Colt 38 Special Squad (1976)

Dir: MASSIMO DALLAMANO
Country: ITALY

AKA:
Quelli della calibro 38

Thus far on every occasion that a film directed by Massimo Dallamano has crossed my line of sight and made it to the screen, I’ve generally been impressed by the results. I say generally because his 1969 take on Venus in Furs left me cold, unimpressed, and most damagingly of all; bored! But since that fateful afternoon where I lost ninety minutes of my life to that asinine garbage, the films of his I have screened have had me reaching for the superlatives. The giallo double of What Have They Done to Solange? (1971) and What Have They Done to Your Daughters? (1974) were remarkably consistent examinations of not only corrupted innocence, but also how a mask of innocence and youth can conceal all manner of perversions. The former totally outgrew the Edgar Wallace pot-boiler which it took tacit inspiration from, and the latter injected some of the high octane action strategies of the Polizio/Euro-crime cycle into its formulaic gialli narrative. It is this fusion of elements which points forward to Dallamano’s inevitable full blown entry into the Polizio/Euro-crime cycle with the fast paced thriller Colt 38 Special Squad. He seems far more confident amongst the chase sequences, shootouts, fistfights, and vengeful violence of this cycle than the muted atmospherics of the passable The Night Child (1975), the rather dry and forgettable horror flick that preceded it. One of the great tragedies of popular Italian cinema was that Colt 38 Special Squad would be Dallamano’s last picture; certainly on the evidence displayed here Dallamano could have made a number of vital contributions to the cycle, and would no doubt have further enriched a variety of generic soil.

What Have You Done To Solange? (1972)

Dir: MASSIMO DALLAMANO
Country: ITALY/WEST GERMANY

AKA:
Cosse avete fatto a Solange?
Who's Next?
Solange
Terror in the Woods
The School that Couldn't Scream
The Secret of the Green Pins

In January 2011 I dedicated an entire month of The Celluloid Highway to the Italian giallo. Of the films I reviewed that month I was most impressed by Massimo Dallamano’s 1974 entry What Have They Done to Your Daughters? I particularly enjoyed the confident manner in which the narrative strategies of the giallo were fastened to the high octane thrills and spills one would commonly associate with the poliziotesschi. From 1946 to 1966 Dallamano carved out a career as a cinematographer, the culmination of which was his work on A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and For a Few Dollars More (1965). But as a director we are only left with the merest of legacies. He only directed twelve feature films before his untimely death in a car accident in late 1976. On the strength of Venus in Furs (1969) and the aforementioned What Have They Done to Your Daughters? I was determined to explore as many of his dozen films as I could. Unfortunately I was waylaid on this quest and Dallamano was filed away for future reference. A year later I finally got the opportunity to screen his first giallo What Have You Done to Solange? and was immediately surprised (and not to mention a little weary) of the unanimous praise the film has received in critical circles. Only a select band of gialli have reviewed as well as Solange. I expected the film to struggle to live up to its reputation, but I’m pleased to report this is one film that is deserving of its current status amid the highest echelon of the cycle.

What Have They Done To Your Daughters? (1974)

Dir: MASSIMO DALLAMANO
Country: ITALY

AKA:
La polizia chiede aiuto
Coed Murders

The title might be a mouthful but Massimo Dallamano’s What Have They Done To Your Daughters? is an extremely efficient and energetic mixture of giallo and poliziottescho. By 1974 the giallo had seen its share of the domestic marketplace eroded and the poliziotteschi cycle, with its elements of conspiracy and vigilantism was finding favour with audiences. Dallamano was one of the first filmmakers to see the potential in combining elements of the two and had achieved a notable creative success with his earlier effort What Have You Done To Solange? (1972). Although Daughters recycles the thematic substance of the earlier film, this second attempt ups the quotient of action considerably and focuses its attentions on the police investigation. The films attitude to its law enforcers and detectives marks the first notable shift from the territory of the giallo. This is very much a celebration of dogged detective work, and the principal investigators are imbued with charm, charisma and intelligence. There are no ineffectual bunglers here. Instead the cops emerge as powerless as the public in the face of the mysterious authoritarians that prowl the corridors of power. Our sympathies lie with the police because they are an unusually frustrated bunch - good men and women trying to do the right thing for the public, but unable to mete out justice because the reins of power are held firm by those who abuse power and privilege.