Gothic cinema’s favorite twists, she has the same
Shooting went on for four months, on 6mm
features as a woman portrayed in an Etruscan
(later blown up to 3mm for the theatrical re-
mural painting, who also wears the same neck-
lease), on location in Tuscany and partly in the
lace (depicting a scorpion with two tails, hence
U.S. The director decided to sign the film as
the title) which has miraculously saved her life
“Christian Plummer” (the first time he used an
in a shootout. Far from being simply a red her-
English pseudonym) in order to make the result
ring, the supernatural becomes an integral part
more commercially viable: the name “Sergio
of the story, also by way of a mysterious old man
Martino” was by then associated with comedy
(Luigi Rossi, best known as the amiable lawyer
after the series of amusing farces he had directed
who addresses the audience and tell anecdotes
since the mid–970s.
about the main characters in Fellini’s Amarcord)
The fate of Assassinio al cimitero etrusco
who plays the “aulos” (the typical ancient wind
was quite different from the one Martino had
instrument similar to the flute) and acts as the
envisioned while making it. Quartarete TV was
link between the past and the present.
attempting to enter the private television market
Gastaldi’s script has a field day milking the
as a competitor to Fininvest, but eventually its
supernatural angle for all it’s worth, and the
owners gave up, and the TV series, although
scenes set in the Etruscan necropolis, recreated
ready for broadcast, was shelved. The theatrical
by Antonello Geleng at R.P.A.-Elios studios, have
version was distributed earlier than expected, to
an endearing fantasy- like quality that evokes the
modest box- office (incidentally, the poster by
Conan the Barbarian rip- offs made around the
Enzo Sciotti recycled the same menacing long-
same time (as well as Duccio Tessari’s Tex e il sig-
haired, knife- wielding figure from Quella villa
nore degli abissi, 98) but they also highlight one
accanto al cimitero). In the late 980s the series
of the film’s main issues, the attempt of covering
was purchased by Reteitalia and reduced to a
too many disparate bases in an effort to please
80-minute, two- part version, Lo scorpione a due
the mass audience.
code, to be broadcast on Canale . This abridged
Despite some good camerawork, the direc-
version, reedited by Claudio Lattanzi, was never
tion is mostly uninspired, and the story drags
aired on Berlusconi’s network and turned up on
along confusingly, with a continuing series of
local networks over the years. The original neg-
plot twists and new characters introduced, in a
atives, according to Martino, were damaged.
manner not unlike old- time serials. The fact that
If the idea of a mystery related to Etruscan
the theatrical version is severely abridged doesn’t
tombs recalls Armando Crispino’s giallo, L’etrusco
help. At 98 minutes, it drops some subplots com-
uccide ancora (972), Sacchetti and Gastaldi’s
pletely, such as Joan’s little brother being kid-
story blends giallo and supernatural elements in
napped by an American drug kingpin, who
a way that echoes the Gothic made- for-TV mini-
blackmails Joan into recovering the drugs for
series of the 970s, such as Il segno del comando
him, or Joan and Mike taking a trip to the Ni-
and Ritratto di donna velata (the latter also shot
agara Falls. The theatrical cut also discards sev-
in Volterra).4 The victims are killed with their
eral atmospheric sequences, such as photogra-
neck snapped and head twisted according to an
pher/graverobber Gianni Andrucci (Garofalo)
ancient Etruscan curse, but, as one of the char-
penetrating a tomb and experiencing aural and
acters underlines at one point, nobody remotely
visual hallucinations in front of the mural paint-
believes in the supernatural explanation, and a
ings, and Joan discovering the body of another
subplot about heroin smuggling keeps the story
graverobber, Senaldi (Monni). On top of that,
on a mundane level.
some actors, such as Bruno Di Luia, appear only
On the other hand, Joan Barnard has much
in the TV version. In addition to the many cuts,
in common with Gothic’s heroines in peril, who
the theatrical version featured some differences
end up in danger because of their overt sensi-
in the dubbing as well: for instance, in the TV
1982: La casa
99
French lobby card for Assassinio al cimitero etrusco, featuring Claudio Cassinelli (center) and elvire Audray (right).
version Claudio Cassinelli dubs himself, whereas
gots pop up from the photograph of an Etruscan
in the film he is dubbed by Pino Colizzi.
site) fail to inject much- needed frissons. Even
Despite the convoluted plot, the mystery
the reliable Fabio Frizzi’s score seems on auto-
angle is by- the-numbers, with the villain intro-
pilot, to the point that it recycles themes from
duced one hour into the film, and turning out
Paura nella città dei morti viventi. No wonder
to be (in one of Gastaldi’s favorite plot twists:
Martino himself regretted having had anything
see La morte accarezza a mezzanotte, 972) a po-
to do with it, since “it didn’t add anything to my
tential love interest for the heroine. On top of
career, not even from an economic standpoint.”
that, the climactic revelation is disastrously
staged, with the worst case of a dead- man-
Notes
apparently-returning-from-the-grave-to-un-
1. There are two original stories signed by Sacchetti and
mask-the-murderer ever committed in a giallo.
Gastaldi and deposited at the SIAE archives, Il mistero degli
Etruschi (dated January , 982) and Lo scorpione a due
The final explanatory monologue includes yet
code (dated April 23, 982)
another photographic blow- up that reveals the
2. Sergio Martino, Mille peccati … nessuna virtù?
murderer’s identity (a detail which adds nothing
(Milan: Bloodbuster, 207), 78.
to the mystery) and a ludicrous clarification
3. The credits also list Gastaldi’s wife Maria Chianetta
as co- scriptwriter, presumably for similar reasons.
about the true nature of one key character (a
4. For an analysis of Ritratto di donna velata, see Curti,
covert agent who studied Etruscan archaeology
Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1970–1979, 222.
to infiltrate a gang of smugglers!).
5. Martino, Mille peccati … nessuna virtù?, 79.
Martino eschews explicit
gore, but the few
make- up effects (by a young Sergio Stivaletti,
La casa stregata (The Haunted House)
uncredited) leave a lot to be desired, while the
D: Bruno Corbucci. S: Mario Amendola,
odd macabre touches (such as Joan seeing mag-
Bruno Corbucci, Mario Cecchi Gori; SC: Mario
00 1982: La casa Amendola, Bruno Corbucci, Enrico Oldoini;
of the full moon. Therefore, Giorgio and Candida’s
DOP: Ennio Guarnieri (Technospes); M: Detto
attempts to make love are systematically frus-
Mariano (Ed. Slalom); E: Daniele Alabiso; PD:
trated, often by the intervention of the mysterious
Giantito Burchiellaro; ArtD: Bruno Amalfitano;
Omar, who is actually the ghost of the two lovers’
CO: Giulia Mafai; AD: Roberto Tatti; SS: Cinzia
servant. This results in poor Giorgio suffering
Alchimede; C: Renato Ranieri; AC: Maurizio
many absurdist accidents. To make matters worse,
Fiorentini; 2ndAC: Francesco Damiani; SO:
Giorgio’s colleagues are suspicious about the luxu-
Benito Alchimede; SP: Giuseppe Botteghi; MA:
rious house he lives in, and believe he is in cahoots
Rocco Lerro; MU: Alfredo Tiberi, Pierantonio
with the criminals who often rob the bank…
Mecacci, Gianfranco Mecacci; APD: Antonia
Renato Pozzetto’s second Gothic spoof
Mirella Rubeo; AE: Brigida Mastrolillo, Marcello
after Mia moglie è una strega is a ghost story that
Cannone; PROP: Vittorio Troiani; KG: Ennio
dealt with the theme of reincarnation and a sec-
Picconi; ChEl: Amilcare Cuccoli; Mix: Romano
ular curse, declined in an amiably funny way:
Pampaloni; SE: Antonio Corridori; W: Clara
“Metempsychosis? Isn’t it some sort of a pneu-
Fratarcangeli; Publicist: Francesca De Guida
monia?” asks Giorgio (Pozzetto), the unaware
Canori. Cast: Renato Pozzetto (Giorgio Allegri),
reincarnation of a Saracen warrior turned by his
Gloria Guida (Candida Melengo), Lia Zoppelli
witch mother- in-law into a pillar of salt together
(Anastasia), Yorgo Voyagis (Oscar), Marilda
with his beloved and cursed by a thousand- year-
Donà (Lucia), Angelo Pellegrino (Elpidio Tom-
old spell. The bulk of the movie centers on Gior-
masini), Rita Forzano (Allegri’s colleague), Leo
gio’s vain attempts to have sex with his virgin fi-
Gavero (Bank manager), Angelo Nicotra (Alle-
ancée Candida, while the ghost of the warrior’s
gri’s colleague), Aldo Ralli (Allegri’s colleague),
servant prevents him with all sort of magic
Giulia Valli, Fernando Cerulli (Real estate
tricks, as the spell will be broken only if she loses
agent), Vittorio Ripamonti (Don Alvino), Nicola
her virginity on the exact expiration of the thou-
Morelli (Albani), Franco Diogene (Dilapidated
sand years’ span, on a night of full moon, finally
house owner), Tony Scarf [Antonio Scarfone]
releasing the two unfortunate spirits.
(Robber); uncredited: Bruno Corbucci (Veteri-
Pozzetto teams up with the gorgeous Gloria
narian), Antonio Conte (Bus driver), Mario Do-
Guida, in one of her last film appearances before
natone (Hotel Concierge), Mimmo Poli (Client
retiring from the movie business (that same year
at the bank). PROD: Mario Cecchi Gori, Vittorio
she starred alongside her husband Johnny
Cecchi Gori for Intercapital Films. AP: Achille
Dorelli in Dino Risi’s Sesso e volentieri), whereas
Manzotti; GM: Mino Barbera; PM: Giandomenico
Yorgo Voyagis plays a similar guest star role as
Stellitano; PS: Mino Barbera; PSe: Tommaso Pan-
Helmut Berger in Mia moglie è una strega. Cor-
tano; ADM: Mario Lupi, Danilo Martelli. Country:
bucci (who concocted the script with his usual
Italy. Filmed on location in Milan, Rome, at Villa
collaborator Mario Amendola, and with future
Giovanelli- Fogaccia (Rome) and at De Paolis
film director Enrico Oldoini) crams the thin plot
In.Ci.R. Studios (Rome). Running time: 9 minutes
with all the required elements, revisited in a far-
(m. 2630). Visa n. 77630 (3.4.982); Rating: all au-
cical way: a Middle- age prologue (set in the eerie
diences. Release date: 3.4.982; Distribution:
6th century park of Bomarzo, seen in Il castello
Cineriz. Domestic gross: ,483,89,000 lire. Also
dei morti vivi), assorted poltergeist manifesta-
known as: Das verhexte Haus (East Germany).
tions, flying objects galore, and even a talking
Giorgio Allegri, a bank accountant in Milan,
Great Dane (who speaks in a Neapolitan accent).
moves to Rome. There, he starts looking for a
All this is merged with Pozzetto’s surreal one-
house where to move along with his beautiful fi-
liners as well as with satirical stabs at contem-
ancée Candida (with whom he has not made love
porary Italy. A recurring gag has Giorgio and
yet), her mother Anastasia, and his Great Dane
his colleagues quietly discussing their personal
dog Gaetano. He eventually settles in a beautiful
affairs while lying on the floor with criminals
huge villa outside the city, on the Via Appia, for
pointing gun at them, in the middle of some
a ridiculous sum. As Giorgio soon finds out, the
bank robbery to which they are now totally
house is haunted: a thousand years earlier, an
accustomed, hinting at the crime wave of the
Arab warrior and his lover were caught by the
period. On the other hand, Giorgio’s misadven-
woman’s mother, who cast a spell on them,
tures in search of an apartment where to move
turning them into pillars of salt. To break the spell,
in Rome, where all houses seem to be either im-
Candida must remain a virgin until the first night
possibly expensive and/or dilapidated (a funny
1982: Manhattan
0
scene has the landlord showing him a half-
grossed almost 900 million lire, ending up at the
destroyed flat while magnifying its virtues as if
twentieth spot among the top- grossing films of
it was a royal palace), recall the basic plot of an
the season. That year, two more Pozzetto films,
old Totò classic comedy, Totò cerca casa (949,
Culo e camicia (98, Pasquale Festa Campanile,
Mario Monicelli and Steno).
co- starring Enrico Montesano) and Nessuno è
The gags range from the old- hat banana
perfetto (98, Pasquale Festa Campanile, co-
peel to absurdist segments: during a bank rob-
starring Ornella Muti) ended up respectively at
bery, Giorgio gets angry and turns into the In-
the fourth and sixth spot, making him Italy’s
credible Hulk, in a nod to the TV series starring
most popular comedian after Adriano Celen-
Lou Ferrigno, then very popular in Italy: the
tano.
tr
ansformation and Giorgio/Hulk’s feats (such
as eradicating a security door from the wall) are
Notes
filmed in slow- motion, and exactly mimic the
1. In turn, Totò cerca casa (partly inspired by the comic
series. However, the funniest bit has Giorgio and
strip La famiglia Sfollatini) featured a side- splittingly funny
Candida recreate a typical stag movie situation
segment in which Totò and his family move to a new house
to fool the ghost and finally have sex: he dresses
next to a cemetery where he must be the caretaker, which
up as a rude plumber (complete with a Ron Je-
resulted in an amusing spoof of horror clichés.
2. A.V. [Aldo Viganò], “La coppia Pozzetto- Guida
remy mustache and phony Roman accent) and
perseguitata da un fantasma,” La Stampa, 3 March 982.
she plays the nympho housewife. Too bad the
3. L.A. [Leonardo Autera], “Pozzetto e Gloria Guida
trick doesn’t work…
con il cane parlante,” Corriere della Sera, 8 March 982.
Critics pointed out the similarities between
La casa stregata and Giorgio Capitani’s Bollenti
Manhattan Baby (Manhattan Baby, a.k.a.
spiriti, released the previous year, and criticized
Eye of the Evil Dead)
Corbucci’s listless direction.2 However, compared
D: Lucio Fulci. S and SC: Elisa Livia Brig-
with Mia moglie è una strega, Corbucci at least
anti, Dardano Sacchetti; DOP: Guglielmo Man-
knows how to handle the genre’s visual elements:
cori (Eastmancolor, Telecolor); M: Fabio Frizzi
an example is the scene where Candida’s severe
(Ed. Deaf); E: Vincenzo Tomassi; PD, CO: Mas-
mother Anastasia (Lia Zoppelli) is mysteriously
simo Lentini; SPFX: Giannetto De Rossi; SPFX:
awakened from her sleep and follows a ball of
Maurizio Trani; MU: Antonio Maltempo; Hair:
wool which eerily rolls across her flat (shown by
Luciano Vito; AD: Roberto Giandalia; C: Franco
Corbucci through Anastasia’s POV) … only to
Bruni; AC: Aldo Marchiori, Adriano Mancori;
discover her daughter and her fiancé about to
APD: Mariangela Capuano; PrM: Rodolfo Ruzza;
make love. Not only the Gothic elements, un-
AE: Pietro Tomassi, Rita Antonelli; SP: Franco Bel-
changed, are systematically turned to parody, but
lomo; ChEl: Franco Brescini; KG: Ennio Brizzolari;
even the uncanny combination of time and space
W: Maria Spigarelli; Set Technicians: Fabio Traver-
lends itself to be reinvented into a gag. In a scene,
Italian Gothic Horror Films (1980-1989) Page 30