Naked Girl Murdered in the Park

This early '70s giallo from director Alfonso Brescia does indeed feature a naked girl killed in a park. Prior to her untimely demise, the woman in question, rich bitch Barbara Wallenberger (Patrizia Adiutori), also sheds her clothes for a romp in the hay with her stable boy Günther (Howard Ross) and gets jiggy with insurance investigator Chris Buyer (Robert Hoffmann), who is on the scene to probe into the mysterious death of her businessman father Johan. Ladies' man Chris also gets to romp in the sack with Barbara's beautiful brunette sister Catherine (Pilar Velázquez), meaning that those looking for some T&A to go with their murder/mystery are more than catered for.

But while Brescia delivers in the boobs and bums department, he doesn't do so well when it comes to the intrigue, the brutality, or the sense of style that is synonymous with the genre. His film is visually bland, the plot is mediocre at best, and the death scenes lack imagination (and gore), making this far from essential viewing for giallo fans. As is usually the case with such films, some fun can be gleaned from trying to figure out who the killer is, although the motive is so abstruse that correctly predicting the murderer's identity is unlikely (it's even harder to guess if watching the atrocious VHS-quality pan and scan version I originally found, which was not just missing most of the nudity, but also the all-important wartime prologue).

The best thing I can say about this minor giallo is that there really IS a naked girl killed in a park. In fact, as per the Italian title there is a COMPLETELY naked girl killed in a park. (There's a couple other naked girls too, but only one of them is killed in a park). That's pretty much the highlight of the movie though.

It starts off in a pretty interesting way with the first-person POV of a funhouse ride which turns out to be from the POV of a dead man!The dead man had just bought a million dollar life insurance, so an intrepid insurance investigator (Robert Hoffman) is called in. He dodges the police investigator on the case (former Bond villain Adolf Celli)and becomes involved with the man's two sexy but neurotic daughters as well as his sexy but neurotic widow (who judging by the looks of her must have given birth to her two daughters when she was about ten). More people die before the final revelation which, unfortunately, is pretty stupid and involves the guilty party delivering a ridiculous soliloquy to a giant portrait of the dead man. It ends back in the amusement park with yet another pretty dumb turn of events.

The lead Hoffman is awful, but Celli is pretty good if underused. The women are pretty, but they're definitely not at the acting level of an Edwige Fenech, Rosalba Neri, or Erica Blanc, or even lesser lights of the gialli like Nieves Navarro or Femi Benussi. Pretty forgettable overall--except for the naked girl killed in park.

This rarely watched Giallo turns out to be an acceptable thriller in which occurs a mysterious death at an attraction park , resulting in unpredictable consequences with thrilling events , deliciously twisted happenings and brief touches of erotism . Mystery/thriller with baroque giallo overtones and surprising intrigue, being well proceeded here and there , along with an unbearably tension in charge of the adequate protagonists . Insurance company sends its top man, an insurance investigator named Chris Buyer (Robert Hoffman) , he's assigned by the chiefs (Tomas Blanco, Philippe Leroy) of his company to investigate the death a wealthy industrialist named Johann Wallenberger who was found dead only hours after taking out a million dollar insurance policy . He decides to go undercover by dating the dead man's daughter , Catherine (Pilar Velazquez), who suffers astonishing nightmares and is taunted by menacing phone calls leaving her on edge of sanity , but before long , he's in her family home , in Madrid outskirts , there he meets her mother Magda (Irina Demick) who goes crazy and her sister Barbara Wallenberger (Patrizia Adiutori) who starts seducing him . Along the way , a stubborn commissioner called Huber (Adolfo Celi) begins investigating the grisly killings that are happening around the peculiar family .

A decent mystery/thriller with a lot of mysterious murders and combining the elements of intrigue with drama and plot twists . This is pretty entertaining stuff about a wealthy financier who has showed up dead outside a haunted house ride, while a young playboy investigator seeks answers from a luxurious countryside house . Suspenseful and interesting screenplay by expert Antonio Fos , Lorenzo Gicca Palli and Al Bradley himself , though quite tiring at times. There is a surprising murder in a House of Horrors of Madrid amusement park where was also filmed : ¨Umberto Lenzi's Nightmare City¨ (1980) and there is plenty of nakedness and even adding Nazi war criminals . This intriguing/chilling Italian/Spanish exploitation displays colorful images , disturbing frames , eerie scenes , nudism , mysterious events and a pretty unexpected, unpredictable conclusion . Atmospheric and oddball Giallo with chilling frames , a lot of naked people , twisted scenes , taking place cruel killings , and confusion around Wallemberg family . Some illogical parts in the story are more than compensated for the excitement provided by some bizarre images , though are sometimes poorly shot and tedious at times . The movie is running out of ideas a lot ; however , being still good enough to be fun . Stars the handsome Robert Hossein as an investigator from insurance company , Pilar Velazquez as the beautiful young who's stalked by a stranger , Irina Demick as the often drinking mother usually losing her mind and Patrizia Adiutori as her sexually active elder sister Barbara . Being a Spain/Italy co-production here shows up a number of familiar faces as Spanish actors , such as : Tomás Blanco , Lorenzo Robledo , Teresa Gimpera , Maria Vico and Italians as Philippe Leroy , Adolfo Celi , Franco Ressel , Howard Ross .

It displays an adequate and atmospheric cinematography by Alfonso Nieva , utterly filmed in Madrid , though interiors shot in Elios Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy . Likewise , it contains a mysterious and evocative musical score by Carlo Savina , a Morricone's disciple. This average giallo was regularly directed by really prolific Italian director Alfonso Brescia with flaws , gaps , shortcomings and a little bit cheesy . Alfonso Brescia often nicknamed Al Bradley was a below average director who in the 60s , 70s , and 80s made a lot of films . Bradley was a craftsman who directed all kind of genres . Alfonso Brescia or Al Bradley was born in Rome , 1930, and died in 2001 . He was a director and writer , known for directing Spaghetti Westerns : Days of Violence ,Killer Caliber and The Colt Is My Law . Alfonso began directing muscle-men epics as The Conqueror of Atlantis , The magnificent gladiator , La Rivolta dei Pretoriani . He also directed Sci-Fi and Sword and witchery genre as Iron Warrior , Sette Uomini D'Oro Nello Spazio , The war of the robots . Adventures : Zanna Bianca Il Cacciatore Solitario, White Fang and the Hunter , Amazons against Supermen , Adventures of Don Juan . And Wartime films such as Objetivo Rommel , Misiones Ardientes and Hell in Normandy . Rating 5.5 out of 10.

There is a bunch of Gialli that tell a story about an inheritance. Most of them tend to be rather crime movies than Gialli in the classic sense.

This film by Alfonso Brescia also tells a story about an inheritance that spreads murder, and in the first half of the film, only one killing happens (in the opening scene), and then the film goes on rather as a family drama than a Giallo. But in the middle of the film, the title happens (a member of the family is indeed found nude and killed in a park), and from now on, it's a typical Giallo. The bodies are piling up (the murder scenes are not very graphic, but there are some stylish moments), and towards the climax, there is the usual surprise as the identity of the killer is revealed. The revelation is as implausible as often with Gialli, but it works better than in other similarly mediocre ones.

Brescia's direction is nothing special, the lead actors are only average, but there is some fine supporting cast lead by Adolfo Celi as the investigating Police inspector. So, the first half is a bit dreary, but the second half is surely capable of satisfying Giallo afficionados.

Lurid (and inaccurate - it's an old man fully dressed who is killed in a park; a naked woman IS killed much later, but nowhere near a park) title for a tepid thriller, though it does have three exceptionally good-looking women (including a "mother" who is about the same age as her daughters!), a couple of original / outrageous twists, and some dizzying camerawork at the end. **1/2 out of 4.