The Bloodstained Butterfly

A girl is murdered in a park. A suspect is tried and convicted but the killings continue.

The Bloodstained Butterfly is a giallo that occupies the more restrained side of the genre. Despite having a plot revolving around a series of knife murders, it doesn't really focus on these killings. One is shown briefly in flash-back, while the others are essentially committed off-screen. Instead, the narrative concentrates more on the mystery. For this reason it is on the more sober and intelligent side of the giallo genre. Quite a bit of the story is taken up with the police procedural angle and court-room scenes. And similar to many others in the sub-genre, an intense melodrama underpins the murder mystery; and, as is often the case, it's populated by a group of quite unsympathetic people. These are made up with the usual concoction of the psychologically troubled and the sleazily untrustworthy.

While the emphasis on melodrama and detective/courtroom dynamics might not be to everyone's taste, it works here. The mystery is compelling and you are kept guessing all the way. I can't say I predicted the outcome either, which is always a bonus. But in amongst all of this are some great typical giallo moments such as the opening scenes in the park with the killer making a get away shot from a number of nice angles. In general, as you might expect from this type of film it is photographed well throughout and has a good soundtrack too. It also has a somewhat unusual opening credit sequence where we are introduced to all of the main characters where they are shown with their moniker displayed on screen. This is quite good, as these films almost always have convoluted plot-lines and this helps ease us into proceedings with a quick look at whose who in the film about to start.

The Bloodstained Butterfly is overall a pretty involving mystery. It isn't a horror-orientated thriller at all though, so if that's what you're after you'd be best looking elsewhere. But it has the specific mood and essence that early 70's gialli have. If you're a fan of the sub-genre you should check this one out.

While walking through a park in a rainy day, the young Françoise Pigaut (Carole André) is stabbed to death by man wearing raincoat and hat. Inspector Berardi (Silvano Tranquilli) is assigned to investigate the case and soon the TV anchor Alessandro Marchi (Giancarlo Sbragia) becomes the prime suspect. His daughter Sarah Marchi (Wendi D'Olive) was Françoise's best friend and their common friend Giorgio (Helmut Berger) had a crush on Françoise. Alessandro's friend and attorney Giulio Cordaro (Günther Stoll) defends him in the court but Alessandro is found guilty and sent to prison. When two other women are murdered and it is found that Alessandro's wife Maria Marchi (Evelyn Stewart) is the lover of Giulio, the defense asks for mistrial and Alessandro has another trial. Who might be the killer?

"Una farfalla con le ali insanguinate", a.k.a. "The Bloodstained Butterfly", is a crime story with a great twist in the end. The suspenseful screenplay begins with the presentation of several characters and is confused, and the slow pace is tiresome. But the story is good, and the unexpected conclusion surprises the viewer. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Uma Borboleta com as Asas Ensanguentadas" ("A Butterfly with the Bloodstained Wings")

I love that in the seventies, you could pull up to a petrol station get out next to the pumps, try and light up a cigarette, find out the packet is empty, throw the empty packet on the ground, then go and pick up a hooker.

This seems to be a blend of the old school gialli (rich, soulless socialites double crossing each other) and the new gialli (gloved killer, stabbing) that has a middle part that centres around a murder prosecution. You might need a little patience.

After we're introduced to our characters with their names appearing onscreen beside them, we see a girl's corpse tumbling down a hill in a park and being found by two kids. Several witnesses spot a person in a mac stumbling through the park, with one lady claiming that the killer is a well known television personality whose daughter coincidentally it the murdered girl's best friend. However, a dazed Helmet Berger is seen staggering around the place too, so we know that things are going to get convoluted pretty quickly.

Cop Silvio Tranquilli is brought in to...well, not break these case as they get a suspect pretty quickly, but he does complain about coffee a lot. Plus, this whole sequence gives director Duccio Tessari a chance to give us all sorts of freaky camera angles while the police use scientific methods that seems to quickly lead to a healthy case to send down the TV presenter.

However, the suspect also has a pretty good lawyer who may very well get him off the hook. Well, nearly. After the presenter's wife (Ida Galli) accidentally gets the guy sent down, things get very giallo like as true motives are revealed, the double crosses begin, and the murders seemingly continue, even though the killer is in jail.

To give you an idea of the pace of this film, the police are still standing over the first victim's body eighteen minutes into the film. Then you get the courtroom drama and the mystery of what Helmet Berger has to do with it all. Duccio Tessari is no fool, however. His eye for good visuals shines through and we get a change of scenery as the film is set in Bologna, not a place that turns up frequently in these films.

It does drag, but the ending is worth waiting for. I'd been after this one for ages and although it's good, I don't think I'd ever watch it again.

A middle aged male TV presenter is arrested and convicted of the murder of a 17 year old French girl in a park, however the killings continue.. Whereas many Italian giallo movies have plots that are over complicated or lack logic this one is easy to follow, it's quite straight forward, perhaps even a tad predictable, but that's good. That's not to say that it doesn't have the odd twist. I came into this film worried that the courtroom scenes may drag this film down but it doesn't. It's integral to the plot and, like everything else about this film, is well done. Beautifully filmed and superb musical score. There's a dash of humour regarding the investigating police office and his taste in coffee. Rated 15 in the UK, it may lack the bloodshed & nudity of other giallo that are rated 18 but this is a fantastic example of these movies, highly recommended. And watch it in Italian, not dubbed!

Behind a typically abstruse giallo title (the plot's link to a butterfly of any kind is extremely tenuous) lies a film that rarely feels like a typical giallo, with more police procedure and courtroom drama than usual. Director Duccio Tessari's film opens in familiar territory with the murder of a young woman in a park, the killer, in raincoat and hat, making his escape, but witnessed by several people. The police investigate the crime scene, forensics gathering numerous pieces of evidence, all of which points to TV reporter Alessandro Marchi (Giancarlo Sbragia) as the guilty party. The rest of the first half of the film is dedicated to the trial of Allesandro, with dreary flashbacks and cross-examination making the film something of a chore to sit through.

Found guilty of murder, Allesandro is sentenced to life, but while he is in prison, the killings continue, the modus operandi the same as before, the culprit contacting the police with a whispered phone call. When Allesandro's mistress comes forward with vital information that seems to prove his innocence, Allesandro is freed (much to the annoyance of his wife, who also has a lover). After much intrigue, Tessari eventually pulls together all the plot threads for an unexpected twist ending that goes some way to make the duller moments seem a bit more worthwhile. As far as the death scenes go, they are extremely tame and likely to disappoint fans of Argento or Fulci, and despite a fair few attractive women, the level of nudity is also fairly low.

Perhaps the most notable things about the film are its police inspector's strange obsession with coffee, and the cop who falls over running down some stairs during a chase on foot through the streets of Milan (it looks unintentional and is never spoken of).

5.5/10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.