Beautiful flame-haired Dagmar Lassander plays Minou, a loyal and trusting soul, who is married to less scrupulous Peter (Pier Paolo Capponi ), a man of indeterminate hairline, who from the offset is clearly a bad ‘un, it seems to me. Enter the mighty Nieves Navarro (billed as Susan Scott), playing flirtatious Dominique who flashes a smile full of teeth at every man who passes her by – but saves herself for duplicitous Peter. Then there is The Blackmailer (prolific giallo villain Simón Andreu), who attacks and blackmails poor Minou over her husband’s alleged villainy.
There’s not a huge amount of sex or gore in this, unlike many efforts in this genre, although Director Luciano Ercoli clearly loves the female form, and there’s a definite frisson in intimate scenes featuring Navarro (not to cloud his professionalism of course, but he was Navarro’s husband).
Lassander is very good in a role that could have been irritating if in the hands of a lesser actress. Like that other giallo queen Edwige Fenech, her sense of screen presence and appeal stop her character from becoming the needy scream-queen she could have been. The contrast between her softness and Dominique’s brashness is well conveyed.
The story, whilst not spectacular, has its moments and is definitely heightened by the characters. The finale is typical gialli – the exposed villain gloatingly tells the victim his entire plan before either (a) getting away with it, or (b) not getting away with it. Either way, it is an enjoyable dénouement, and is enjoyable, scenic entertainment overall.
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