Death Walks on High Heels

LA MORTE CAMMINA CON I TACCHI ALTI

DEATH WALKS ON HIGH HEELS

Director: Luciano Ercoli. Sc: Velasco, Ernesto Gastaldi,Verde. Music: Stelvio Cipriani. Cast: Susan Scott (Nieves Navarro), Frank Wolff, Simon Andreu, Jorge Rigaud.

Susan Scott is an exotic dancer (ie stripper) who has a relationship with a very violent boyfriend, played by Simon Andreu. Frank Wolff is an eye surgeon who becomes infatuated with Scott (even though he's married). After spending lavish amounts of money on her for a new wardrobe she begins to take him more seriously. Meanwhile, she is receiving threatening phone calls which culminate in the maniac entering her bedroom and sticking a knife to her throat. The only distinguishing feature of the madman is his piercing blue eyes (he was first seen killing a one-eyed man on a train). The surprise comes half way into the film when Scott is indeed killed (quite anticlimactically, as she is smothered to death with a pillow). From there, the police must narrow the field of suspects, setting a trap that finally results in the capture of the blue-eyed maniac.

A spectacularly talky film (and like all of Ercoli's thrillers, well over 100 minutes) that is saved by the twists and turns of its plot. Even at the halfway point, there is still a lot of plot left to slug through including diamond thieves and a transvestite.  As you might can ascertain from the above, the visual motif of Frank Wolff's profession gives director Ercoli a field day. At one point Wolff is seen filming one of Scott's performances with a movie camera. Blind patients and a set of blue-colored contact lenses also figure into the scenario. Simon Andreu gives a fine performance as the brutal boyfriend who is all too obvious as the red-herring of the cast. Stelvio Cipriani's score is a disappointment. I have to think he was overwhelmed by all that damn dialogue.