L'affaire de la fille au pyjama jaune

It's weird but always thrilling to come across a completely unknown and hard-to-find giallo, especially when you're an avid fan of this Italian sub genre of horror, like myself. The majority of good gialli have received fancy DVD-releases by now and, considering this gem was still nowhere available, I began to fear that it might be a real stinker. The opposite is true, however, as this is an engaging murder mystery with original plot-twists, an innovating structure and good acting performances. The decomposed body of a murdered young girl is found on the beach, with only her yellow pajamas as a possible lead to find the killer. Retired detective Thompson (Ray Milland from "Premature Burial") teams up with the police and his old-fashioned investigation methods are a lot more fruitful than the routine cop-work. This film differs from other gialli because the body count is really low and the cinematography is is rather monotonous. Nevertheless, the red herrings are more effective than usual and the flashback sequences are extraordinary stylish. If the whole thing seems too confusing at first, just force yourself to carry on watching, as the actual revelation clarifies all you need to know in a very original way. Intriguing stuff, definitely worth a look if you can find it.

Often referred to as a giallo, The Pyjama Girl Case (or The Girl in the Yellow Pajamas) is one of the more unique entries into the sub-genre. Frankly, it's not really much of a giallo in my eyes. I look at it as more of a dramatic murder mystery with some underlying splashes of the yellow paint.

In Sydney, a young girl discovers the charred remains of a woman in an old car on the beach. The woman's face is too badly burned for the police to make a proper identification. The case is given to an inspector by the name of Ramsey, though retired Inspector Thompson insists on getting involved as well much to Ramsey's dismay. While we watch their investigation unfold, we are also treated to an alternate story involving a sexually troubled young woman who has gotten herself involved with three different men. What's the connection? Ray Milland is solid as the retired Thompson, and he delivers a few laughs to boot. He has a distaste for the methods that police have began using since his time on the force, and it's quite entertaining to watch his sense of glee whenever he's crowding Ramsey's space. Ramsey is a pretty unlikable guy too. He refuses to listen to Thompson's logical reasoning, and he tries his best to find a scapegoat as quickly as he can. Caring more about getting credit and going on a nice vacation as soon as possible, Ramsey is behind Thompson every step of the way.

On the alternate end of the spectrum, Dalila Di Lazzaro successfully captures the very troubled and torn nature of her character, Glenda. She spends her time between a wealthy doctor (Mel Ferrer) and a German factory employee (Howard Ross), both of whom she uses for meaningless sex. Through Roy, the German, she meets Antonio, a Polish waiter with a seemingly soft and sensitive nature. They fall for each other and marry, but the marriage is a very troubled one as Glenda, starved for both intimacy and an emotional connection, becomes very bored with the shy natured Antonio. This in turn sets off his jealous tendencies. As Antonio, I think Michele Placido gives what is perhaps the film's best performance. He's just as troubled as his wife, and his emotional outbursts seem genuine and heartfelt.

The film's unique narrative is constructed in an effective manner as we bounce back and forth not only between stories, but in time as well. Director Mogherini also throws in some wonderful pieces of misdirection throughout the alternating story lines. Carlo Carlini's cinematography is splendid. Sydney is a lovely city, and Carlini milks it for all it's worth, delivering some striking shots and images. Mogherini's film is further complimented by some rather arty directorial flourishes. One of my favorite sequences has tons of people in trance-like states shuffling around a tank containing the woman's body, the police hoping someone will be able to identify her. The scene plays to Riz Ortolani's beautifully haunting score, and has a very surreal, detached feel to it. It's a masterfully crafted little sequence.

Overall, while a stylish film, The Pyjama Girl Case is mainly about the characters. It's a very character driven story with a real emotional punch to it, something I wasn't expecting when I first gave it a go. I have zero reservations about recommending this to fans of gialli and Eurohorror in general. Just don't go in expecting your typical giallo.

Ray Milland had a long career (1929-1985) and many roles, including his Oscar as Best Actor in Billy Wilder's Lost Weekend. He managed a couple of Italian films in the 70s, including this one.

It is not a typical giallo, as the body count is very low. However, it does have a certain charm as a police procedural as they try to discover who killed the girl in the yellow pyjamas.

Seeing Dalila Di Lazzaro certainly makes the film worthwhile, and you do see all of her as she romps with men and women (Vanessa Vitale, who was not bad herself.).

Red herrings and surprises abound in a film that was shot in Sydney, and really looked good there. In fact, it was based upon a true story in Austrailia in the 30s.

Good acting by Lazarro and Michele Placido, as well as a fine performance by Milland.

This film was confusing when I watched it, however, all was revealed at the end. Suddenly, everything fell into place and it seems that this films' directional technique was employed years later by directors like Tarintino and Ritchie.

The film doesn't run in the standard order of things, making it stand out for it's time. A good screenplay, good acting all round and not bad by any movie viewers standards.

A little girl in Australia finds a dead woman wearing yellow pajamas on a beach, whose head has been badly disfigured or burnt. The police have no idea who she is. Scenes alternate between the police investigation storyline, and scenes from the life of a woman who has a number of different men in her life. How the latter scenes fit in doesn't become clear (or didn't for me) until fairly far into the movie. In fact, I think the other user misunderstood who she was.

This is a fair giallo, but something that really hurt it for me was that there were so many characters who weren't really well identified. From scene to scene I often wasn't sure if I was meeting someone new, or someone from a previous scene.

It isn't without some interest. One memorable scene was when the police put the body into a glass case and put it on public display in an attempt to find someone who could identify her!

Perhaps it was just a flaw in my copy, but it seemed like some short scenes or shots were tinted different colors. There are other scenes where there are clearly intentional changes in colored lights, as when there is an advertising sign just outside a window.