Death Occurred Last Night

Widower (Vallone) searches for his missing daughter with the aid of committed inspector (Wolff) leading to a complex web of exploitation and deceit.

Probably more a polizioteschi than strictly giallo fare, the pacing sometimes suffers and the plot twists more than it needs to, but despite some issues with momentum, the overall result is still satisfying.

Aside from the two leads who are both excellent, German leading lady Eva Renzi lends support as Wolff's highly invested wife, Beryl Cunningham has a sizeable supporting role as a reluctant informer of sorts, whilst Gabriele Tinti shows his disdain for criminals as Wolff's highly-strung detective partner.

It's a rather bleak tale which Director Tessari handles with care and compassion, another interesting contrast to the usual giallo in which victims are typically discarded with a casual contempt. Better than average, but don't expect razor blades, black gloves and blood-splatter - this is a complex mystery which takes its time to strike.

Part giallo and part drama, this movie's been overlooked by both the "mainstream" critics and the Italian-horror fans alike, and that's a shame, because it's one of Italy's more serious genre efforts of the 70's. The distraught father's race to find his kidnapped daughter before the police do, is both tense and poignant. It's free of the exploitative elements most genre films have, and along with Tessari's other thriller (Bloodstained Butterfly), one of the most mature Italian thillers of the decade. The ending is painful without being gratuitous, and well above something Hollywood could handle: compare the father's obsession to find the girl in this to Cage's in 8MM and be amazed at how crassly the latter is constructed. See this one!

A very interesting director and especially this film being a part giallo part cop procedural and we have a sexy 25 year old woman with the mind of a three year old. This being as tasteful as possible and she disappears, the police straight away think of prostitution but there is also some humour but the ending is amazing. The very next year is really a giallo, The Bloodstained Butterfly (1971) and later on Puzzle (1974) both great and earlier Duccio Tessari had two, just as splendid spaghetti westerns, A Pistol for Ringo (1965) and The Return of Ringo (1965). In this film it gets a bit confusing now and again but then a giallo usually does but it is all so well done and with Raf Vallone so really good as the father, it could easily have been a bit silly. Frank Wolff as the inspector and has a great time with Eva Renzi as his wife around the flat, in bed and even strumming his guitar.

A mentally backward 25 year old woman mysteriously vanishes and consequently turns up dead. The investigation then tries to find out who was responsible for the brutal murder. This poliziotteschi/giallo hybrid delves into the dark underbelly of Milan, where it turns out many shady individuals reside. Tonally, this is more on the poliziotteschi side of the fence than the giallo, consequently its a bit darker and nihilistic, with a more cynical view of life overall. Its still an involving mystery/thriller whatever its categorisation though and keeps you guessing. It also benefits from the great Frank Wolff on hand as the police inspector on the case.

In Lombardia, the widower Amanzio Berzaghi (Raf Vallone) goes to the police station and reports to Police Captain Duca Lamberti (Frank Wolff) and his assistant Mascaranti (Gabriele Tinti) that his daughter Donatella Berzaghi (Gill Bray) was kidnapped for sex trafficking. Then he explains that she is twenty-five-year-old, but intellectually disabled with mentality of a three-year-old child and nymphomaniac. Lambert and Mascaranti meet the former pimp Salvatore (Gigi Rizzi) to get information about the brothels in Milan and go deep in the underworld of sex to discover where Donatella is. Meanwhile her father continues his personal investigation about the fate of his daughter.

"La morte risale a ieri sera", a.k.a. "Death Occurred Last Night" is a good thriller made in Italy. The plot has flaws, as usual, but the story is consistent and "Hardcore" (1979) has a similar storyline. Raf Vallone has great performance and this unknown film is worthwhile watching. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Os Assassinos Só Matam aos Sábados" ("The Killers only Kill on Saturdays")