Who Saw Her Die?

Who Saw Her Die?
A painted image of a gloved hand holding a knife; a bleeding corpse is visible in the background. Beneath this are the words "Chi l'ha vista morire?" in bold orange letters, and a billing block in small lettering
Italian film poster
ItalianChi l'ha vista morire?
Directed byAldo Lado[1]
Screenplay by
Story by
  • Massimo D'Avak
  • Francesco Barilli
Produced by
  • Enzo Doria
  • Dieter Geissler
Starring
CinematographyFranco Di Giacomo
Edited by
  • Angelo Curi
  • Jutta Brandstaedter
Music byEnnio Morricone
Production
companies
  • Doria Film[2]
  • Roas Produzioni[2]
  • Dieter Geissler Filmproduktion[2]
  • Dunhill Cinematografica[2]
Distributed by
Release date
  • 12 May 1972 (1972-05-12)
Running time
94 minutes
Countries
LanguageItalian

Who Saw Her Die? (Italian: Chi l'ha vista morire?,[2] also released as The Child[1]) is a 1972 giallo film directed and co-written by Aldo Lado, and starring George Lazenby, Anita Strindberg, Adolfo Celi, Dominique Boschero, and Nicoletta Elmi. Lazenby and Strindberg play the parents of a murdered girl, who pursue her black-veiled killer throughout Venice.

Plot

In a French ski resort, a young girl wanders off from her carer and is murdered by a killer in a black veil, who buries her body in the snow. Years later, another young girl, Roberta Serpieri, is found drowned in Venice after being abducted by the same killer. Her divorced parents, sculptor Franco and Elizabeth, attempt to discover what has happened to their daughter.[3][4]

Cast

Production

Who Saw Her Die? was written by Massimo D'Avack, Francesco Barilli, Aldo Lado and Rüdiger von Spiehs; it was directed by Lado.[1] Vittorio De Sisti was the film's second unit director.[2] The film's music was composed by Ennio Morricone, whose score was released separately in 1972.[5]

The film was shot on location in Venice; one of the film's chase scenes was filmed at the Molino Stucky flour mill, a run-down building which was later renovated as a Hilton hotel in 2008.[6]

In both the Italian and English versions, Lazenby's voice is dubbed by other actors.[7] Italian films of the time were rarely shot with usable sound and were dubbed in post-production.[8] For the English version, Lazenby was dubbed by American actor Michael Forest.[9]

Release and reception

In his book Italian Horror Film Directors, Louis Paul has described Lazenby's performance as one of the actor's best, although he regretted that some dubs of the film did not use Lazenby's voice.[10]

Danny Shipka, author of Perverse Titillation, compared the film stylistically to Nicolas Roeg's film from the following year, Don't Look Now, which shares a Venetian setting. Shipka noted that Lado avoided the explicit gore and sexual elements usually present in a giallo film, instead focusing on "an aura of uneasiness".[3]

Buzz McClain of AllMovie awarded Who Saw Her Die? three-and-a-half stars out of five, highlighting Lazenby's performance and Morricone's score; McClain felt that the film's plot was unnecessarily complicated, but that this was compensated for by its setting and cinematography.[4]

From Sweden, With Love complimented the main actor in 2020: "The film is uncompromisingly brutal in its resolve and George Lazenby is brilliant as the dejected, possibly sociopathic, lead.”[11]

Footnotes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Chi l'ha vista morire? (1972)". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2 September 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "CHI L'HA VISTA MORIRE?". BFI Collections Search. Retrieved 15 August 2026.
  3. 1 2 Shipka 2011, p. 110.
  4. 1 2 McClain, Buzz. "Who Saw Her Die? (1972) – Aldo Lado". AllMovie. Archived from the original on 29 September 2022. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "Chi l'ha vista morire? (Colonna sonora originale) – Ennio Morricone". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 2 September 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  6. ↑ Pigott 2013, p. 46.
  7. ↑ "Classic Horror on Disc: Arrow's Who Saw Her Die? (1972) - Diabolique Magazine". 11 October 2019. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  8. ↑ "Blasts from the Past! Blu-ray Review: WHO SAW HER DIE? (1972)". 16 September 2019. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  9. ↑ "Blu-ray Review: Who Saw Her Die? | Inside Pulse". 3 September 2019. Archived from the original on 19 May 2023. Retrieved 11 April 2020.
  10. ↑ Paul 2005, pp. 288–289.
  11. ↑ "Review of Who Saw Her Die? (1972) starring George Lazenby". Retrieved 18 September 2024.

References

  • Paul, Louis (2005). Italian Horror Film Directors. McFarland & Company. ISBN 9780786487493.
  • Pigott, Michael (2013). World Film Locations: Venice. Intellect Books. ISBN 978-1841507200.
  • Shipka, Danny (2011). Perverse Titillation: The Exploitation Cinema of Italy, Spain and France, 1960–1980 (illustrated ed.). McFarland & Company. ISBN 978-0786448883.
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