Il vizio ha le calze nere

Reflections in Black is a good name for a movie. And this one has a tantalising poster too if you bother to seek it out. But you know that old saying about never judging a book by its cover…

This is certainly one of the least impressive examples of the Italian giallo that I have seen. It was directed by Tano Cimorosa, who also plays the diminutive detective with the 'tache. Cimorosa will be familiar to a lot of you from his memorable appearance in Renato Polselli's brutally sleazy giallo Delirium (1972). Well this movie sure has its fair share of sleaze as well but it's a much less entertaining affair. On the one hand it certainly contains many of the giallo conventions such as a convoluted mystery, violent murders and a healthy amount of nudity; on the other hand it completely lacks any sense of style. As a result it merely comes off as rough edged and at best semi-interesting. It stars giallo regulars such as Dagmar Lassander and Giacomo Rossi-Stuart but they aren't really given a lot to do.

It should be pointed out that the copy I saw was pan and scan and 72 minutes, with poor sound. Perhaps if I saw it in a better version my opinion would improve, as I do believe that there is a 90 minute cut out there. But my main feeling is that the basic ingredients of this one are not terrific no matter the version.

Well, it's safe to say that Reflections in Black isn't the most interesting example of the Giallo genre, but it has more than its fair share of sleaze and the short running time ensures that the film doesn't really have time to run of steam. One of the most nauseating things about this film is the cinematography. Director Tano Cimarosa doesn't really seem to care about the sets and colour schemes that set Giallo apart from the thriller genre on the whole and goes for a grisly look and feel to the film. This does, of course, blend well with the film's sleazy nature...but it's not very easy on the eyes. The sleazy plot line focuses on the brutal slashing of a number of women. After interviewing a few suspects, it soon becomes apparent that the murderer is focusing on the friends of Leonora Anselmi. Leonora is married, but that doesn't stop her from having numerous relationships with other women…

Director Tano Cimarosa seems keen to keep the focus on sleaze and savagery throughout, and if we're not witnessing a woman being slashed open with a razor blade, we're watching two of them getting it on. Normally, a film like this would get a high rating from me; but because the cinematography is so painful, none of it is pleasing to the eye and that ensures that it's all rather uninspiring. The cast features two recognisable names, those belonging to John Richardson, the star of a number of Italian films including Bava's Black Sunday and Lenzi's Eyeball, and Dagmar Lassander; who also appears on a number of cult cast lists. Neither really has room to impress here. Despite putting more focus on sleaze, the plot is actually quite complicated; and is made more so by the fact that all the characters are wafer thin and it can be difficult to work out their motives because of that. The ending doesn't come as much of a surprise, although I wasn't really expecting it to. Overall, Reflections in Black really isn't a good film; but I hesitate to completely condemn it as it's a great exercise in crappy film-making, and it does at least do some of the things that you want a Giallo to do.

We've all been there - the middle of a murder mystery just because you happen to be a lesbian countess with an angry husband, and the victims being all your ex-lovers. Them damn police don't let up with their questions either. Don't they know that lesbian sex scenes are a giallo film's way of distracting you from the lame plot?

Yep, the killer has black gloves and an open razor, the victims are young and often naked ladies, and there's loads and loads of nudity to keep you awake between the interminable police investigation scenes. The main focus seems to be mainly on John Richardson the policeman and his sidekick, who suspiciously is played by director/actor Gaetano. There's also a keen rookie cop and his girlfriend that clog up the investigation side of things too, and bulk out the plot.

As usual a photograph is a main plot point, there's a few effective stalking scenes, but even the rampant nudity couldn't really carry this one all the way through. They didn't give Giacomo Rossi-Stuart enough screen time either.

This had absolutely zero atmosphere whatsoever. It felt, to me, like a made for TV film. The camera work wasn't too bad, it wasn't breathtaking but there were some very nice shots and sets/locations, so that kept me paying attention even when the story was either not keeping me interested, or just confusing me to the point that I wanted to turn off the TV. I do like that it's a mid-70s giallo rather than the more typical early 70s, because it meant that the fashion was quite fun to observe, being different from a lot of other gialli. Mid to late 70s fashion is some of the best and funnest and craziest in my opinion, but that's completely subjective. Still, it added another factor that kept me watching. Great furniture too.

Overall it's not actually bad, it's just not good either and has no atmosphere whatsoever which is unfortunate in a giallo film. But it's better than I originally thought.

Very rare but highly improbable giallo, that's about it. This movie is part of the late entries into the giallo genre and obviously hasn't much to say.

A lady in black (close shot on the black hose she wears)kills several young ladies (wearing undies, as usual) with no apparent motive (oh, really?). Except that the ladies are all related to a picture on which they appear altogether. The detective( John Richardson)penetrates the world of a very rich family where everything seems to be, well...mysterious.

Oh well, very usual indeed. Vice always finds home in the italian haute-bourgeoisie, loads of lesbian scenes & female nudity, and murders scenes piling up in a very tired way (all razors except one strangulation). The resolution is completely absurd (and the explanation of the sole survivor is utterly funny as she doesn't seem to be convinced of what she says).

The director has no sense of rythmn (essential in that genre) and lacks of strength when it comes to direct. The actors are like robots doing their thing over and over, lead by british actor John Richardson (and genre veteran)who was on the decline of his career.

The suspense does work anyway and for those who know the Giallo tricks, it's nevertheless obvious who's doing what. The director although tries to give a different tone (a comic one) with John Rochardson's sidekick, as if he wasn't interested in the suspense : that's why maybe the murders scenes are so mechanical and uninteresting.

For genre lovers only, IL VIZIO HA LE CALZE NERE has very few appeal on all levels even though the version I've seen is a 71 mn running time and appears to be heavily cut.

has been shot in Techniscope 2.35:1. Watch out for the horrible pan and scan version

Superwonderscope says : 4