Review of Who Saw Her Die? (1972) by Greg W — 16 Apr 2013

Directed by Alan Lado (Night Train Murders (1975) and The Humanoid (1979)), this is a mysterious and bleak murder mystery that takes place in Venice. It feels a lot like Don't Look Now (1973), but this came out the year before.

Even though it was done for a pittance, it has a lot going for it, and it's got a breathtakingly eerie score by Ennio Morricone, as well as a spirited lead performance from someone quite unlikely too.

In Venice, architect Franco Serpieri (George Lazenby) is there overseeing restoration work with his wife Elizabeth (Anita Strindberg) for rich client Serafian (Adolfo Celi). They've brought along their daughter Roberta (Nicoletta Elmi) from London to spend a couple of weeks with them.

Roberta likes to explore the city, but tragedy strikes when she's murdered and dumped in a Venetian canal. Franco is distraught, and is left reeling when the police can't find any leads, so he takes matters into his own hands, and finds there have been similar murders like this over the past few years in Europe.

As Franco investigates further, more murders occur around Venice. It's a good piece of Italian Giallo, with some very effective moments, and it makes Venice look haunting and sparse, plus Lazenby looks gaunt as the grieving father, and you couldn't get any further away from his one time appearance as Bond.