A Quiet Place To Kill (aka Paranoia) (1970) ***
For Umberto Lenzi's third giallo (of four) with Carroll Baker, Paranoia (1970), released in the US as A Quiet Place To Kill (and not to be confused with their earlier pairing, Orgasmo (1969), released in the States as Paranoia (my review here)), he tapped into the then popular trend in Italian thrillers of stories about jet-setters committing heinous acts.
As with the duo's second film together (1969's So Sweet… So Perverse (my review here)), I liked this one slightly more than the pairing that preceded it (tonight's viewing of their final collaboration, Knife Of Ice (1972), will reveal whether that trend continues through to the end). Also like SSSP, Paranoia again taps into Diabolique (1955) (my review here) for inspiration. But Paranoia, while not a gory affair, has that touch more sleazy/salaciousness I'd been yearning for in the Lenzi gialli.
Baker stars as Helen, a Formula One driver whose ex-husband Maurice's (Jean Sorel) current wife Constance (Anna Proclemer) invites her to stay at their lavish villa, after she suffers a crash. Sorel adds an air of prestige to the picture and there's plenty of uncomfortably 70s misogyny, backstabbing, murder, and inappropriateness—not least involving Constance's daughter, Susan (Marina Coffa). Guglielmo Mancori's (with Joe D'Amato operating camera) cinematography is probably my favorite of the three Lenzi/Baker collabs that I've seen so far as well—there's some particularly impressive racing scenes performed by fearless stuntmen.
I wasn't as taken with Gregorio García Segura and Nina Rota's score as I was with the other Lenzi/Baker films, but it's still got some nice little jazzy numbers and we're treated to another solid crooner with the theme song "You" sung by Shirley Harmer (and the crazy-catchy Wess & The Airedales tune "Just Tell Me" from Orgasmo even makes an appearance in a discotheque scene).
You can find my Giallo Feature Films Ranked list here.
As with the duo's second film together (1969's So Sweet… So Perverse (my review here)), I liked this one slightly more than the pairing that preceded it (tonight's viewing of their final collaboration, Knife Of Ice (1972), will reveal whether that trend continues through to the end). Also like SSSP, Paranoia again taps into Diabolique (1955) (my review here) for inspiration. But Paranoia, while not a gory affair, has that touch more sleazy/salaciousness I'd been yearning for in the Lenzi gialli.
Baker stars as Helen, a Formula One driver whose ex-husband Maurice's (Jean Sorel) current wife Constance (Anna Proclemer) invites her to stay at their lavish villa, after she suffers a crash. Sorel adds an air of prestige to the picture and there's plenty of uncomfortably 70s misogyny, backstabbing, murder, and inappropriateness—not least involving Constance's daughter, Susan (Marina Coffa). Guglielmo Mancori's (with Joe D'Amato operating camera) cinematography is probably my favorite of the three Lenzi/Baker collabs that I've seen so far as well—there's some particularly impressive racing scenes performed by fearless stuntmen.
I wasn't as taken with Gregorio García Segura and Nina Rota's score as I was with the other Lenzi/Baker films, but it's still got some nice little jazzy numbers and we're treated to another solid crooner with the theme song "You" sung by Shirley Harmer (and the crazy-catchy Wess & The Airedales tune "Just Tell Me" from Orgasmo even makes an appearance in a discotheque scene).
You can find my Giallo Feature Films Ranked list here.
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