User reviews

Until rugged cop Stuart Whitman makes full use of his Dirty Harry tool, you've got to wait until the very end of the movie. Along the way, you get your money's worth – a lineup of veteran Hollywood actors having fun poliziottesco style, a sex shop scene high on the 70s sleaze-o- meter, karate killer transvestites, Mia Farrow's sister as a blind girl, the stunning beauty of H'wood actress Gayle Hunnicutt, the admirable tits of Québécois Adjani lookalike Carole Laure, the creative use of a curling iron, plus a quite spectacular car chase in the streets of Montreal, expertly executed by legendary stunt coordinator Rémy Julienne (The Italian Job, six Bond movies, a dozen Belmondo action flicks). Of course Blazing Magnum is just a ripoff, but a highly entertaining one, in its molto-trasho-appeal unquestionably superior to each and every 70s Clint Eastwood vigilante vehicle. Gritty six stars, the seventh being for Armando Trovaioli's groovster soundtrack: That ain't Montreal, it's Funkytown.

With a great cast featuring Stuart Whitman, John Saxon, Martin Landau, AND Tisa Farrow this film glides with the greatest of ease. STRANGE SHADOWS IN AN EMPTY ROOM is sort of a cross between the Italian crime/police potboiler and your average giallo thriller. An interesting and fun blend it is. I'd rather not give too much of the film away since it's better going into it knowing next to nothing. Let's just say there's murder, mystery, car chases, blood, funky 70s music, karate-kicking drag queens, and of course your all-star cast! Have fun.

When this briefly played in the U.S. in 76-7, American International marketed it more in the line of a horror thriller than the shoot-em-up it leaned toward. Six capable perfomers, most of whom were accustomed to making the most out of low-budget material, appeared to varying degrees of success. DeMartino was a workmanlike director who, like most of his Italian contemporaries of the era, made his way around all of the heavily produced genres from western and superhero to crime and horror.

A thrilling and bizarre film in which a two-fisted Ottawa police captain (Stuart Whitman) , -helped by a Sergeant (John Saxon)- searches for the person who poisoned his sister , who was attending the university in Montreal, Canada . So desperate is he for vendetta , as he starts using his own violent methods to discover the murderer . There are various suspicious people , as a doctor (Martin Landau) , a teacher (Gayle Hunnicut) ...who's the killer ? Soon he finds out that not everything is what he thought it was . Walk with her if you dare...for every step will bring you closer, closer, closer to the meaning of fear! Enter at your own risk ... for there is no such thing as a truly empty room

Poliziesco/Giallo movie with decent production design as well as budget enough , it contains intriguing events , breathtaking scenes , noisy action , vicious killers , and spectacular car pursuits with subsequent crashes . It is a passable actioner with some moving scenes , a straightforward story with lots of shootouts , robbing , fights , twists and turns . The film benefits itself of an interesting issue and disconcerting premise , the strange murder at an University boarding house of a girl who results to be sister of the starring , a tough policeman , and the latter then searching for a merciless revenge by discovering a real series killer . Displaying a great number of red herrings , thrills , plot twists , and suspenseful events . In spite of some flaws and gaps , action keeps breathless, thanks to tension and intrigue . Notable widescreen scenes , which will suffer on TV small screen and including some zooms , as usual . It belongs to Poliziesco subgenre adding some Giallo elements . As a subgenre, the poliziesco (literally, "tough cop") has its beginnings in the late 1960s with films such as Lizzani's Bandiits in Milan (1968), but finds its greatest influence in the American policemen of the early 1970s in the Dirty Harry films (from 71 to 88), William Friedkin's French Connection (1971) or Sidney Lumet's Serpico (1973). Here stars Stuart Whitman as a tough Ottawa police inspector who seeks the killer who poisoned his sister and giving a notable acting . He's well accompanied by a nice cast , such as John Saxon , Martin Landau , Mia's sister : Tisa Farrow , Carole Laure , Jean LeClerc and Gayle Hunnicutt.

It has a tense and attractive musical score by Armando Trovajoli. As well as atmospheric cinematography by cameraman , later famous director, Joe D'Amato , in Technicolor Techniscope , though a perfect remastering being absolutely necessary. The motion picture titled Una magnum Special per Tony Saitta (Italy) or Strange Shadows in an Empty Room or Spécial magnum or Blazing Magnums was professionally directed by Alberto De Martino, though with a sense of disunity between cast and filmmaking , having some shortfalls and failures. This Italian filmmaker was a good artisan who wrote and directed a lot of films of all kinds of genres and exploitation movies , as well as various straight Rip-offs with less attention to plot detail . He usually shot films to cash in on other hugely boxoffice successes as The "Exorcist" Martino made "Anti Christ" and " The Omen" he filmed this " Holocaust 2000" . As Alberto De Martino shot Peplum or Sword and Sandals genre : ¨Spartan Gladiators¨ , ¨Invincible Gladiator¨ , ¨Seven Spartans¨, ¨Valley of Stone Men¨, ¨Secret Seven¨ . Spaghetti Western sub-genre : ¨Django shoots first¨, ¨Providence¨ , ¨Charge of Seven Cavalry¨ . Europe Spy subgenre : ¨OK Connery¨ , ¨Operation Lady Chaplin¨ and Terror : ¨The AntiChrist¨, ¨Miami Golem¨, ¨Horror¨ , ¨Holocaust 2000¨ and several others .

"Strange Shadows in an Empty Room" is not a good film. It is an outrageous murder mystery with some totally unbelievable plot contrivances. The flimsy, almost incomprehensible story is held together by a few memorable scenes, including one of the best and longest car chases ever. Stuart Whitman is investigating the murder of his sister, while being aided by fellow policeman, John Saxon. Martin Landau plays the prime suspect. This film throws almost every oddity imaginable at the audience. If you are into sex toy shops, transvestite fist fights, and newborns being threatened with a knife, this is your movie. Unfortunately you also better be into lousy music, because the pounding piano and elevator tunes are an almost constant annoyance. - MERK

There are 2 respected movies in the euro police movies that always shine above all the other great ones, the first one is in Fernando De Leo "La Mala Ordina", Part of his Milan trilogy films, with his extreme and fast paced chase that never let go and just keeps on going till the last brutal finish. The second one is blazing magnum's, which can be a very good lesson to all the action directors out there planing to do a one good chase sequence. There are 2 chases here, one in the beginning which is short but very efficient , and the second at the end, which you must see to believe, it got everything in it and more. I do urge you, the fans of this type of cinema to grab Blazing Magnumes if only for the chases that prove that you can do a bad acting movie with a simple thriller script, that still got some hard hitting sequences that shine overall. I can't finish without mentioning that the music is also a masterpiece in itself and it is always there at the right moment. If only Dark Sky/NoShame/Blue Underground or any other respected label will do us a favor and release a collector edition DVD, that would be fantastic!

Decent story line Great car chase action Twist at the end Great casting and acting Dirty Harry meets Murder on the Nile

Now this is more like it! An Italian/Canadian 'joint' that isn't dubbed, starts with the feel of a seventies TV movie but then veers madly in tone as the film goes on, and has the distinction of being on of the few De Martino films that doesn't drag. At all!

On the campus of a Montreal college, a young man watches as his ex-girlfriend has a very public argument with her lecturer and possible lover, Martin Landau. Scheming with her, the young man and the girl later play a prank on Landau when the girl (Carol, her name is Carol) fakes being ill during a party. When she non-prankingly dies after being administered medicine by Landau, he becomes suspect number one. Unluckily for him Carol's brother is hard-ass actor Stuart Whitman, and he's a cop to boot, with John Saxon as his icy-eyed partner.

De Martino scores a winner here because he's been clever enough to have a giallo (murder, many suspects, photograph clue etc) with all the elements of a Euro-crime film thrown in for good measure. For example, when we first meet Whitman, he's too busy blowing away bad guys to answer an important call from Carol, and when he approaches the transvestite community to merely ask them if they knew any transgender mates that have been missing, it turns into a huge, random, over the top battle where people are punched through glass windows, Whitman himself nearly falls off a building, and a transvestite gets a pair of straighteners up the arse for his/her trouble!

Not content with that, De Martino also throws in a random car chase that lasts for ages too, and this time he only wanted to show a guy a photo! These two scenes make the film a lot more fun than it would have been as a straight giallo, some I'm grateful they're there.

Tisa Farrow, who would go on to some real Italian exploitation highs in a few years after this film (Zombie Flesh Eaters, The Last Hunter and Anthropophagus), gets the best scenes as the blind piano tutor who is unlucky enough to have quite a bit of the film's action take place in her apartment. This might actually be my favourite De Martino film. Well done mate!

This movie was broadcast on TV in the UK sometime during the mid 80's under the title of "Blazing Magnum". I was a very young teenager at the time and recorded it onto good old fashioned VHS (probably because it was on too late for me to watch). I watched it at least a dozen times over a couple of years and it was still on tape until my parents parted and my stepfather took all the tapes as part of the divorce. I always wished I could have got that tape back (among others), as this movie has never been shown on TV since. I really enjoyed it at the time because I didn't really watch a lot of movies. I seem to remember that it was filmed in a similar way to the Dirty Harry films, which my stepfather and I enjoyed together and this was probably why I found it appealing. I think it should be released on some format as there are actually a few well known(ish) actors in this movie. It has been thirty years, after all.

If you as a 1970s filmmaker wanted to spike your latest release, you'd add a wild street chase with all the trimmings, all of which have since become cliches - extras jumping out of the way, close calls with baby buggies, speeding through alleys, ramming stacks of boxes, weaving around stopped buses, becoming airborne on downgrades - but 25 years ago, this was high melodrama, and including such a sequence was sure to sell tickets. And I too sat spellbound through the "Bullitt" and "The French Connection" street-action scenes. But this much-lesser-known film ranks right up there in masterful car-crash choreography. The chase scenes are absolutely stunning.....though the rest of the whodunit plot is rather ordinary, almost like a made-for-television film. (An unforgettable title, though!) If you dig the action genre, seek out "Strange Shadows in an Empty Room".

A middle-aged Canadian policeman chases clues and leads, beats various people (including a group of transvestites!) and, in the film's most memorable scene, instigates a 20-minutes long car chase through Montrael whilst attempting to solve the sudden and mysterious death of his kid sister at a party she was attending. Plenty of action to hold the audience's attention, but it gets a bit too violent at times, Stuart Whitman was too old to play this Dirty Harry-wannabe character, and the plot is unconvincing in its resolution (She was into transvestites and was killed over a plastic necklace?) A bit of a sense of humour would have helped the film also, as Whitman's character is too unlikeable to elicit any sympathy.

What an odd one this is. Italian but made in Ottawa and most of the stars from America like Stuart Whitman who has made many films but hardly noted and seems to overact in this one. Indeed Alberto De Martino seems to be happy that he seems to want him fighting everyone and especially some transvestites and only mentioned his badge eventually. John Saxon is so laid back that he hardly gets a look in, when he's out his car that Whitman is already fighting. Martin Landau and Tisa Farrow are okay but don't have really great roles. Gayle Hunnicutt doesn't get much in this although she really has her moments and looks great. This very odd one is really like a giallo at the beginning and as well towards the end but in the middle, maybe they run out of a story and the car chases make it as if more like a poliziottesco. It is not wonderful but there is just enough that keeps us awake and those giallo moments are rather good.

****SPOILER ALERT**** Canadian whodunit that was overlooked back in 1976 here in the USA as one of many "Dirty Harry" clones that were released at that time is being rediscovered as one of the best crime as well as police action dramas of the 1970's. The movie includes two great chase scenes one on foot and the other on wheels the former exciting and the latter simply amazing rivaling the chase sequences of "Bullitt" and "The French Connection". At the start of the film we see Louise Saitta arguing with her collage professor Dr.George Tracer, just out of ear shot of the theater audience, on the Montreal University campus. Louise goes to a pay phone to call her brother Tony who's a captain on the Ottawa police force and is told that Capt. Saitta is out on assignment. Later that evening Louise partying with some friends at the campus falls sick and Dr. Tracer, who is also Louise's personal physician, is called to help. After giving her a mild stimulant Louise gets up and starts to dance with one of her friends at the party. Dr. Tracer, stunned at Louise's amazing recovery at first, realizes that Louise had played a joke to get even with him over the argument that they had earlier that afternoon. Later at the party after Louise sips some wine she suddenly collapses again and loses conciseness but this time it's no joke, it's real and despite the best efforts by Dr. Tracer to revive her Louise dies. At Louise's funeral her brother Capt. Saitta meets some of Louise's friends, Margi Cohn and her brother Terri and also Julie a blind music teacher at the collage and Louise's best friend. After the funeral at Julie's room in the college dorm Saitta is told by Julie that Louise was very depressed and despondent the week before she died. Capt. Saitta begins to suspect that there was foul play involved in his sister's death. He also notices that there's a number of photos of Louise on Julie's desk and asks Julie if he can have them. Julie tells Saitta that it would be only right for him to have the photos since Louise was his sister. From all the facts that he can gather Capt. Saitta thinks that Louise was poisoned by Dr.Tracer. There were rumors all around the collage campus that Tracer was having an affair with Louise and was afraid that she was going to go public with it because Dr. Tracer wanted it ended. The revelations of the affair would not only destroy Dr. Tracer's marriage but also his professional career. Capt Saitta and the police pay Tracer a visit at his home and ask to see the doctors bag where he has the stimulant that he gave Louise the night she died and To Tracer's surprise the bottle was missing. Capt. Saitta thinks that Dr. Tracer gave Louise a poison and later got rid of the bottle to cover up his crime. Tracer is arrested for suspicion in Louise's murder and Capt. Saitta thinks that his sister's death has been solved. Some time later a woman is found murdered and her body dumped in a junk yard. The police pathologist finds that the woman was really a man dressed in drag and is identified as Terri Cohn, a friend of Louise and one of the people that Capt. Saitta met at Louise's funeral. In Terri's handbag was a cropped photo of a women's neck wearing a blue necklace. Checking the photos Saitta thinks that the necklace photo looks very familiar and sees that it's one of the photos given to him by Julie of Louise, also found on Terri was a key to what turned out to be a locker at a Montreal bus station. It's then when Capt. Saitta went to the bus depot, to check out what was in the locker, he finds that it contained the blue necklace that was on the photo. Capt Saitta starts to realize that the necklace may be the reason for his sister's death. Saitta meets Margi about Louise's tie-in with Terri, in regard to the necklace, and gets into an argument with her over her brother Terri about why his sister would get involved with someone "like him". Margi, defending her brother tells Saitta that he shouldn't say anything bad about her dead brother when he knows so little about his sweet and innocent little sister Louise. Checking out all the leads about the mysterious blue necklace Saitta finds out that the necklace was stolen from a rich society woman , Mrs. Wilkerson, from Toronto who was savagely murdered some time ago.Saitta also finds that whoever had the necklace was trying to fence it off for a huge amount of cash but there were no takers the necklace was just too hot to handle! So how did Louise come into possession of that necklace? It now finally begins to dawn on Capt.Saitta that his sister was in some way involved in that murder in Toronto of Mrs. Wilkerson. Great thriller with a great and effective music score and top-notch acting from Stuart Whitman on down makes "Strange shadows in an empty room" head and shoulders above the many "Dirty Harry" imitations of it's day. In fact it has a much deeper plot and far less violence then the "Dirty Harry" films were noted for making it a much more effective film. With the exception of the exciting chase scene, there was a far better one later in the movie, and bank shoot-out at the beginning of the film I counted five deaths in the entire movie and that included Louise Saitta who was poisoned and another person who died of an apparent suicide off camera. What makes "Strange shadows in an empty room" so effective is that it not only makes you think while your watching the movie but also long after it's over.

I agree with Sol2118's commentary : the chase car is close in effectiveness with those of Friedkin and Peter Yates'titles that he mentioned, and I would add also the amazing one in THE SEVEN UP [Police pursuance 7] (USA 1973) directed by Philip d'Antoni with Roy Scheider and Tony Lo Bianco. Besides, this Shakespearian plot including a murdered T.V. as "dea/deus ex machine" is directly connected with the great tradition of Film Noir. And it is Alberto de Martino under the pen-name of Martin Herbert who have done it ! In Canada, starring an incredible cast. This is enough to understand that this movie is mixing the best of both worlds : Italian "poliziotti" thriller and U.S. thrillers, at their most violent and deep backgrounds. The bank attack is amazing regarding the art of graphic cut - editing work - of violence on the screen. The final is also extraordinary. The rhythm itself of the movie is very strange and original : quite onirical sometimes and not only because there is a "flash-back" sequence shot as a nightmare. Between 44 magnum caliber and TV gang hardboiled encounter, Stuart Whitman plays a cool & sad character, a quite tragic one since it is a brother looking for his sister's murderer and learning that his sister was not at all an Angel sister (as Lautréamont said about Man in LES CHANTS DE MALDOROR), finally unveiling the darker from the dark. And as usual, of such a little masterpiece, no VHS and no DVD available worldwide except maybe the French VHS titled BLAZING MAGNUM in spite of the fact that the movie was released in France under the exploitation title of SPECIAL MAGNUM. And I agree also with the latest comment : there was, for sure, lower show on theaters than that one when it was released ! DVD soon : please !!

Aiming for increasing the Canadian cinema industry, they offer 100% of tax income for those filmmakers that decide make a movie there, insofar they hire native actors and the whole production should be made at Canadian ground, fulfilled all requirements it will be fully sponsored by them, it was a perfect environment for Italian filmmakers that was suffering in those years due the Spaghetti genre was in declining process, instead the Poliziottesco genre is growing up.

So a few Hollywoodian stars as Stuart Whitman, Martin Landau and Gayle Hannicutt, also the Italian John Saxon together a Canadian casting by this Giallo-Poliziottesco took place a pristine Montreal nearby Olympic games, about a poisoned girl brother of Capt. Tonny Saitta (Whitman) who playing a sort of Dirty Harry's character trying find out the serial-killer due aftermaths some witness has been murder one by one, the highlights is a breathtaking and endless car chase on Montreal's streets and several spots outskirts of the city.

The thriller is absorbent, a true legacy of Canadian-Italian co-production, even dismissing the tax revenue upon a possible profits, although as long it lasted on late seventies, hereinafter Canada decreased the tax allowance to 50% only, overall a fine entertainment indeed.

Thanks for reading.

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First watch: 2024 / How many:13 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.25.

A hot curling iron for Tony Saitta: bizarre giallo crime thriller with Stuart Whitman and John Saxon

This strange cross between a giallo and a police film was shot by Alberto De Martino in Ottawa and Montreal. The film was produced by Edmondo Amati. The film was released in West German cinemas in April 1978.

After a macabre joke, the beautiful student Louise Saitta (Carole Laure) collapses dead in Montreal. Poison! Her older brother Tony Saitta (Stuart Whitman), a tough cop, arrives from Ottawa. At the funeral, the tough cowboy guy meets his late sister's friends and the investigating inspector Ned Matthews (John Saxon). Tony soon realizes that a lot has changed in his little sister's life. The beautiful Louise had long since ditched her athletic boyfriend Fred (Jean Leclerc). For this she shared with her university professor. Dr. George Tracer (Martin Landau) the mattress warehouse. His son Robert (Anthony Forrest) sleeps with his attractive teacher Margie Cohn (Gayle Hunnicutt).

Frustrated by the slow pace of the investigation, Tony takes matters into his own hands. It goes without saying that he doesn't do it squeamishly. Tony prefers to strike first before asking his questions. During his investigation he also meets three transvestites with whom he has a fight that lasts for several minutes. It only ends when Tony rams a hot curling iron into the bottom of one of the three. OUCH! Meanwhile, further attacks occur. Louise's blind roommate Julie Foster (Tisa Farrow) seems to be the killer's focus...

There's a lot going on in this film, also known as "Death in College": Giallo, Poliziottescho and Whodunit all in one! Constantly in action, Stuart Whitman (1928-2020), who received an ACADEMY AWARD nomination for his performance alongside Maria Schell in THE MARK (1961), weaves his way through a turbulent and never boring plot. GOLDEN GLOBE winner John Saxon gets a little less screen presence. Martin Landau (1928-2017) was awarded an ACADEMY AWARD in 1995 for "Ed Wood". Gayle Hunnicutt is also known as J. R.'s old flame Vanessa Beaumont from the television series DALLAS. And Tisa Farrow is Mia's little sister. So the cast is impressive. And this brutal mix also ensures good entertainment.

"Una Magnum Special per Tony Saitta," also known as "Blazing Magnum," is a 1976 Italian-Canadian crime thriller that provides a fair share of entertainment, albeit with some noticeable flaws. Directed by Alberto De Martino, the film follows police inspector Tony Saitta (Stuart Whitman) as he embarks on a relentless quest to solve his sister's murder.

The film's strength lies in its engaging, if somewhat convoluted, plot that keeps viewers guessing with numerous twists and turns. Saitta's character is a classic hard-boiled detective, exuding charisma and determination, which Whitman portrays with commendable intensity. The action sequences are well-executed, with several chase scenes and shootouts that add excitement and pace to the narrative.

However, "Una Magnum Special per Tony Saitta" suffers from uneven pacing and occasional lapses in logic. The film's attempt to blend mystery, action, and melodrama results in a disjointed tone that can be jarring. Supporting characters, while colorful, are often underdeveloped, leaving some interactions feeling superficial and unconvincing.

The cinematography is a highlight, capturing the gritty urban landscapes effectively and enhancing the film's atmospheric tension. The score, composed by Armando Trovajoli, complements the film's mood, although it occasionally borders on being overly dramatic.

Despite its flaws, "Una Magnum Special per Tony Saitta" has a certain retro charm that fans of vintage crime thrillers might appreciate. It's a film that delivers sporadic thrills and an intriguing plot but ultimately falls short of being a standout in the genre.

Overall, "Una Magnum Special per Tony Saitta" earns a solid 6/10 for its engaging moments and charismatic lead, even if it doesn't fully hit the mark in terms of coherence and character development. It's worth a watch for those interested in a nostalgic trip back to 1970s crime cinema, but it may not leave a lasting impression.

"Blazing Magnum" often gets too easily categorized as a spaghetti imitation of "Dirty Harry", its first sequel "Magnum Force" and "The French Connection" (groundbreaking hardcore American action movies of the early 70's), but this slick and unforgettable Italian exploitation product has SO much more to offer. Director Alberto De Martino, clever marketer that he was back then, does indeed cash in on the popular tough cop-thriller trend, but simultaneously his film also contains authentic Giallo story lines, which was another contemporary favored exploitation sub genre at the time. The versatility of the script is illustrated through particularly two of the numerous titles for the film. "A Special Magnum for Tony Saitta" is an archetypal "Poliziottesco" title and "Strange Shadows in an Empty Room" is a prototypic Giallo title. Both of them titles are very irrelevant, by the way, as there's nothing even remotely special about Tony Saitta's Magnum and the shadows in an empty room only refer to a minuscule sequence near the end of the film, but admittedly they sound terrific. Unorthodox Canadian copper Tony Saitti is too busy blasting bank robbers to pieces one day, and so he misses a phone call from his sister who sounded clearly upset. Later that same night, the girl – who's at least 30 years younger than Saitti for some reason – dies from poisoning during a party at her university. Tony Saitti now takes his time to devotedly investigate the case, along with his reliable colleague Sgt. Matthews. He discovers that his sister was having an affair with the prominent Dr. Tracer and holds him responsible for the murder, but the case soon proves to be more convoluted and including jewelry theft and a community of local transvestites. The story of "Blazing Magnum" could be told in barely half an hour or so, but the exciting and adrenalin-paced action interludes make the film so indescribably entertaining! Of course nobody wants to cooperate with Tony Saitti's investigation, thus all his attempts to question suspects or witnesses result in extended bare-knuckle fights and incredibly flamboyant chase sequences; either by car or on foot. It's almost hilarious to witness Tony apprehend a suspect after a 10 minute chase and having beat half of the poor guy's teeth out, only for it to end with him asking: "Have you ever seen the necklace in this photograph before?" Especially the car chase sequence deserves to be legendary, in my humble opinion. It truly feels as if Alberto De Martino and his camera crew opened a big picture book with descriptions of all possible car stunts imaginable and then simply re-enacted them one by one! Other irresistible exploitative highlights include Tony's bitter fight with a clique of transvestites and a tough confrontation in the little boy's room. There's a lovely amount of sleaze and several scenes in the film are delightfully tasteless, like for example the killer threatening to slice up a newborn baby at the hospital. The filming locations are adequate, the soundtrack is quite exhilarating and De Martino could also depend on a stellar cast. Stuart Whitman is a decent enough Clint Eastwood clone, but I particularly fancied seeing John Saxon and Martin Landau starring together in this Italian-Canadian co-production. Tisa Farrow plays a poor defenseless blind girl, just like her more famous sister Mia did in "See No Evil" a couple years earlier. Talk about exploitation and clever marketing!