I recently watched Mario Bava's "La Frusta e il Corpo" and even though everybody else in the world swoons over it, I didn't think it was all that, and I'll be letting you know about it real soon, but this film, "The Evil Eye" is a different story, it's a story I like a lot, and one of my favourite Mario Bava films!!!
Letícia Román is Nora Davis, and Nora's on her way to Rome! Nora likes to read mystery novels! Letícia Román's next role was as Fanny Hill in Russ Meyer's "Memoirs of a Woman of Pleasure," then she would do a couple more movies, and wound up her career on American TV shows like "I Spy," "The Andy Griffith Show," and "The Man From U.N.C.L.E." At one point, she was engaged to Aaron Spelling!
Nora makes casual contact with a stranger on the plane, who seems to be looking out for her best interest! This two-faced character De Vico/Paccini is played by Milo Quesada. If Milo has a sleazy but familiar face, it's because he was in some pretty cool flicks like "Black Sabbath," "The 10th Victim" and "Night Of The Blood Monster!"
De Vico/Paccini seems like a right nice feller all right, except for the fact that he's a drug smuggler of some notoriety! Oops, Nora's vacation isn't getting off to such a good start!
Nora realizes that the pack of cigarettes De Vico/Paccini gave her on the plane is laced with ganja, and tries to casually dispose of it to no avail!!
When Nora finally gets to her destination, Ethel Windell Batocci's house, a dear old friend of her Mother, she finds out the old lady is very sick, in fact she's so sick, she dies that very night! Things are just not going very well for Nora, and you don't get the idea that it's going to get any better any time soon!! Chana Coubert puts in her first and last movie career credit as Ethel Windell Batocci!
Nora needs to clear her head, so she goes out to find Ethel's Doctor, when she is attacked by a filthy little purse snatcher who knocks her out!!
When Nora comes to, she witnesses a horrible murder, and blacks out again!!
The next time she comes to, she's in the hospital and she's faced with this sight!! What a wild ride, and basically, the movie just got started!
Now here's some solid advice from the local authorities after Nora tells them what has happened to her so far!!
John Saxon plays the lead of Marcello Bassi, the Doctor that was taking care of Ethel Windell Batocci, before she passed away!! John Saxon is still working today, and has almost 200 acting credits to his name! What an incredible career! Thanx John!!
The music for "The Evil Eye" was composed by Roberto Nicolosi who besides composing the music for "Black Sabbath" and a score of Barbarian and Amazon flicks was also a practicing dentist!! The theme song is entitled "Furore" and it was sung and composed by Italian Pop star Adriano Celentano!! Adriano was also in a bunch of low budget Italian comedic movie roles, and was a very popular actor in the 70's and 80's!
Almost overnight, Nora's life has turned into a living Hell, and now she's getting anonymous phone calls from some freak, so she comes up with an elaborate way to protect herself from intruders at night!
I must confess, I'm feeling a little guilty myself!!
Headfirst into a morass of despair, and even more deaths, how much more can this young lady take? I'm not tellin'!!
I find it incredulous that nobody smelled the pot laced in with the tobacco when she was smoking it on the plane, everything else made sense!! To confound things even more, if you want to try and rent or buy "The Evil Eye" in the U.S., you will have better luck searching for the title "The Girl Who Knew Too Much." And remember kids, Don't take cigarettes from strangers!!
2 comments:
If the Giallo hadn't existed, Bava would have created it. Oh wait, he just did! :)
I have the italian version from the Bava box and I really like..Even lesser Bava has the masters touch all over it.But now I'd really like to see The Evil Eye..Its clearly a whole 'nother story!..I think alot of people prefer the english one..
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