Death Occurred Last Night

LA MORTE RISALE A IERI SERA

DEATH OCCURRED LAST NIGHT

Italy 1970

D: Duccio Tessari.

P: Giuseppe Tortorella for CCC Filmkunst, Lombard Films and Slogan Films//St & Sc: Duccio Tessari, Biagio Proietta, Arthur Brauner//DP: Lamberto Caimi//E: Mario Morra//M: Gianni Ferrio//Art D: Enrico Tovaglieri//Makeup: Franco Palombi.

Cast: Raf Vallone, Frank Wolff, Gabriele Tinti, Beryl Cunningham, Eva Renzi,Gill Bray, Gigi Rizzi, Vilma Casagrande, Marco Moriani, Nicky Zuccola, Helga Machaty, Riccardo De Stefanis.

A father keeps his teenage daughter locked up in their apartment because she is mentally challenged. Unfortunately she has a curiosity about sex and is kidnapped by a local pimp. She was killed when her mental condition was discovered. The cop assigned to the case (Frank Wolff, who never gave a poor performance in any of his films) is also trying to locate the murderers before the father. The dad tracks them down and brutally kills them. By the film's conclusion there are no winners here, only losers.

Director Duccio Tessari is one of the better Italo-genre directors. He usually specialized in Westerns (the RINGO films with Giuliano Gemma) though his two thrillers (see also UNA FARFALLA CON LE ALI INSANGUINATE) show he could have just as easily specialized in this genre. Gianni Ferrio's score is one of the best. Black actress Beryl Cunningham made numerous appearances throughout the sixties and seventies, most notably starring in two films by Piero (SATANIK) Vivarelli, BLACK DECAMERON & IL DIO SERPENTE. And of course Frank Wolff's character has to be suffering from some type of misery (here it's sinus problems) in an effort to humanize him. Unhappiness, obsession and loneliness are the themes that stand out in this thoughtful variation. Without a doubt, Raf Vallone as the victim's father gives the kind of performance that transcends the genre, and yet the poor guy received no acting accolades for it. Rarely allowed to show a sensitive side in his many performances, Vallone proves that great actors never take any part for granted. He certainly didn't here.