IMDb RATING
6.1/10
983
YOUR RATING
After the death of her mother, which was ruled as suicide, a teenage girl comes back home to find her mother's husband, and a female photographer, occupying the house. But nothing is as it s... Read allAfter the death of her mother, which was ruled as suicide, a teenage girl comes back home to find her mother's husband, and a female photographer, occupying the house. But nothing is as it seems.After the death of her mother, which was ruled as suicide, a teenage girl comes back home to find her mother's husband, and a female photographer, occupying the house. But nothing is as it seems.
Jenny Tamburi
- Nancy Thompson
- (as Luciana Della Robbia)
Hiram Keller
- Dorothy's Lover
- (as Hyram Keller)
Luigi Antonio Guerra
- Giovanni
- (as Luigi Guerra)
Barbara Bouchet
- Party Guest
- (uncredited)
6.1983
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Featured reviews
Turn off that bloody soundtrack!
The chirpy, Euro-Barbara Windsor squeaking soundtrack that introduces this film would perhaps fool you into think you're about to watch some "Whoopsy-Boing!" sex comedy, but you'd be wrong. Except for the sex bit.
A horrible rich lady who has an open marriage with her Roman noble husband (Silvano Tranquili) is found dead within a locked room, her throat cut. Everyone thinks it was suicide...well, the police think it was suicide, but no one else does, especially housekeeper Magda, who now tends to the needs of Silvano and his mistress, photographer and professional moody looking smoker Rosalba Neri.
A spanner is thrown into the works when the rich lady's daughter from a previous marriage turns up after quitting boarding school (or something like that). Her wide eyed innocence certainly catches the eyes of Rosalba, who quickly bonds with the girl by taking loads of pictures of her and conveying the idea that she may bat for both sides, as it were. Silvano's eyebrows are certainly raised when comes home to find his step-daughter bare-arsed in front of a mirror, but if this newcomer has a legit stake in the money left by the rich jerk lady, what are out scheming twosome going to do about it?
This is more of your old-school giallo set in a big house with rich people being duplicitous and trying to out-do each other, with the usual plot twists thrown in for good measure, and a whole heap of photographer sessions between the young girl and a drooling Rosalba Neri. Obviously the girl gets it on with both the lead actors but you don't get a slow motion lesbian sex scene like you did with Silvio Amadio's previous Amuck. That said, those looking for nudity won't be let down as the stepdaughter seemingly spends half the film naked.
I've got to admit that I found the soundtrack really irritating. "A-chi-chi-chi-di-di-dididida-chi...aaaaaaaah!" indeed.
A horrible rich lady who has an open marriage with her Roman noble husband (Silvano Tranquili) is found dead within a locked room, her throat cut. Everyone thinks it was suicide...well, the police think it was suicide, but no one else does, especially housekeeper Magda, who now tends to the needs of Silvano and his mistress, photographer and professional moody looking smoker Rosalba Neri.
A spanner is thrown into the works when the rich lady's daughter from a previous marriage turns up after quitting boarding school (or something like that). Her wide eyed innocence certainly catches the eyes of Rosalba, who quickly bonds with the girl by taking loads of pictures of her and conveying the idea that she may bat for both sides, as it were. Silvano's eyebrows are certainly raised when comes home to find his step-daughter bare-arsed in front of a mirror, but if this newcomer has a legit stake in the money left by the rich jerk lady, what are out scheming twosome going to do about it?
This is more of your old-school giallo set in a big house with rich people being duplicitous and trying to out-do each other, with the usual plot twists thrown in for good measure, and a whole heap of photographer sessions between the young girl and a drooling Rosalba Neri. Obviously the girl gets it on with both the lead actors but you don't get a slow motion lesbian sex scene like you did with Silvio Amadio's previous Amuck. That said, those looking for nudity won't be let down as the stepdaughter seemingly spends half the film naked.
I've got to admit that I found the soundtrack really irritating. "A-chi-chi-chi-di-di-dididida-chi...aaaaaaaah!" indeed.
Pretty good giallo full of twists and turns.
Teenaged Nancy Thompson arrives unexpectedly at her mothers county villa.She discovers that her mom has died a violent death.The police investigate and believe the she killed herself by cutting her throat with a piece of broken of glass.Nancy meets and becomes friends with Gina who was her mothers best friend and who has a special relationship with her stepfather.Soon the older man turns his roving eye toward this young beauty as suspicion about the suicide starts to come to light.Pretty sleazy and entertaining Italian giallo with plenty of nudity and some nasty surprises.I haven't seen Silvio Amadio's "Amuck" yet,but I'd like to.The performances of Jenny Tamburi and sexy Rosalba Neri are fantastic and I must say that they are perhaps the main reasons to see this surprisingly obscure giallo.8 out of 10.
that annoying song
Easily 60% of the run time of this movie has an absurdly annoying song playing on a loop. It is downright maddening. There are some twists, meh, whatever. The main chick has a great rack, I've give the movie that.
A tune you will be humming for days
16-year-old boarding school student Nancy (Jenny Tamburi) arrives in town after her mother commits suicide. She is taken in by her stepfather Marco (Silvano Tranquilli), who has already moved in his mistress Gianna (Rosalba Neri). Things get a bit strange when Nancy begins to suspect her mother didn't commit suicide and puts the moves on both of her hosts. This is a nifty little thriller from Silvio (AMUCK!) Amadio with enough twists and turns to keep you interested. The main mystery isn't too hard to guess, but there is a nice extra twist at the end and, of course, another one for good measure. Tamburi and the gorgeous Neri spend a lot of their screen time nude and that certainly helps too. Quite possibly the best thing about the film is a theme that is so catchy with Amadio using it at every opportunity. You will definitely be humming it for days after watching this one.
Intriguing Giallo full of twists
From the director of the better known "Alla Ricerca del Piacere" (aka "Amuck!") comes this stylish thriller that involves not only a confusing web of love affairs and relationships, but also - towards the climax - a bundle of twists that are guaranteed to surprise every viewer without becoming implausible at any moment.
And this is the big plus of this movie: The twists all work. The first half moves on relatively slow (similar to Silvio Amadio's above mentioned earlier Giallo), but the viewer already gets enough information to know that the plot isn't as simple as it seems. In the second half the film becomes a roller coaster ride of red herrings, plot twists and other surprises, which makes it decisively superior to Amadio's earlier effort.
The acting is also thoroughly convincing, which is especially important once the film is finished and the viewer gets the whole story. But the most remarkable thing in this intriguing Giallo is the lush, ear-catching main theme that will never let one go after being heard for the first time.
And this is the big plus of this movie: The twists all work. The first half moves on relatively slow (similar to Silvio Amadio's above mentioned earlier Giallo), but the viewer already gets enough information to know that the plot isn't as simple as it seems. In the second half the film becomes a roller coaster ride of red herrings, plot twists and other surprises, which makes it decisively superior to Amadio's earlier effort.
The acting is also thoroughly convincing, which is especially important once the film is finished and the viewer gets the whole story. But the most remarkable thing in this intriguing Giallo is the lush, ear-catching main theme that will never let one go after being heard for the first time.
Did you know
- TriviaOn the English version soundtrack, sound people failed to provide thuds so there is a very disappointing total silence every time Gianna bashes Magda's skull.
- GoofsOn the English version soundtrack, Sound people failed to provide thuds so there is a very disappointing total silence every time Gianna bashes Magda's skull.
- Alternate versionsThe Italian version starts with the first murder, then cuts to the credits, cast over a serene drive through Rome, arriving at Marco's estate, to the tune of a female voice spouting some noisome vocalese. The English version begins with the credits, cast in white on a plain black background, same noisome vocalese, but then cut to murder, then arrival at the estate, sans views of Rome . And on the English version soundtrack, sound people failed to provide thuds so there is a very disappointing total silence every time Gianna bashes Magda's skull.
- How long is Smile Before Death?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Ölmeden Önce Gülümse
- Filming locations
- Rome, Lazio, Italy(Exterior)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime
- 1h 29m(89 min)
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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