XhcnoirX Foreign journalist Jean Sorel finds himself locked inside his 'dead' body, unable to communicate with the outside world. As doctors prepare to perform an autopsy on his body, he recounts the events leading up up his predicament. It all started when his girlfriend Barbara Bach disappeared and he goes in search of her...The plot of this a-typical giallo is intriguing, and director Aldo Aldo, who also wrote the screenplay, manages to keep the tension going. Yes, the movie is fairly slow-moving, and it lacks the creative and gory murders and setpieces you'd find in a more conventional giallo (altho 'convential giallo' sounds wrong on so many levels!), but it's utterly fascinating, and beautifully shot. And there is a lot going on, as Sorel uncovers more and more details related to Bach's disappearance... Definitely pay attention! The musical score by Ennio Morricone is also pretty nice and atmospheric, adding to the overall unique mood of this movie. The final 20 minutes or so are a trippy, and then the movie ends in a 'wow' moment. A top-notch giallo!

Witchfinder General 666 Aldo Lado's "La Corta Notte Delle Bambole Di Vetro" aka. "Short Night Of The Glass Dolls" of 1971 is a work of art in style and beauty that every fellow lover of Italian Horror cinema should see for its many ingenious aspects. Yet, I cannot deny that I was a tiny bit disappointed with this film, which I bought under the title "Malastrana" and which several fellow Giallo-enthusiasts had recommended to me as something absolutely unique. My expectations were high, and I also expected something quite different in the film. I was (miss)lead to believe that "Malastrana" was a typical Giallo, and while it can be attributed to the Giallo-genre, it can not really be described as a Giallo in the traditional sense. It was not the lack of stylish murders from the perspective of a black-gloved killer that bothered me, however. The visually striking film has a downright brilliant premise and an ingenious ending, but in-between it tends to drag a little. While the general atmosphere is an eerie one, however, I would have loved a little more genuine scares.Not that the film wasn't suspenseful. It actually builds up a great tension. The film begins very promising, when a man (Jean Sorel) is brought to a morgue while he is actually still alive. The man, who soon remembers that he is Gregory, an American Journalist working in Prague, experiences how he is pronounced dead, and yet he is unable to do anything about his situation. He therefore decides that all he can do is to try and remember how he got in this peculiar situation... A more than original beginning indeed, which made my expectations for the rest of the film even higher. A fellow Giallo fan had described the film as one of his personal favorites to me, and in the beginning I almost felt that it might become one of mine. Sadly, there are some points that I didn't like. The film drags a little in the middle, and the suspense could sometimes have been more intense. Also, the film does not really make the viewer care for the characters, which lessens the intensity a little. Then again, the film has many brilliant aspects. Visually, the film is incredibly striking. The photography is beautifully done and Prague is an excellent setting for a Giallo, even more for one with an occult twist. The visual impressions are intensified by a brilliant score by maestro Ennio Morricone. Jean Sorell is very good in the lead and the rest of the performances are also brilliant. The cast includes the great Mario Adorf in a typically unpolished role, and the immortal Ingrid Thulin. The ravishing Barbara Bach is unbelievably beautiful in the role of Mira, the main protagonist's young girlfriend who takes every man's breath away. Overall, "Short Night Of The Glass Dolls" did not quite live up to my very high expectations, but it is not the film alone which can be blamed for that. I began to watch this film expecting a masterpiece, and while, in my opinion, it is not, it is nonetheless a highly atmospheric, original and visually striking film that no Italian Horror fan should consider missing. Especially the ending is breathtaking. Not an absolute masterpiece, in my opinion, and yet highly recommended to all my fellow Giallo-buffs!

BA_Harrison Despite its typically giallo-style title, Short Night of the Glass Dolls cannot be neatly pigeon-holed in that genre: there is no mysterious black-gloved killer, a lack of inventive deaths, and absolutely no creepy dolls or haunting nursery rhymes! That said, this film should definitely appeal to fans of Argento, Bava, Fulci, Martino et al thanks to its ridiculously convoluted plot, bizarre characters, cool 70s cinematography and even a Morricone soundtrack.Director Aldo Lado (The Night Train Murders) delivers a highly original tale of the macabre that is told through a central character—reporter Gregory Moore—who appears to be dead, but is actually conscious, trapped within his seemingly lifeless body. Laying in the morgue, the man struggles to remember the events leading up to his strange predicament, and gradually recalls uncovering the existence of a secret, murderous, orgiastic cult.Lado's film is admittedly very slow going, and many might find it too much of a struggle to complete; those who persevere, however, will be rewarded with a hullucinatary experience that, whilst not a classic of Italian horror, is certainly a rather unique one (how many Italian thrillers have you seen set in cold-war Prague?).

preppy-3 American reporter Gregory Moore (played by French Jean Sorel) is in Prague with fellow reporters Jessica (Ingrid Thulin) and Jack (Mario Ardof). He prepares to leave and go to England with Czech girlfriend Myra (Barbara Bach). However she suddenly disappears without a trace. Moore starts to investigate but the police try to block him, his friends tell him to forget her and a mysterious man is following him...This is advertised as an Italian giallo but I don't think it really is. At the end it becomes one but about 85% of the movie is just a thriller--a good thriller but not a giallo. The title means next to nothing (as the director says in a short interview on the DVD). It was supposed to be called "Short Night of the Butterfly" (which does work) but it had to be changed at the last minute. "Glass Dolls" was just picked out of thin air. The film is hurt by poor dubbing--some of the dialogue is virtually incomprehensible. I had to keep turning the volume up and down to hear! That aside this is a good movie. The plot is complex and it's beautifully directed. The DVD of this has a gorgeous transfer. The acting is good by everybody--especially Sorel and Thulin. There's also a beautiful score by Ennio Morricone that perfectly fits the film. All in all a good strong thriller worth catching.