The Suspicious Death of a Minor(1975)Movie Review

Trailer here.

The Suspicious Death of a Minor is a 1975 giallo movie directed by Sergio Martino and starring Claudio Cassinelli, Mel Ferrer and Lia Tanzi.

The film starts with a woman, who gets a message. A man comes over to her, he wants to dance with her. Someone is watching her. She kisses the stranger and runs off. The man chases her. She calls someone but there is no answer. She is attacked by a man wearing sunglasses. She goes to see a man. She is murdered. The police come to the scene. They question the landlady. She knows nothing. She is on the phone with someone called Menga.She gets cut off. A strange man pulls a gun on her and demands information about Menga.

An undercover cop called Paolo(Cassinelli) offers a local thief, Giannino, a job. He goes to a place to book a girl as a babysitter. A man comes out and tells him to leave. He picks up a prostitute and tells her he works for a rich guy who wants a young girl. She says she can help. She arranges for a young girl to meet him.He tells her his boss has gone out and questions her. She isn't giving much away. Giannino follows her afterwards. She goes to an old house where she meets her pimp, Menga. He shoots her. Paolo and Giannino fight him but his gun goes off  and he shoots himself. There is a kid there and she is returned to her family.

Paolo sees two guys calling to the house seeking Menga. Paolo pulls a gun on them. They had cash for Menga and Paolo takes it. The police are following the Giannino. Paolo goes to the station. It turns out that the money was a ransom for the kid Menga had. The girl Menga shot is called Marisa. She was going to give information so she was killed. They talk to her dad and finds a picture of her with another girl who was killed. Another girl, called Gloria is is someone Paolo wants to talk to. Paolo is being shadowed by a man who ends up getting hit by a train. Paolo investigates the ransom and asks other prostitutes about it. It seems there's human trafficking going on.

Paolo is in trouble with his superiors. He discovers secret bank account details. He goes to see a banker, Pesce, who is Marisa's uncle. He is upset by her death. He tells the cops he didn't see her much. The man with the sunglasses stabs the landlady but is spotted by a neighbour. Paolo thinks the killer is the same man who killed Marisa. The killer strikes again.Gloria agrees to meet Paolo. She tells him before Marisa died, she had a fight with the uncle. He slept with her and Marisa.A friend of his has an agency and could give the girls money. Paolo spots the sunglasses guy who is there for Gloria. He chases him but falls and is dangling from a ledge. The sunglasses guy is going to kill him when the Giannino shoots him. Paolo goes to see Pesce. Nothing happens. Paolo resigns and continues to investigate on his own. Giannino and Gloria are together when she gets a parcel. It's a bomb and it explodes. Gloria is dead and Giannino too. Paolo is upset. He goes after Pesce who is leaving. The banker sends his minions to get Paolo but he gets shot. Paolo shoots Pesce and walks away.

This film has a lot to it. There are loads of twists and turns in the story and lots of characters. It is an interesting thriller though and very nicely shot. I liked the ending also. I will give this a 5/10.

Circus of Fear (1966)Movie Review

Trailer here.

Circus of Fear is a 1966 horror movie directed by John Llewellyn Moxey(City of the Dead, Home for the Holidays) and starring Christoper Lee, Leo Genn, Anthony Newlands, Klaus Kinski and Suzy Kendall. 

The film begins with a robbery of a money van in London. One of the thieves is shot and the others get away by boat. The police arrive on the scene and the thieves go to their hideout. A man called Manfred(Kinski) shows up. One of the thieves is taking the money to a farm to hide it. The police are after the gang. They chase a van they suspect as being part of the robbery and they catch some of the thieves. The one thief is searching for the farm. He is met by someone who murders him. Cut to a circus. It is called Barberini's circus. The owner is Mr. Barberini(Newlands). There is a man called The Great Gregor(Lee). He is a lion tamer. He wears a mask. Manfred arrives at the circus seeking work.

The police are searching for the man who took the money to the farm. Gregor has money. He is being blackmailed by Mr. Big, another entertainer. The money seems to be the same money from the robbery. The notes are being traced by the police to the circus. Inspector Elliot(Gen) is asking questions at the circus. There are plenty of things happening there. Manfred is hanging around. Someone lets a lion out of it cage and it almost kills a circus member, Gina(Margaret Lee). The Inspector asks the staff questions. The police find a body and a knife. They think that it is the thief who escaped. Gina is the next to die. The same knife is in her back .

The inspector wonders why he murderer didn't leave with the money. There is some story with Gregor and his brother. Mr. Big hears about it and he wants money to keep his mouth shut.Gregor replaced his brother in the circus. He found the money from the robbery and took it. Manfred is looking for it. He ends up getting killed with the same knife. The killer sets fire to the place. Gregor races to get the money but gets caught up in the flames. A guy called Carl(Heinz Drache)was at the circus looking for the man who murdered his father. He thought it was Gregor. He finds Gregor hiding in cave as the police are searching. He confronts him about the death of his father and Gregor says it was an accident. He heads off with the money but he falls and gets pushed off a cliff by someone. 

The inspector says that they haven't found the killer. The real killer is a man called Eddie who is also in the circus. He is the son of a knife thrower and he is an expert. He owns the deadly knives that were used in the killings. He tries to escape as the police close in.  One of the others throws a knife at him and he dies.. The inspector knows that Mr. Big was blackmailing Gregor so Barberini fires him.This is a mystery film. There are lots of suspects and a lot of stuff going on. It has a good cast and I did enjoy it. I will give it a 5/10.