretty ropey but if, by this point, you're seeking out some of Fulci's lesser-known works then it's safe to assume you've made your peace with this constant problem.

Marissa Mell is great as the femme fatale and Elsa Martinelli is cool and chic as the devoted mistress who, despite herself, can't stop believing in her man. In fact, the female performances are much stronger than the men, probably because Jean Sorel doesn't have much to do except wander around with his shirt off, looking bewildered.

Great photography of San Francisco, looking as good - if not better - than in BULLITT. There's also a fine cameo from Jean Sobieski, for connoisseurs of louche photographers in movies.

The only real problem is that the film isn't quite gripping enough. The premise is set up well in the first half hour or so, and the suspense and mystery sustained during the kinky interludes in the middle, but all is revealed through a clumsy expository scene with about 20 minutes remaining and after that it runs out of steam.

Well worth a look though.

6/10