A Black Veil for Lisa

Builds up to a predictable finale.

First, this film lacks important giallo qualities. Most importantly, there is no mystery about who the killer is. It's a relatively bloodless film with little cat-and-mouse/stalking shenanigans to speak of.

On the plus side, there are some good characters here. They are well-written and well-acted. However, after the build up of suspense around tulips and around the police report in the envelope, there is no payoff. Things play out to their natural conclusion. There are no surprises to be had here.

Inspector Franz Bulon (Sir John Mills) is a veteran Hamburg police detective in charge of a drugs investigation, but is finding it hard to break the case, his mind is elsewhere…on his beautiful young wife Lisa (Luciana Paluzzi) that is, a former criminal herself, though never convicted, a fact that Bulon's colleagues never let him forget, Bulon's problem is that he suspects Lisa of cheating on him a fact he can't quite prove, until one day he thinks he has caught her out and sets about hiring a local killer Max Lindt,(Robert Hoffman) the man behind the killings of witnesses in his drugs investigation, to kill his wife in return for him hiding the evidence building against him.

A Black Veil for Lisa deviates from normal giallo practice by telling us who the killer is, much like Luigi Cozzi's The Killer must kill again. The story is driven by the man (Bulov) who hires the killer to do his dirty work, as a result, Dallamano replaces the lack of mystery with some decent character development, Mills is excellent and portrays well Bulov's obsessiveness with his wife's cheating, which ultimately leads to his own self destruction.

German-Italian Giallo with Luciana Paluzzi and Robert Hoffmann

Inspector Franz Bülow (John Mills, 1908-2005, who was often cast as the husband of much younger women in those years) investigates a mysterious series of murders in his native Hamburg, in which a killer with black gloves is up to mischief. He is played by Robert Hoffmann, who was born in Salzburg in 1939 and got his start in the Roman film industry after the West German shocker "Again the Ringer".

But back to the plot of the film: In his private life, the aging inspector is a real lucky guy. He has recently been married to the beautiful Lisa (Luciana Paluzzi / who was born in Rome in 1937 and remains the most beautiful Bond villain since "Thunderball"), who is also a lot younger than her husband. He is driven by jealousy and mistrust. He constantly controls his wife - out of fear that she might cheat on him. Paranoia taken to the extreme leads to an unforeseen discharge...

Death knows no gender, according to the original Italian title, is a masterful game of confusion by Massimo Dallamano, which was released in cinemas by Titanus. Beautiful images of Hamburg in the late 1960s are contrasted with black gloves and yellow tulips.

The effects of hashish consumption are also translated into images and blur the boundaries between delusion and reality.

Elements of the crime film, the giallo and the relationship drama are mixed together. Great filmmaking and excellent actors make this film an enigmatic pleasure.

I do readily concede that I know close to squat about Director Massimo Dallamano, having only watched his poliziotto entitled COLT 38 SPECIAL SQUAD, which made chases and gory action its main menu.

By comparison, A BLACK VEIL FOR LISA pays a shade more attention to character building. The ever reliable British actor John Mills plays Hamburg-based Interpol Inspector Franz Bulon who, in spite of his undeniable professionalism, prioritizes keeping an eye on his often absent from home wife, the stunningly dishy, fine-featured Luciana Paluzzi who had come to international notice three years earlier in THUNDERBALL, with Connery's James Bond handing her slippers to cover her nudity.

In BLACK VEIL FOR LISA, Paluzzi displays fabulous nudity and not just to cuckolded hubby Mills, who she also deceives by passing classified info to a Porsche-driving villain who deals in tulips and murder, in addition to bedding him and handsome hitman Max, smugly played by Robert Hoffmann.

Competent cinematography from Angelo Lotti, reasonably deft screenplay from Belli and Petrilli, with interesting nuances adding to Paluzzi's sensual survival instinct and sexiness, allowing her to completely steal the show.

The ending could and should have been more credibly done, difficult to believe that a police inspector and a habitual hitman should put up such innocuous personal defense.

As a footnote, a word of appreciation for the presence of great, very classy German car models of the 1960s: Mercedes Benz, Porsche, Opel, Volkswagen all there.

Enjoyable police thriller 8/10.

Not the wildest of gialli, if indeed, it really does qualify as one, but a most competent and engaging mystery. John Mills is surprisingly good as the ageing husband to the flirty Bond girl, Luciana Paluzzi and although the bad boy seems far too glamorous for the role, Robert Hoffman does well. Decent script, which always helps and what starts simply enough becomes far more involved as we progress. Indeed we quickly learn who the killer is but not why or just how many are involved. That Mills plays as an Englishman gives this a certain slant that helps make the film different from others of the time and though the music is somewhat flat, seems fitting enough for the drab location. I don't know where this was shot but it doesn't look like Italy so is perhaps Germany or even Austria. No stunning set pieces and the flashes of nudity seem added and likely to not be Paluzzi.