La corta notte delle bambole di vetro

Hardly ever a movie got me clinging to my chair so much till literally the last seconds! "Malastrana" tells the story of a journalist (Jean Sorel) in Prague. He lies helplessly in a hospital and remembers in flashbacks how his girlfriend (young Barbara Bach) disappeared. Since the police was not helpful, he tried to find clues what has happened to her. Abduction, murder, or did she just run away?

In true giallo tradition, this is a movie about bizarre killings employing an eccentric visual style, dark and mysterious, but "Malastrana" is more than that. In a dialogue which was cut from the original German version (restored for the DVD release 2006), an old man bitterly sums up how the rich and powerful will always find somebody else to die for them, from the soldier on the battlefield to the... well, butterflies. You don't understand my last remark, I guess. You will when you watch this movie. Hush! No more.

A street sweeper finds a man, apparently dead, lying in a park. An ambulance is called. The camera shows the route followed by the ambulance: A grey city is revealed with old buildings and statues. A feeling of gloom and sadness permeates the screen, underlined still more by the hauntingly beautiful soundtrack of Ennio Morricone. Welcome to Prague, the city of Kafka.

At the hospital, the doctors, after examining the body, declare him to be dead. But he's not really dead! Even if he doesn't show signs of life, he's conscious and screams silently (he can't move or talk) for them to save his life. In fact, as his body doesn't show the rigor mortis or putrefaction signs usual in the dead, they think that maybe he's not really dead and decide to try to reanimate him.

On searching his effects, the hospital attendants discover that he is Gregory Moore (Jean Sorel), an American reporter. The film is divided in two parts - the remembrances of Gregory Moore and the attempts of the hospital staff to revive him.

After Gregory's girlfriend Mira (gorgeous Barbara Bach) mysteriously disappears, he decides to investigate on his own to discover what lies behind it. As his investigation progresses, the local police become gradually more hostile. Something horrible is happening. But the people that could shed some light on this story either refuse to speak or are "removed". Gregory is now on what could be his final journey. What happened to him? The atmosphere of mystery, fear and perplexity surrounding Gregory is excellently portrayed in "La Corta Notte delle Bambole di Vetro". If you want to know more, see the film. It's a very good giallo.

"La Corta Notte delle Bambole di Vetro"'s cast (Jean Sorel, Ingrid Thulin, Barbara Bach, Mario Adorf) adds still more charm to the film. It's interesting to say that Ingrid Thulin appeared in Bergman's "The Silence" (1963) that takes its place in a strange and mysterious city of eastern European appearance!

Highly recommended!

Outstanding Giallo where the Giallo tag barely applies, every shot looks like it was painted by an Italian maestro, and Ennio Morricone's soundtrack just adds to the eerie disorientation.

The films starts with the dead body of Jean Sorel being found in a park in Prague, although as we can hear his thoughts, he's not quite as dead as he seems. After his initial horror at his predicament, and his futile attempts to communicate, Jean tries to figure out why he ended up in this situation in the first place - while laying out on a mortuary slab.

Way back before he was a faux-corpse, it turns out Jean was a groovy US journalist based in Prague and just about to move home with his Czech girlfriend, Barbara Bach. Obviously this is back in the communist era, so he's having to do a bit of bribery in order to get her out of the country. He attends a party where most of the high-ranking politicians are present, and ends up leaving Barbara surrounded by cooing strangers while he fends of the advances of his co-worker and gets bogged down in a pointless conversation with his other co-worker, boozy Mario Adorf!

The next day Barbara has gone missing, which leads Jean and Mario on a city spanning hunt to find out where she's gone. The police aren't much help, and Jean uncovers a history of young woman going missing in Prague that leads to a truth far more sinister than a mere black hatted-killer going around knifing folk for kicks. Of course, everyone who could actually help Jean ends up dead, but this film isn't all about body count.

And that's just the flashback portion of the film, because in real time Jean's being rolled here and there, tested for responses, poked, probed, and all the while screaming in his head for help. The two plot strands come together nicely in an ending that'll have you thinking: "This is an Italian film."

Just stunning to look at it (that means when you look at the film, you fall over your coffee table or just fall off the couch), jaw-dropping (which means your mouth just falls open for no reason), mesmerizing (you starve to death looking at the film). Watch out for the nightmarish visuals and the old person orgy! Recommended.

The 'Creepy Eastern European City' plot would return in the Spider Labyrinth, probably the last genuinely creepy Italian film ever made/

In Prague, a man is found dead and sent to the morgue. The coroner finds his passport and identifies the American journalist Gregory Moore (Jean Sorel).He finds strange his body temperature and the absence of rigor mortis. However, Gregory is alive and totally paralyzed and recalls all the previous events. Gregory works in Prague with the journalists Jessica (Ingrid Thulin), with whom he had a love affair, and Jacques Versain (Mario Adorf). He will be transferred to London and meets his girlfriend Mira Svoboda (Barbara Bach) to invite her to travel with him. They go to a party and then he returns to his apartment with Mira. During the night, Jacques calls him to investigate the death of a minister. However the information is fake and when he returns to the apartment, he finds that Mira has gone missing. The inefficient Inspector Kierkoff (Piero Vida) is in charge of the investigation and Gregory finds that several young women have disappeared in Prague. He carries out his own investigation culminating to find a mysterious cult. Meanwhile his friend and doctor finds weird the condition of his corpse and tries to revive Gregory. Will he succeed?

"La corta notte delle bambole di vetro", a.k.a. "Short Night of Glass Dolls", is a totally different giallo. The story has no gore and slightly recalls the idea of "Sunset Boulevard", where a dead man tells the previous series of events until his death, and "Rosemary's Baby" since there are many people involved in a satanic cult. The conclusion is excellent with no redemption. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Breve Noite das Bonecas de Vidro" ("The Short Night of the Glass Dolls")

Note: On 11 June 2020 I saw this film again.

A body is discovered on the streets of Prague. Only hours before an autopsy is performed on him, we learn he's not really dead, but trapped inside his body and trying desperately to recall the events leading up to this predicament. And hopefully avoid the autopsy.

This Aldo Lado directed giallo has a lot going for it. Not a traditional giallo, but rather an inventive spin on the formula. It's cleverly written, decently acted and quite suspenseful at times but somehow misses the bull's eye. It drags a bit, could have used some trimming perhaps. Also, the end solution is bit of a letdown, but maybe that's just me. I found it a bit much, the buildup was better than the conclusion. But a big thumbs up for the chilling ending.

Lado is very stylish at times but Argento he's not. Quite good all the same.