Sette scialli di seta gialla

Sette scialli di seta gialla/ Seven Shawls of Yellow Silk[1] (International title: Crimes of the Black Cat) is a 1972 Italian giallo film. It was directed by Sergio Pastore and written by Pastore, Alessandro Continenza and Giovanni Simonelli. Sette scialli di seta gialla stars Anthony Steffen, Sylva Koscina, Jeannette Len, Renato De Carmine, Giacomo Rossi-Stuart and Umberto Raho.

Sette scialli di seta gialla
Theatrical release poster
Directed bySergio Pastore
Written byAlessandro Continenza
Sergio Pastore
Giovanni Simonelli
Produced byEdmondo Amati
Maurizio Amati
StarringAnthony Steffen
Sylva Koscina
Jeannette Len
Renato De Carmine
Giacomo Rossi-Stuart
Umberto Raho
Annabella Incontrera
Shirley Corrigan
CinematographyGuglielmo Mancori
Edited byVincenzo Tomassi
Music byManuel De Sica
Production
company
Capitolina Produzioni Cinematografiche
Distributed byPeppercorn-Wormser Film Enterprises
Release date
  • 12 August 1972 (1972-08-12) (Italy)
Running time
90 min
USA: 96 min
Italy: 95 min
CountryItaly
LanguageItalian

The film has been cited as being inspired by Dario Argento's The Bird with the Crystal Plumage, and has been called "entertainingly flamboyant" by one reviewer.[2]

Cast

Plot
Annabella Incontrera, Sylva Koscina, Liliana Pavlo and Shirley Corrigan in a scene from the film

Several fashion models are killed by a murderer who poisons a cat's claws with curare. Each victim is given a shawl as a gift, which is laced with a chemical attracting the cat. The first such victim, Paola, had been in a relationship with a blind composer, Peter Oliver (Anthony Steffen) who overhears a conversation he believes may help him track down the killer. Oliver, aided by his butler Burton (Umberto Raho) tracks the cat to its owner Susan (Jeannette Len), who is murdered before she can reveal who has been using the cat. However, the identity of the killer is eventually discovered to be Françoise (Sylva Koscina), the owner of the studio employing the murdered models. Francoise had killed Paola after discovering that her husband Victor (Giacomo Rossi Stuart) had been having an affair with the young model, and had committed the other murders to help cover up the motive for the first killing.

Production

Production of Sette scialli di seta gialla began on 31 March 1972.[3] The film has been described as part of a "boom" of "imitative whodunits" released after the success of Dario Argento's L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo, along with such films as Una lucertola con la pelle di donna and Los ojos azules de la muñeca rota.[4][5] Alessandro Continenza and Giovanni Simonelli, who wrote the script alongside director Sergio Pastore, had previously collaborated on the screenplay for the 1966 Spaghetti Western Django spara per primo.[6] The film's title has been noted as one of many giallo titles using either numbers or animal references, having been directly compared to Sette note in nero.[7]

Release

Sette scialli di seta gialla was released on 12 August 1972 in Italy.[2] The title translates as Seven Shawls of Yellow Silk. It has also been distributed under the title Crimes of the Black Cat.[3]

Critical reception

Allmovie gave the film a positive review, calling it "an underrated gem" and one of the most "entertainingly flamboyant" giallo films.[2]

Footnotes
  1. Luther-Smith,Adrian (1999). Blood and Black Lace: The Definitive Guide to Italian Sex and Horror Movies. Stray Cat Publishing Ltd. p. 25
  2. Robert Firsching. "Sette Scialli Di Seta Gialla (1972)". Allmovie. Retrieved 17 June 2012.
  3. "BFI | Film & TV Database | Sette scialli di seta gialla". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 15, 2009. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
  4. Newman 2011, p. 143.
  5. Marriott 2012, p. 1985.
  6. "BFI | Film & TV Database | Django spara per primo | Full credits". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on January 15, 2009. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
  7. Giovannini 1986, pp. 27–28.

References
  • Giovannini, Fabio (1986). Dario Argento: il brivido, il sangue, il thrilling. Edizione Dedalo. ISBN 8822045165.
  • Marriott, James (2012). Horror Films. Random House. ISBN 978-1448132102.
  • Newman, Kim (2011). Nightmare Movies: Horror on Screen Since the 1960s (Second, illustrated ed.). Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1408805039.
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