Who Saw Her Die?

Who Saw Her Die? (Chi I’ha Vista Morire?) (1972)

Runtime: 94 minutes

Directed by: Aldo Lado

Starring: George Lazenby, Anita Strindberg, Adolfo Celi, Dominique Boschero, Peter Chatel

From: Several different production companies

Featuring Not Timothee Chalamet

There’s plenty of giallo for me to possibly view in the future. The reason why this was selected? It has some story beats which will remind you of a thriller quite famous: a little girl is shown dead in the opening, drowning is involved, the setting is Venice. Lest you think this is a B-movie ripoff of that film (which I haven’t reviewed… yet), this came out first. It may be a case that this was also based on the same Daphne Du Maurier short story, but let me not get sidetracked.

Who’s plot: George Lazenby (w/ great mustache) lives in Venice; his daughter Roberta visits him from London but estranged wife Elizabeth doesn’t come along. They visit several characters which will eventually become red herrings after Roberta is murdered by yes, someone wearing black gloves. Elizabeth comes down and she is dragged into her husband’s attempt at investigating this crime. The guy I call Not Timothee Chalamet is a minor character who has limited screentime and only one scene of note, but his appearance did amuse me.

The plot meanders at times due to a lack of momentum. Otherwise, this was a fine giallo effort which has some blood and plenty of sleaze; besides a sex scene soon after the death of their daughter, there’s a key character accused of pedophilia and another exhibits creepy behavior towards Roberta at one point. Even if you exclude the whole child murder aspect, there are affairs, bad rich dudes, even badder behavior… this is all done in a Venetian setting that was sometimes covered in fog, leading to nice atmosphere.

A huge asset for the film was the Morricone score; the keystone there was a child’s choir, but it wasn’t always used to create angelic music. Instead, it at times was used in odd, unexpected ways to create something bizarre & unnerving for your ears that augments the actions on screen. Thankfully, it’s on YouTube for those curious, as the score is pretty wild. For better or worse, the denouement was undoubtedly one you’d find in a giallo. In fact, without remember specific examples, it does resemble at least one other I’ve heard in a genre I’ve only seen a small amount of.

Does this work as the B-movie in a double feature at home, following Don’t Look Now? Yes it does; naturally, this movie isn’t as mature or contemplative as Roeg’s classic but it is one many genre fans can dig.