Including the fact that an American is playing Italian and an Italian is playing American, The Girl Who Knew Too Much is probably one of the freshest giallos I’ve seen in a long time. Bava is said to be the inventor of the classic, traditional Italian murder mystery - even if we all know he took a lot of his inspiration for Blood and Black Lace from the excellent fashion house thriller Mannequin in Red (Arne Mattsson, 1958). But it all began in Italy with this charming, smart och witty thriller with some comedic undertones. For those expecting a bloody, graphic and sexy giallo this will be a disappointment, but for us who prefer good storytelling this is a fantastic discovery. Yeah, this is the first time I’ve seen it - thanks to the good people at Arrow Films in the UK.
Letícia Román is Nora Davis, a young tourist from New York who travel to Rome for some sightseeing and visiting an old friend of her mother. After an incident involving marijuana - a set-up for a joke much later in the film - she finally arrives to her mother’s friend to find her on her deathbed. This is of course sad, but she also meets the young hunky doctor Marcello (John Saxon), who obviously falls for her. One evening she discovers her friend have died - from natural causes. She leaves the apartment to find a doctor and - this must have been a terrible evening - runs into a bag-snatcher! She falls and hurts herself, loses her consciousness - but before she completely passes out she witnesses a murder, a woman with a knife in her back and a middle-aged man behind her… but when she wakes up there’s no proof there’s been a murder and no one believes her. So like in every other giallo afterwards she takes the matter into her own hands!
With The Girl Who Knew Too Much it’s hard to compare it with something made earlier, it’s not especially similar to the above mentioned Mannequin in Red, and it’s the first of it’s kind in Italy. I guess the best parable is Hitchcock, the more light-hearted films he made, with a beautiful Italian touch of visual wizardry. First of all, Letícia Román is a very likable heroine, balancing perfectly between the confused blonde and the smart amateur sleuth. She’s an excellent actress and a strong female character, which always is nice. I’ve always thought John Saxon to be a grumpy bastard, which might be because he often takes roles for the sake of money. Here he’s really, really good. A fresh face, sharp and with a edge - and also quite funny.
Together these two darlings stars in a simple and smart story. It never bores you. Even the comedic segments is entertaining and is a nice weight against the slick thrills and chills. As so often before and after Bava himself handles the cinematography, and it looks stunning. The beginning set around the deathbed of the old friend looks like a million gothic bucks. He also works with some austere locations, white walls, just lonely lightbulbs hanging from the roof, and makes it equally fascinating. The thriller moments is also very classy and the effective story might not change the world, but it’s crisp. It’s not tired. It’s a damn fine thriller.
The Girl Who Knew Too Much have just been released by Arrow Films and they’ve done a superb job with the transfer. It’s not a perfect print by any means, but as close as probably was possible with a small film like this, a film which probably just will sell to those - like me - who knows the genre and people involved. The film really shines, taking care of the shadows and highlights and is really sharp without destroying the quality of the negative. I haven’t even started with the bonus material - or watching the US cut, Evil Eye, also included on the blu-ray, but it can’t wait to do that!
This is one of the best releases this year and something you need to own!
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