andrabem "Passi di danza su una lama di rasoio" (Death carries a cane) is not what one would call a plot-driven film (like "My dear killer", for instance, with its very intricate plot). Anyway, "Death carries a cane" tells a story that managed to keep my attention till the end, but the highlights of the film are the images and the soundtrack.I think of cinema as a conjunction of images, sounds and words used to tell a story. In this way a film can reach dimensions far beyond the reach of literature - the images/sounds should not be just servants of the words (or story), they should also be active agents in the film. From the sixties onward, under the influence of the nouvelle vague, the camera became much freer. Godard was one of the icons of that era - his creative use of images, music, lighting and words, was a shining light for many filmmakers that came after.In "Death carries a cane" one can feel this freedom of creation. The story is simple enough: Kitty (Susan Scott), a fashion photographer, witnesses a murder. She sees indistinctly through a telescope a man all dressed in black, crowned with a black hat (typical giallo!) stabbing a girl to death. She warns the police but no one takes her seriously - Kitty didn't know where exactly the killing had taken place, and where was the body? The body is at last found and the investigations begin. More killings occur and with each killing the killer seems to be getting nearer Kitty..."Death carries a cane" offers everything one can expect from a giallo - intelligent cameras, lighting and editing, pretty women and sensuality galore. And one can say that Maurizio Pradeaux has learnt his Argento. The staging of the killings is creatively done - sounds, cameras, soundtrack and lighting are effectively used to create a suspenseful atmosphere. Many red herrings are thrown around to confuse the viewer and enhance the fun.There are many pretty women: "Scream Queen" Susan Scott (Nieves Navarro), Anuska Borova (playing two different roles!), Cristina Tamborra etc...This is a hard-to-find film, but years ago "Death carries a cane" was released in Germany under the title "Die Nacht der rollenden Köpfe" with audio versions in English and German. As a matter of fact "Die Nacht der rollenden Köpfe" was rereleased this year (2008), but unfortunately only in the German version.

The_Void Released during the height of Giallo's popularity, Death Carries a Cane is a sadly lackadaisical film. It seems as though everyone involved couldn't really be bothered, with the sole intention of creating another popular film on the mind of the director and scriptwriters. The acting is mundane, the plot is highly derivative, the scene settings are very bare and the character's motivations range from unlikely to completely ridiculous, and more often than not are an obvious attempt at furthering the plot. The film seems to be taking Dario Argento's masterpiece 'The Bird With the Crystal Plumage' as its main inspiration, as the plot centres on someone who witnesses part of a murder and endeavours to solve the case. The plot follows Kitty; a young woman that, while looking through an observation point, spies a murder happening in a house across the street. After doubting her story, the police do nothing; but then the murders continue, and Kitty's boyfriend ends up noticing that all of the murder victims were a part of a ballet group.Stylish murders are an important part of the Giallo, so it's lucky that director Maurizio Pradeaux decided to do a good job with this area of the film. The murders are rather tame compared to other genre films, but the director makes them stylish, and shots of things such as the killer hiding under a bed or on the backseat of a car are good, and the cane/razor blade murder weapon combo features well. The film benefits from a strong Giallo cast, including most notably; Luciano Ercoli's spouse, Susan Scott. Scott is largely wasted, however, as her role doesn't allow her strong screen-presence to shine through and she left only with the task of providing some nice nude shots. She is joined by her Ercoli Giallo co-star Simón Andreu as well as prolific Italian horror star, Robert Hoffman. The plot doesn't flow too well, as the murders are the only standout parts of the film, and much of the build up/aftermath to them isn't interesting, especially as the police investigation is mostly lacklustre and redundant. Overall, Death Carries a Cane isn't a particularly bad Giallo; but it's not a very good one either, and Giallo fans can feel free to skip it.

Mathis_Vogel Susan Scott of "Death walks at midnight" and "Orgasmo Nero" fame stars in this fairly unremarkable entry into the giallo genre directed by Maurizio Pradeaux. She witnesses a murder of a girl through a telescope, but fails to see the killer's face (who's dressed in typical giallo fashion). With the help of her boyfriend (Robert Hoffman from Umberto Lenzi's "Spasmo") she starts her investigation, while the killer proceeds to cut the witnesses' throats with a straight razor. There's nothing special about 'Death Walks With a Cane', it's a routine giallo with little originality about it. You've got all the usual stuff here: violent murders, weird characters,crazy plot twists, but there's still something missing. Firstly - suspense, the movie is pretty damn low on thrills. Secondly - sense of style. What kind of giallo is this without stylish locations? The story is supposed to be taking place in Rome, but the action mainly revolves in some un-photogeic back streets. No gorgeous architecture,just old shacks. The most upsetting thing about the film is the camera-work: flat and uninspired, with lots of pointless zooms and occasionally out of focus. Only during the murder scenes do the proceedings look a little more lively with some nice camera angles. The murders are gory and quite well executed. The score for the film composed by Roberto Pregadio isn't progressive or groovy or pounding or anything at all. Merely generic. There's a good deal of nudity in 'Death Walks With a Cane'. Robert Hoffman (who was just excellent in "Spasmo") and Scott do what they can with the material they're given, battling through some hysterically funny dialogue. The supporting cast includes Simon Andreu and Luciano Rossi who's always played demented creeps in westerns and police films. Sadly, this time Luciano Rossi is wasted as just one more red herring. The film isn't great, still worth a look for giallo fans but had a potential to be a lot better. If you want to see the same cast in a decent film, watch "Death walks at midnight".

hamburger TORMENTOR is your typical early 70s giallo. You got your funky 70s tunes, out-of-place comedy, nude women, and a black-gloved assailant bloodily slicing his victims with a razor. The opening scene with the two guys fighting over the telescope-thingie is a riot...notice how much that one guy resembles Jackie Martling of the Howard Stern show? OK, but I'd rather be watching DEEP RED.