After a French stripper is harassed by a man who wants a cache of diamonds stolen by her late father, she flees to England in the company of a doctor, but danger follows.After a French stripper is harassed by a man who wants a cache of diamonds stolen by her late father, she flees to England in the company of a doctor, but danger follows.After a French stripper is harassed by a man who wants a cache of diamonds stolen by her late father, she flees to England in the company of a doctor, but danger follows.
- Nicole Rochard
- (as Susan Scott)
- Michel Aumont
- (as Simon Andreu)
- Captain Lenny
- (as George Rigaud)
- Smith
- (as J. Manuel Martin)
- Jack
- (uncredited)
- Ragazza nel night
- (uncredited)
- Philip
- (uncredited)
- Peggy
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe English language version on the UK Blu-ray from Arrow carries the title "Death Stalks on High Heels".
- GoofsWhen Nicole encounters the killer for the first time, he puts her T-shirt over her head, but some discrepancy in continuity is evident in the following shots.
- Quotes
Dr. Robert Matthews: Oh, I used to be very curious, Nicole. I wanted to know absolutely everything about everything. Then, one day, it dawned on me that every one of my questions meant listening to an answer, and every one of the answers meant a disappointment.
- ConnectionsReferenced in Il mostro (1977)
The film is written by no less a figure than Ernesto Gastaldi, who is considered by some to be the father of giallo. The director, Luciano Ercoli, is interestingly perhaps better known as a producer or production designer. He more or less fell into directing as a cost-cutting measure -- one less person to hire. (Tim Lucas compares Ercoli to Brian DePalma... and there is some truth to that.)
Who doesn't love composer Stelvio Cipriani, probably among the top composers in Italy (behind perhaps Ennio Morricone and Goblin for genre film). What we get here is rather sparse (many scenes have no music at all) but the man does what he does well. Not surprisingly, his work has been used by Quentin Tarantino, the champion of such films as this.
A note on the lead actor, an American. Frank Wolff had bit roles in his first two films, Roger Corman's "I Mobster" and "The Wasp Woman". On Corman's advice, Frank Wolff remained in Europe and became a well-known character actor in over fifty, mostly Italian-made, films of the 1960s, including crime/suspense "gialli" and spaghetti westerns.
Director Ercoli obviously does not have the name recognition of Mario Bava or Dario Argento, but he still knows how to make a great giallo (with a dollop of influence from Argento's "Bird With the Crystal Plumage"). A masked and gloved killer, a bit of mirrors, and an unhealthy fascination with eyes -- close-ups of eyes, false eyes, windows that look like eyes. Nobody knows eyes like the Italians!
The Arrow Video blu-ray allows the viewer to watch either the Italian or English versions (because sometimes you need a dub, and sometimes you don't). The disc also comes with: Audio commentary by film critic Tim Lucas, by far the most knowledgeable non-Italian scholar of the Italian genre film. Introduction to the film by screenwriter Ernesto Gastaldi. A featurette comprising newly-edited archive footage of director Luciano Ercoli and actress Nieves Navarro. A career-spanning interview with composer Stelvio Cipriani. Italian genre fans (which includes pretty much all horror fans) will love this disc, part of Arrow's "Death Walks Twice" set.
- gavin6942
- Mar 21, 2016
- How long is Death Walks on High Heels?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Runtime1 hour 48 minutes
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1