Os Assassinos Só Matam aos Sábados

Frank Wolff puts in a great performance here as a world weary cop in Milan assigned to a missing person's case where a middle aged man keeps referring to his little girl, who turns out to be a six foot tall nymphomaniac with the mind of a three year old! That's pretty sick seeing as all evidence points to her being sent to work as a prostitute.

Wolff is one of these cops that isn't afraid to plant stuff on people, blackmail men who frequent hookers, or have his men slap pimps around. He's also very likable as for every bust he makes, he feels the weight of every crime that goes unpunished, so he winds down at night while playing the guitar, treating his sinusitis, and banging his wife.

During the day he and his subordinates start visiting whore houses in order to track down the missing girl which leads him to befriending hooker with a heart Herrero, who might be the key to the whole case. For a change its Herrero and Wolff's missus are the one who become sort-of friends, leading to all sorts of philosophising and what not.

Another plot thread concerns that of the missing girl's father. A man who just wanted to look after his daughter, what becomes of a man who's only reason for living is missing, and what is he going to do to those responsible, as he highly suspects that one of his neighbours is the kidnapper.

The 'identity of the kidnapper' plot I guess has this film being marked as a giallo, whereas other say it's a euro-crime film. Who gives a crap? It's a good film. Not much by way of gore, or nudity, but the ending was certainly violent enough and the film also has characters that actually display feelings for a change. Duccio Tessari also directed Tony Arzenta and the two films share that highly-stylised look, and in this film Tessari includes a lot of hand held footage, and a lot of scenes where the dialogue is drowned out by external noise.

You know what this film reminded me of? A Touch of Frost. I mean that as a good thing – Wolff does that thing Frost does where he constantly berates his subordinates ("Get a haircut").

In Lombardia, the widower Amanzio Berzaghi (Raf Vallone) goes to the police station and reports to Police Captain Duca Lamberti (Frank Wolff) and his assistant Mascaranti (Gabriele Tinti) that his daughter Donatella Berzaghi (Gill Bray) was kidnapped for sex trafficking. Then he explains that she is twenty-five-year-old, but intellectually disabled with mentality of a three-year-old child and nymphomaniac. Lambert and Mascaranti meet the former pimp Salvatore (Gigi Rizzi) to get information about the brothels in Milan and go deep in the underworld of sex to discover where Donatella is. Meanwhile her father continues his personal investigation about the fate of his daughter.

"La morte risale a ieri sera", a.k.a. "Death Occurred Last Night" is a good thriller made in Italy. The plot has flaws, as usual, but the story is consistent and "Hardcore" (1979) has a similar storyline. Raf Vallone has great performance and this unknown film is worthwhile watching. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Os Assassinos Só Matam aos Sábados" ("The Killers only Kill on Saturdays")

Death Occurred Last Night' is a gripping and well executed Giallo thriller with a sombre tone and an interesting central mystery that despite not offering the usual violent or sleaze that the genre usually offers, instead we get a more character driven story that focuses more on the investigation aspects and while this is not an entirely new take as there are plenty of early Giallo's that plays out like a cop show, this is definitely one of the better ones thanks to its stellar writing and efficient pacing.

The plot = A widower Amanzio Berzaghi (Raf Vallone) mentally challenged daughter Donatella (Gillian Bray) is kidnapped and forced into prostitution, the father then asks the police Captain Lamberti (Frank Wolff) for help in solving the case.

The movie may not appeal to all fans of the genre due to its more depressing nature and lack of violent set pieces, but don't let that put you off as this is something unique and really good, thanks to its more straightforward approach and its superb direction by Duccio Tessari who crafts a compelling narrative that packs an emotional punch especially towards its thrilling climax, which ends everything with an almighty bang.

The cast here are excellent with Raf Vallone delivering and tragic and sympathetic character, while Frank Wolff delivers an excellent and compelling performance. Gabriele Tinti also delivers a standout and interesting performance in her role. In fact, all of the cast are solid in their roles.

Overall 'Death Occurred Last Night' is a thoughtful, powerful and a somewhat unexpected gem of the genre that comes highly recommended.

A mentally backward 25 year old woman mysteriously vanishes and consequently turns up dead. The investigation then tries to find out who was responsible for the brutal murder. This poliziotteschi/giallo hybrid delves into the dark underbelly of Milan, where it turns out many shady individuals reside. Tonally, this is more on the poliziotteschi side of the fence than the giallo, consequently its a bit darker and nihilistic, with a more cynical view of life overall. Its still an involving mystery/thriller whatever its categorisation though and keeps you guessing. It also benefits from the great Frank Wolff on hand as the police inspector on the case.

Widower (Vallone) searches for his missing daughter with the aid of committed inspector (Wolff) leading to a complex web of exploitation and deceit.

Probably more a polizioteschi than strictly giallo fare, the pacing sometimes suffers and the plot twists more than it needs to, but despite some issues with momentum, the overall result is still satisfying.

Aside from the two leads who are both excellent, German leading lady Eva Renzi lends support as Wolff's highly invested wife, Beryl Cunningham has a sizeable supporting role as a reluctant informer of sorts, whilst Gabriele Tinti shows his disdain for criminals as Wolff's highly-strung detective partner.

It's a rather bleak tale which Director Tessari handles with care and compassion, another interesting contrast to the usual giallo in which victims are typically discarded with a casual contempt. Better than average, but don't expect razor blades, black gloves and blood-splatter - this is a complex mystery which takes its time to strike.