Omicidio per vocazione

Guilty pleasure of a giallo.

This is not a good movie, but I enjoyed it. It's written fairly well, and the mystery component is done well. However, the directing felt inexperienced. The acting was over the top... to the point of being campy. Some of these actors seem like cartoon characters. But that's all part of this films charm. It goes for it! Even the soundtrack is lively and unrestrained.

To enjoy the ride you will have to suspend your disbelief - particularly when the killer is revealed. There are also some moronic moments like when the character says, "I know who the killer is, but I can't tell you now. Meet me upstairs in 5 minutes."

For me, the fun energy and gusto won me over, and I wound up enjoying this film despite its many flaws.

Deadly Inheritance takes the framework of your average Agatha Christie novel from 1930s upper class England and places it in 1960s working class France. Though it starts out a bit chintzy (a deaf man would feel the vibrations of the train on the tracks, just to let you know) Omicidio per vocazione unfurls into an engaging mystery with a couple of likable characters you may actually be sorry to see die.

The patriarch passes on and leaves an unexpected inheritance in his will, but the catch is that his adopted son - a disabled 18 year old boy - must be cared for by the family until his 21st birthday and only then will the money be split between them. Of course, all hell breaks loose.

I recently watched the Italian thriller 🇮🇹 Deadly Inheritance (1968) on Tubi. The film follows the death of a wealthy railroad employee whose heirs, eager for their fortune, gather only to have one by one start disappearing as they await their inheritance.

Directed by Vittorio Sindoni (Don't Hurt Me, My Love) in his directorial debut, the movie stars Tom Drake (Meet Me in St. Louis), Femi Benussi (Batton Story), Ivo Garrani (Waterloo), and Ernesto Colli (Illustrious Corpses).

Although it leans more toward a crime drama and murder mystery than pure horror, Deadly Inheritance is very well written, featuring smart twists and turns. The peeping-tom scenes are fun, and the background music does an excellent job of creating atmosphere. The settings, costumes, and dialogue all work together to maintain your interest, and the final reveal makes the journey worthwhile.

In conclusion, Deadly Inheritance is a unique and fun whodunit that's definitely worth a watch. I'd score it a 6/10 and recommend seeing it at least once.

'Deadly Inheritance' is a fun little 60's Giallo flick with tight pacing, a satisfying mystery, and solid performances. The movie also has a decent plot with enough twists and turns to help make it an above average viewing experience. However, I wasn't really a fan of the rather comedic tone the movie takes and being an early example of the genre, this is a rather bloodless and plodding affair without hardly any suspense.

The plot = An rich railroad worker Oscar (Arnaldo De Angelis) is accidently killed by being run down by a train and when it comes to the reading of the will his 3 daughters are shocked to find out that he left everything to his adopted son Janot (Ernesto Colli). This leads to the family members getting killed off one by one as every member of the family has a clear motive for murder, but who is the mysterious killer.

The movie is well shot with some striking locations but lacks the stylish flair that fans of the genre have become accustomed to and while the mystery element is decent with some genuine surprises, the horror element is severely lacking. The characters here are well casted with some good performances from the likes of Tom Drake, Femi Benussi, Virgilio Gazzolo and Ernesto Colli each deliver standout performances in their roles.

Overall 'Deadly Inheritance' is enjoyable enough but needed that something extra special to stand out amongst the crowd of the far better Italian horror/thriller flicks.

Deadly Inheritance is probably most interesting as an example of an early giallo. It was released a couple of years before the genre was codified by the release of Dario Argento's debut film The Bird with the Crystal Plumage. As a result it's a good deal more restrained than the gialli of the 70's. It's not alone in this, as other late 60's gialli were pretty much the same. However, it does incorporate the serial killer on the loose mystery narrative that would go on to become a key aspect of the genre.

The story is about a family of greedy siblings who want to inherit the money left by their recently killed father. All his money is left to his adopted son Janot, who is mentally retarded. Pretty much immediately, a string of murders begin.

This is an example of the rural giallo. In the main the genre was an urban based genre and the rural ones are few and far between. The setting is in fact the French countryside. The location is decent enough. The cast has no big names but does have a few faces genre enthusiasts will recognise, such as Femi Benussi who starred in several Italian horror and thriller films such as Hatchet for the Honeymoon. Also of note is Ernesto Colli who plays Janot, he is an agreeably odd looking guy and also starred in the later giallo Torso. The best feature of the movie has to be the soundtrack though. The music is composed by Stefano Torossi. It's varied and of a good standard throughout. The film itself is solid enough although it's overall a little plodding. The murders are committed more or less off-screen and the suspense is a little limited. Interesting enough as a 60's giallo though.