1972's "The French Sex Murders" was my first experience with a picture produced by old-school impresario Dick Randall, whose filmography is as unique as the man himself, and who was living in Italy at the time to escape tax-evasion charges in the U.S. The film demonstrates that you don't need a huge budget and top-notch production values to create a giallo, as long as you have an incredible cast to help put things over. In the film, small-time Parisian thief Antoine is arrested for the murder of a cathouse prostitute, but after he is decapitated in a freak accident, and the murders continue, police Inspector Pontaine realizes that he must move tres vite before the bodies really start to pile up! The picture, though it looks fine, does betray its limited budget, has been terribly dubbed and reserves most of its requisite nudity and bloodshed for the latter half. That remarkable cast referred to up top includes a quartet of the top Eurobabes of the day: Barbara Bouchet (who I've never seen look more beautiful and who is, sadly, the picture's first victim), Rosalba Neri (playing the ex-wife of the accused killer), Evelyn Kraft (who I'd never encountered before but look forward to seeing again) and Anita Ekberg (a decade or more past her prime but still quite sexy as the bordello's madam). And let's not forget Howard "Dr. Orloff" Vernon, as a scientist who performs some gross-out experiments on the eyeballs of Antoine's severed head (don't ask!), AND Robert Sacchi as the Inspector. This Bogeyphile must admit that it really is remarkable how much Sacchi looks like Humphrey Bogart and is able to ape his mannerisms; his (Bogey's) seeming presence in a sleazy giallo is perhaps the film's greatest asset and claim to uniqueness. In all, a far-from-top-drawer giallo, but still an entertaining 90 minutes, nicely supplemented on this Mondo Macabro DVD by a 1/2-hour documentary on Randall himself and many other interesting extras.
25 Reviews
Bogey Goes Giallo-Trash
Witchfinder-General-66614 May 2008
Ferdinando Merighi's "Casa d'appuntamento" aka "French Sex Murders" of 1972 sure is anything but a Giallo-highlight, and yet I warmly recommend this delightfully trashy little flick to all my fellow fans of Italian Horror cinema. The plot is overall pretty silly, but the film scores with a trashy atmosphere, some sleaze and cheap but cool gore-effects, and a cast that includes quite a few familiar faces for cult-cinema fans. "Killer Nun" Anita Eckberg shines in the role of a brothel madam and the regular Eurocult actress Rosalba Neri has the role of a seductive bar singer. The film furthermore stars Jess Franco-regular Howard Vernon and Robert Sacchi, who is basically a low-budget Italian version of Humphrey Bogart (Sacchi looks just like Bogey, and it's hard to believe he was only in his early 30s when the film was made) in the role of the investigating police detective. Even veteran B-Movie star Gordon Mitchell has a tiny role! My main reason for looking forward to seeing this film was the ravishing Barbara Bouchet, a true cult-cinema goddess and the female star of two personal favorites of mine, Fernando Di Leo's masterpiece "Milano Calibro 9" (1972), and Luci Fulci's Giallo-highlight "Don't Torture A Duckling" (also 1972). Even though she sadly has little screen time, Bouchet is once again ravishing, and her sheer presence grades the film up a bit in my personal appreciation.
The film, which mainly takes place in a Paris brothel, revolves around murders of prostitutes, investigated by a cynical and Bogart-ish police inspector... I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but I can assure that it is somehow messy and yet very entertaining. The film is overall quite (but not exceptionally) sleazy and has a delightful trash-factor. The gore scenes are, of course, not too professionally made, but nonetheless quite effective. The funky repetition and colorization of murder sequences was very odd, but also somehow amusing. I would recommend to look for a subtitled Italian version - the uncut DVD I watched was a messy mixture of English, German and French, which was even more odd as two characters, who are husband and wife in the German language version, were obviously Father and Daughter in the English dubbed version (as from the context, they must have been Husband/Wife in the original Italian language version). Overall, "French Sex Murders" (or, "The Bogeyman and The French Murders", as one of the many aka. titles reads) is certainly not a good Giallo, but it is nonetheless an entertaining low-budget production that my fellow Cult-cinema fans should enjoy. Recommended.
The film, which mainly takes place in a Paris brothel, revolves around murders of prostitutes, investigated by a cynical and Bogart-ish police inspector... I don't want to give away too much of the plot, but I can assure that it is somehow messy and yet very entertaining. The film is overall quite (but not exceptionally) sleazy and has a delightful trash-factor. The gore scenes are, of course, not too professionally made, but nonetheless quite effective. The funky repetition and colorization of murder sequences was very odd, but also somehow amusing. I would recommend to look for a subtitled Italian version - the uncut DVD I watched was a messy mixture of English, German and French, which was even more odd as two characters, who are husband and wife in the German language version, were obviously Father and Daughter in the English dubbed version (as from the context, they must have been Husband/Wife in the original Italian language version). Overall, "French Sex Murders" (or, "The Bogeyman and The French Murders", as one of the many aka. titles reads) is certainly not a good Giallo, but it is nonetheless an entertaining low-budget production that my fellow Cult-cinema fans should enjoy. Recommended.
entertaining giallo, but what's with the death scenes being tinted and repeated?
FieCrier15 August 2005
The first frames of the movie are of someone falling from the Eiffel Tower. Police arrive at the Eiffel Tower and chase someone up it, who then falls from the Eiffel Tower. At first, I wondered if this was a copycat, or a jumper who failed to kill himself the first time, ala The Tenant. No, it's the same guy and we're just seeing the same thing twice. And in fact, towards the end of the movie, it's seen again, since the movie jumps back further in time for the bulk of the story.
There's repetition in the movie with most of the kills, too. We'll see it once, then the footage is repeated with the screen tinted red, then again tinted blue, green, purple.... Odd choice.
So, after we see the figure fall from the Eiffel Tower for the second time, a Bogart-looking police inspector tells us "it all began the last day of Carnival." A thief steals some jewels, then sneaks his way into a brothel, where he is known and not very welcome. He meets up with his girlfriend, leaves, and it's discovered that one of the women has been killed. The emotionally disturbed thief is a pretty good suspect, and he's caught, tried and convicted pretty quickly. But did they get the right person or not?
For a movie set around a brothel, there's relatively little nudity, I thought. The women don't wear even very revealing outfits, though the ones they do wear are unusually fetching.
It's a pretty good movie. It's certainly helped by the good picture and sound quality on the DVD by Mondo Macabro, and by a good collection of extras. It's interesting how a movie can wind up with different scenes in different markets - they compiled the longest version they could, which evidently had never existed in that form anywhere. There are also two cut scenes, one with alternate dialog for the French version, and the other featuring a cut scene that was in pretty rough shape.
The whole movie, except for a few foreign-language scenes subtitled in English, has all English dialog. It's too bad they didn't add English subtitles or closed captions for the hearing impaired, which can be useful even for people who aren't. It might have been nice to have a full length-foreign language track, but this is nitpicking.
There's repetition in the movie with most of the kills, too. We'll see it once, then the footage is repeated with the screen tinted red, then again tinted blue, green, purple.... Odd choice.
So, after we see the figure fall from the Eiffel Tower for the second time, a Bogart-looking police inspector tells us "it all began the last day of Carnival." A thief steals some jewels, then sneaks his way into a brothel, where he is known and not very welcome. He meets up with his girlfriend, leaves, and it's discovered that one of the women has been killed. The emotionally disturbed thief is a pretty good suspect, and he's caught, tried and convicted pretty quickly. But did they get the right person or not?
For a movie set around a brothel, there's relatively little nudity, I thought. The women don't wear even very revealing outfits, though the ones they do wear are unusually fetching.
It's a pretty good movie. It's certainly helped by the good picture and sound quality on the DVD by Mondo Macabro, and by a good collection of extras. It's interesting how a movie can wind up with different scenes in different markets - they compiled the longest version they could, which evidently had never existed in that form anywhere. There are also two cut scenes, one with alternate dialog for the French version, and the other featuring a cut scene that was in pretty rough shape.
The whole movie, except for a few foreign-language scenes subtitled in English, has all English dialog. It's too bad they didn't add English subtitles or closed captions for the hearing impaired, which can be useful even for people who aren't. It might have been nice to have a full length-foreign language track, but this is nitpicking.
Mid-grade Italian giallo..
copycat10258 May 2004
Here's an interesting film to watch on those late nights when you can't find anything else, and you're in the mood for that old misogynistic sleaze that used to mark Italian films of the early 70's. The plot is a bit convoluted, but here goes.
When Francine (Bouchet), a prostitute, is knocked off, the main suspect, a guy named Gavalles, is sought by the police. He was one of the regular clients of the whorehouse where Francine worked, but he seeks refuge from the law, as he claims he didn't commit the crime. However, during a chase, he is decapited as his motor-bike collides into the back of a tractor-trailer.
The police think that's the end of the murderer, but soon another prostitute is killed. Inspector Fontaine is put on the case, and as he begins probing around, he finds several suspicious individuals who knew the deceased women. One of these suspects is a journalist; another is a famous doctor named Waldemar; another is a criminal magistrate who was intent on convicting Gavalles for the first murder. And finally, there is Madame Colette (Anita Ekberg), the proprietor of aforesaid whorehouse. Now comes the task of figuring out the identity of the killer. And as Fontaine gets deeper into the case, the killer strikes again and again.
Here's a modest giallo outing, obviously made to "cash in" on the then prolific market of horror thrillers. The general mood is seedy and low-key, and the cheap sets decorated with phony Rennaisance art are a lame attempt at adding sophistication to a hastily made film. Howard Vernon here steals the show as Waldemar, who investigates the eyeballs taken from Gavalles' corpse, mashing them to a pulp with his scalpel, as if he were to looking for peals. Nevertheless, it's good fun.
Professional Humphrey Bogart look-alike Robert Sacchi plays the detective. He gives a decent performance, but doesn't live up to his mentor's standards. Actually, the film gives him very little opportunity to act, as the number of characters and constant plot twists keep him at a deadpan level. We never even get a close shot of his face. The murders are violent, but there is little bloodshed. The sound effects are rather odd; when one of the girls is murdered, it sounds as if someone is clashing cymbals. The main show here comes at the end, when we think the killer's identity has at last been discovered. However, we're in for a few surprises; and that's what makes this film worth watching, apart from seeing Barbara Bouchet and Anita Ekberg.
Director Merighi was none too prolific, and he remains a minor figure in the pantheon of Italian cult cinema. He made his debut in 1957 with the melodramatic crime film "The Sun Will Return" (Il Sole Tornera'), which starred future director Roberto Mauri. He is also known for directing the 1972 spaghetti western, "They Called Him Trinity."
When Francine (Bouchet), a prostitute, is knocked off, the main suspect, a guy named Gavalles, is sought by the police. He was one of the regular clients of the whorehouse where Francine worked, but he seeks refuge from the law, as he claims he didn't commit the crime. However, during a chase, he is decapited as his motor-bike collides into the back of a tractor-trailer.
The police think that's the end of the murderer, but soon another prostitute is killed. Inspector Fontaine is put on the case, and as he begins probing around, he finds several suspicious individuals who knew the deceased women. One of these suspects is a journalist; another is a famous doctor named Waldemar; another is a criminal magistrate who was intent on convicting Gavalles for the first murder. And finally, there is Madame Colette (Anita Ekberg), the proprietor of aforesaid whorehouse. Now comes the task of figuring out the identity of the killer. And as Fontaine gets deeper into the case, the killer strikes again and again.
Here's a modest giallo outing, obviously made to "cash in" on the then prolific market of horror thrillers. The general mood is seedy and low-key, and the cheap sets decorated with phony Rennaisance art are a lame attempt at adding sophistication to a hastily made film. Howard Vernon here steals the show as Waldemar, who investigates the eyeballs taken from Gavalles' corpse, mashing them to a pulp with his scalpel, as if he were to looking for peals. Nevertheless, it's good fun.
Professional Humphrey Bogart look-alike Robert Sacchi plays the detective. He gives a decent performance, but doesn't live up to his mentor's standards. Actually, the film gives him very little opportunity to act, as the number of characters and constant plot twists keep him at a deadpan level. We never even get a close shot of his face. The murders are violent, but there is little bloodshed. The sound effects are rather odd; when one of the girls is murdered, it sounds as if someone is clashing cymbals. The main show here comes at the end, when we think the killer's identity has at last been discovered. However, we're in for a few surprises; and that's what makes this film worth watching, apart from seeing Barbara Bouchet and Anita Ekberg.
Director Merighi was none too prolific, and he remains a minor figure in the pantheon of Italian cult cinema. He made his debut in 1957 with the melodramatic crime film "The Sun Will Return" (Il Sole Tornera'), which starred future director Roberto Mauri. He is also known for directing the 1972 spaghetti western, "They Called Him Trinity."
Boring Giallo
glenmatisse16 January 2021
There's not much going on in this cheap giallo movie to keep one's interest and all of the death scenes seem to cut away before there's anything exciting. It does feature someone falling to their death from the Eiffel Tower, so that's something you don't see every day. The lead also looks exactly like Humphrey Bogart.
"Shtab her again, Sam"
Bezenby16 November 2017
Wahey! I didn't expect this one to be as delightfully bonkers as it turned out, but then why did I expect it to be normal, knowing fine well that the police inspector in charge is played by a Humphrey Bogart impersonator, complete with mac and the constant presence of a cigarette?
Ol' fake Bogey is out to catch the killer of hooker Barbara Bouchet, beaten to death in a classy French brothel run by Anita Ekberg. At first it looks like her boyfriend did it, which would make sense as he was seemingly the last person with her, and was badly beating her up last time we saw Babs alive. Her boyfriend gets captured and sentenced to death during a court scene shown mostly in negative (?), curses all the witnesses to a violent death, escapes from prison, then accidentally decapitates himself while speeding on a motorbike. Saves wear and tear on the guillotine I guess!
Those relieved witnesses are not so relieved as someone starts bumping them off, starting with the beating to death of Anita Ekberg (in a weird, multi-coloured scene), but who would want these people dead? Is it singer Rosalba Neri? Her husband, Pepe? Pepe's lover, (I can't be bothered looking up her name)? What about the author who lives in the brothel, 'researching a book'? The judge seems to be involved too, as does his doctor mate who wants to operate on the boyfriend decapitated head. Gordon Mitchell also shows up for a quick cameo which has nothing to do with anything and is totally pointless. I think he was drunk and just wandered on set.
Upping the madness factor is your usual sleaze and some gore thrown in for good measure, and the killer's motivation for killing is remarkably tasteless, even for a film that's shown up two decapitations and a doctor cutting up what looks like a lamb's eyeball. I like my gialli short, daft, with plenty of sauce, so full marks to Bogey!
Wait – didn't the doctor's assistant say he saw the boyfriend's eyes move while examining his severed head? What was that all about? He was just told to shut up and not mention it again.
Ol' fake Bogey is out to catch the killer of hooker Barbara Bouchet, beaten to death in a classy French brothel run by Anita Ekberg. At first it looks like her boyfriend did it, which would make sense as he was seemingly the last person with her, and was badly beating her up last time we saw Babs alive. Her boyfriend gets captured and sentenced to death during a court scene shown mostly in negative (?), curses all the witnesses to a violent death, escapes from prison, then accidentally decapitates himself while speeding on a motorbike. Saves wear and tear on the guillotine I guess!
Those relieved witnesses are not so relieved as someone starts bumping them off, starting with the beating to death of Anita Ekberg (in a weird, multi-coloured scene), but who would want these people dead? Is it singer Rosalba Neri? Her husband, Pepe? Pepe's lover, (I can't be bothered looking up her name)? What about the author who lives in the brothel, 'researching a book'? The judge seems to be involved too, as does his doctor mate who wants to operate on the boyfriend decapitated head. Gordon Mitchell also shows up for a quick cameo which has nothing to do with anything and is totally pointless. I think he was drunk and just wandered on set.
Upping the madness factor is your usual sleaze and some gore thrown in for good measure, and the killer's motivation for killing is remarkably tasteless, even for a film that's shown up two decapitations and a doctor cutting up what looks like a lamb's eyeball. I like my gialli short, daft, with plenty of sauce, so full marks to Bogey!
Wait – didn't the doctor's assistant say he saw the boyfriend's eyes move while examining his severed head? What was that all about? He was just told to shut up and not mention it again.
Lame
adriangr21 May 2010
I usually have a lot of time for cheesy mid-1970's Euro-thrillers, but this one was a very poor effort. It involves a string of murders and the usual red herrings and sleaze, but the presentation is amateurish and without any atmosphere at all.
The film begins with a suicide leap from the Eiffel Tower. We cannot see who jumps, but it's only 2-3 minutes into the film and we already have Terrible Special Effect Number One: the suicide leap is depicted by means of a cartoon black silhouette of a man superimposed over a still image of the tower...my jaw dropped. The plot switches to a brothel where the madam (a rather hefty looking Anita Ekberg with a massive hairdo) and her girls are entertaining some rich clients. A less rich and more troublesome customer called Antoine gatecrashes the party and asks for his favourite girl. After some sexy embracing during which time he lavishes stolen jewelry on her, the atmosphere turns sour when she tries to leave the bedroom. Some slapping follows, and Antoine overacts wildly, while attempting to keep his todger covered at all times (failing at least one, which is quite amusing). He eventually flees the brothel, and when the staff come to investigate they find the girl has been murdered.
Things go into a decline from here on as some dull police inspectors investigate the murder, and chase after Antoine. Watch out for Terrible Special Effect Number Two as Antoine is shown escaping on a motorbike. In close ups of his face its obvious that he's not even moving and is being filmed in front of plain white and plain black (?) backgrounds instead of the supposed leafy countryside. And wait for a real laugh-out-loud moment with Terrible Special Effect Number Three: a truly lame decapitation.
The film plods on, trying to spin a web of mystery and shock. There are more murders. They aren't interesting in the slightest and they are certainly not "sex murders" as suggested by the film's title. At one point a doctor is shown dissecting a human eye. This is depicted by terrible Special Effect Number Four: the use of a bloodied-up sheep's eye which is mauled apart by some amateur stage hand with what seems to be a very blunt scalpel, resulting in bits of goo and gristle getting squished all over the plate it is resting on...some fine medical handiwork there! The acting is uniformly bad, and of course the dubbing is terrible...truly awful. Try this sample English dialogue from a scene in which Antoine is captured: "No I didn't kill her. Are you mad? I'm not guilty! You'll find out I'm not guilty! No I'm not the murderer! You won't believe I didn't commit it!" It's like listening to a rabid Yoda! Especially when he snarls: "From the grave I'll come back!" Was this really the best they could do? Most pointless of all is that the police investigation is presided over by a Humphrey Bogart look-alike, complete with slicked back hair, long raincoats, the lot. There's no explanation for why he's dressed up as a clone of Bogart and it makes no contribution to any part of the film's plot. I sat through the whole thing waiting for it to get better, but it never did. Of course there's a big revelation at the end but it's not much of a pay off for the preceding 90 minutes. The only diversions from the tedium are the very 1970's feel (everybody smokes!), and some groovy music and lots of attractive actresses, but very little else. Do yourself a favour and avoid this one.
The film begins with a suicide leap from the Eiffel Tower. We cannot see who jumps, but it's only 2-3 minutes into the film and we already have Terrible Special Effect Number One: the suicide leap is depicted by means of a cartoon black silhouette of a man superimposed over a still image of the tower...my jaw dropped. The plot switches to a brothel where the madam (a rather hefty looking Anita Ekberg with a massive hairdo) and her girls are entertaining some rich clients. A less rich and more troublesome customer called Antoine gatecrashes the party and asks for his favourite girl. After some sexy embracing during which time he lavishes stolen jewelry on her, the atmosphere turns sour when she tries to leave the bedroom. Some slapping follows, and Antoine overacts wildly, while attempting to keep his todger covered at all times (failing at least one, which is quite amusing). He eventually flees the brothel, and when the staff come to investigate they find the girl has been murdered.
Things go into a decline from here on as some dull police inspectors investigate the murder, and chase after Antoine. Watch out for Terrible Special Effect Number Two as Antoine is shown escaping on a motorbike. In close ups of his face its obvious that he's not even moving and is being filmed in front of plain white and plain black (?) backgrounds instead of the supposed leafy countryside. And wait for a real laugh-out-loud moment with Terrible Special Effect Number Three: a truly lame decapitation.
The film plods on, trying to spin a web of mystery and shock. There are more murders. They aren't interesting in the slightest and they are certainly not "sex murders" as suggested by the film's title. At one point a doctor is shown dissecting a human eye. This is depicted by terrible Special Effect Number Four: the use of a bloodied-up sheep's eye which is mauled apart by some amateur stage hand with what seems to be a very blunt scalpel, resulting in bits of goo and gristle getting squished all over the plate it is resting on...some fine medical handiwork there! The acting is uniformly bad, and of course the dubbing is terrible...truly awful. Try this sample English dialogue from a scene in which Antoine is captured: "No I didn't kill her. Are you mad? I'm not guilty! You'll find out I'm not guilty! No I'm not the murderer! You won't believe I didn't commit it!" It's like listening to a rabid Yoda! Especially when he snarls: "From the grave I'll come back!" Was this really the best they could do? Most pointless of all is that the police investigation is presided over by a Humphrey Bogart look-alike, complete with slicked back hair, long raincoats, the lot. There's no explanation for why he's dressed up as a clone of Bogart and it makes no contribution to any part of the film's plot. I sat through the whole thing waiting for it to get better, but it never did. Of course there's a big revelation at the end but it's not much of a pay off for the preceding 90 minutes. The only diversions from the tedium are the very 1970's feel (everybody smokes!), and some groovy music and lots of attractive actresses, but very little else. Do yourself a favour and avoid this one.
An offbeat giallo from prolific producer of trash, Dick Randall.
BA_Harrison8 August 2007
In 1972, American producer Dick Randall, never one to let a bandwagon go by without jumping on it, turned his attention to the then extremely popular Italian 'giallo' genre, giving fans of sleazy murder thrillers French Sex Murders, a tawdry tale of sex, violence and bad 70s fashion.
The film, which is directed without panache by Ferdinando Merighi, features a great cast (many of whom will be familiar to fans of cult 'Euro-trash' cinema) who struggle with the so-so plot, which sees a detective (who inexplicably resembles Humphrey Bogart) trying to solve the mystery of who is bumping off the girls at a Parisian brothel.
But whilst it might never be considered a 'classic' of the genre, French Sex Murders does feature several factors which ensure that a fun time is still had from start to finish: plenty of welcome nudity from its gorgeous actresses (Evelyne Kraft and Barbara Bouchet are stunning); a few decent death scenes (including a couple of decapitations) with effects courtesy of Carlo 'E.T.' Rambaldi; eyeball mutilation; a groovy soundtrack; trippy editing (scenes are shown in negative and often repeated in several different colours) from Bruno Mattei; and memorable performances (not necessarily good, but certainly memorable) from creepy Franco regular Howard Vernon, bizarre Bogart-a-like Robert Sacchi, and the incredibly OTT Pietro Martellanza.
So if you've seen all of the greats of the genre, but are still hankering after a bit more giallo action, then you could do (much) worse than to give French Sex Murders a viewing.
6.5 out of 10 (rounded up to 7 for IMDb).
The film, which is directed without panache by Ferdinando Merighi, features a great cast (many of whom will be familiar to fans of cult 'Euro-trash' cinema) who struggle with the so-so plot, which sees a detective (who inexplicably resembles Humphrey Bogart) trying to solve the mystery of who is bumping off the girls at a Parisian brothel.
But whilst it might never be considered a 'classic' of the genre, French Sex Murders does feature several factors which ensure that a fun time is still had from start to finish: plenty of welcome nudity from its gorgeous actresses (Evelyne Kraft and Barbara Bouchet are stunning); a few decent death scenes (including a couple of decapitations) with effects courtesy of Carlo 'E.T.' Rambaldi; eyeball mutilation; a groovy soundtrack; trippy editing (scenes are shown in negative and often repeated in several different colours) from Bruno Mattei; and memorable performances (not necessarily good, but certainly memorable) from creepy Franco regular Howard Vernon, bizarre Bogart-a-like Robert Sacchi, and the incredibly OTT Pietro Martellanza.
So if you've seen all of the greats of the genre, but are still hankering after a bit more giallo action, then you could do (much) worse than to give French Sex Murders a viewing.
6.5 out of 10 (rounded up to 7 for IMDb).
Nice and sleazy
BandSAboutMovies20 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
Casa d'appuntamento (The House of Rendezvous) was known as this title and as The Bogey Man and the French Murder due to it starring professional Humphrey Bogart impersonator Robert Sacchi.
After a week of giallo where I feel like I kept writing, "Why is this movie so boring and listless," here comes this film to save me. Rosabeli Neri (Lady Frankenstein), Anita Eckberg (Screaming Mimi) and Barbara Bouchet (Don't Torture A Duckling) all in the same film? What did I do to deserve this, giallo gods?
After Antoine is blamed for killing one of Madame Collette's (Eckberg) high class call girls named Francine (Bouchet), he is sentenced to die via the guillotine. He swears that he will have his revenge and escapes, but a motorcycle accident takes his head clean off anyway.
Then a professor steals his head for an experiment before getting killed. Now the ladies of the night are getting killed one by one...and it just may be a headless man taking them out.
This was directed by Ferdinando Merighi, who was the AD on In the Folds of the Flesh. He used the name F. L. Morris here. Who edited this? Oh, just Bruno Mattei. It's also the film debut of Evelyne Kraft, who would go on to star in The Mighty Peking Man and Lady Dracula.
Producer Dick Randall wrote this movie and he certainly made his share of cheap, trashy and totally wonderful films, including The Girl In Room 2A, Slaughter High, Mario Bava's sex comedy Four Times That Night and The Wild, Wild World of Jayne Mansfield. The sleazy American writer in this movie shares his name, which was no accident.
I realize this isn't a great film. But it's certainly not boring, what with hooded figures running around a brothel, decapitations and falls off important French landmarks. As Italian Bogie would say, " Ti sto guardando, ragazzo."
After a week of giallo where I feel like I kept writing, "Why is this movie so boring and listless," here comes this film to save me. Rosabeli Neri (Lady Frankenstein), Anita Eckberg (Screaming Mimi) and Barbara Bouchet (Don't Torture A Duckling) all in the same film? What did I do to deserve this, giallo gods?
After Antoine is blamed for killing one of Madame Collette's (Eckberg) high class call girls named Francine (Bouchet), he is sentenced to die via the guillotine. He swears that he will have his revenge and escapes, but a motorcycle accident takes his head clean off anyway.
Then a professor steals his head for an experiment before getting killed. Now the ladies of the night are getting killed one by one...and it just may be a headless man taking them out.
This was directed by Ferdinando Merighi, who was the AD on In the Folds of the Flesh. He used the name F. L. Morris here. Who edited this? Oh, just Bruno Mattei. It's also the film debut of Evelyne Kraft, who would go on to star in The Mighty Peking Man and Lady Dracula.
Producer Dick Randall wrote this movie and he certainly made his share of cheap, trashy and totally wonderful films, including The Girl In Room 2A, Slaughter High, Mario Bava's sex comedy Four Times That Night and The Wild, Wild World of Jayne Mansfield. The sleazy American writer in this movie shares his name, which was no accident.
I realize this isn't a great film. But it's certainly not boring, what with hooded figures running around a brothel, decapitations and falls off important French landmarks. As Italian Bogie would say, " Ti sto guardando, ragazzo."
Really enjoyable if flawed giallo
kannibalcorpsegrinder18 July 2016
Investigating a strange death in Paris, a police inspector finds that the main suspect's accidental death doesn't stop the body-count from stopping when more suspects are found dead and races to find the motive behind the strange deaths in finally find the killer.
This one here may have been a prototypical giallo but does have some minor flaws. The fact that this one does manage to play so close to the vest in the tropes of the giallo is where this one scores the most, as that keeps this one into the most watchable realms. This one does have a pretty intriguing story here about the use of the brothel and it's clients working throughout here which manages to offer up the kind of suspect list that makes true giallo fans envious at the sordid sleazy characters at play within the confines of the clientele, the fun of the slow revelation with all of their secrets and different connections to each other and the ensuing rampage across the different groups which really sets this going down more pronounced giallo tropes. Putting the familiar black- gloved killer to good use, these stalking scenes are the film's absolute best parts overall with the rather fun stalking scenes in play here with the thrilling stalking of the cheating boyfriend in the house with his lover, some fine stalking around the house where the killer strikes from behind in a great kill as well as a truly brutal triple-victim attack where the killer strikes in a house wiping out three different victims in different methods which is a rather enjoyable encounter overall. There's a lot of fun here with this series of stalking scenes which makes for a rather enjoyable time leading into the big chase at the end into the Eiffel Tower which is a rather thrilling ending helping along with the film's strong body-count. Along with a rather fun motorcycle chase and a copious amount of nudity, there's plenty to like here. Still, there's some rather problematic areas here which does hold this back somewhat. The biggest problem here is the fact that there's just so little about the killer's motivations here even with it being a convention of the genre but here it doesn't really come up at all. There's a lot to like here about the revenge-from-beyond-the-grave plot, but there's little about the actual reason here for the killer and is absolutely lazy about giving one. Another problem here is the film's rather stumbling pace that doesn't really get any kind of momentum going in the middle segments after the fake-out death of the suspected killer, keeping it going on numerous bland tangents without featuring any kind of real investigations into the main plot. Though that makes for a big final half, there's a rather bland set-up to get there. The last problem here is the film's gimmick- filled scenes that don't really do much of anything for the film, using the film-negative set-up for the scenes of the kills or the victims in the different scenes throughout here, and it somewhat hinders this with some cheesy, low-budget feel. Beyond these, there's some rather good stuff to like here.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Nudity, Language, sexual scenes and drug use.
This one here may have been a prototypical giallo but does have some minor flaws. The fact that this one does manage to play so close to the vest in the tropes of the giallo is where this one scores the most, as that keeps this one into the most watchable realms. This one does have a pretty intriguing story here about the use of the brothel and it's clients working throughout here which manages to offer up the kind of suspect list that makes true giallo fans envious at the sordid sleazy characters at play within the confines of the clientele, the fun of the slow revelation with all of their secrets and different connections to each other and the ensuing rampage across the different groups which really sets this going down more pronounced giallo tropes. Putting the familiar black- gloved killer to good use, these stalking scenes are the film's absolute best parts overall with the rather fun stalking scenes in play here with the thrilling stalking of the cheating boyfriend in the house with his lover, some fine stalking around the house where the killer strikes from behind in a great kill as well as a truly brutal triple-victim attack where the killer strikes in a house wiping out three different victims in different methods which is a rather enjoyable encounter overall. There's a lot of fun here with this series of stalking scenes which makes for a rather enjoyable time leading into the big chase at the end into the Eiffel Tower which is a rather thrilling ending helping along with the film's strong body-count. Along with a rather fun motorcycle chase and a copious amount of nudity, there's plenty to like here. Still, there's some rather problematic areas here which does hold this back somewhat. The biggest problem here is the fact that there's just so little about the killer's motivations here even with it being a convention of the genre but here it doesn't really come up at all. There's a lot to like here about the revenge-from-beyond-the-grave plot, but there's little about the actual reason here for the killer and is absolutely lazy about giving one. Another problem here is the film's rather stumbling pace that doesn't really get any kind of momentum going in the middle segments after the fake-out death of the suspected killer, keeping it going on numerous bland tangents without featuring any kind of real investigations into the main plot. Though that makes for a big final half, there's a rather bland set-up to get there. The last problem here is the film's gimmick- filled scenes that don't really do much of anything for the film, using the film-negative set-up for the scenes of the kills or the victims in the different scenes throughout here, and it somewhat hinders this with some cheesy, low-budget feel. Beyond these, there's some rather good stuff to like here.
Rated R: Graphic Violence, Nudity, Language, sexual scenes and drug use.
Exactly as Mediocre as it Sounds
thalassafischer7 May 2023
While some giallos are hidden gems hiding behind stupid English translations, the French Sex Murders (literally the House of Rendezvous in Italian) is just stupid. The copy floating around streaming access switches for no apparent reason from English to Italian (but is mostly in really corny English) and it attempts an absolutely terrible segway into horror courtesy of a thin plot involving a cheesy 1950s style mad scientist and a curse uttered by a man with an IQ of 85 and a personality disorder. While this might seem par for the course in an Italian supernatural thriller, not so in the French Sex Murders which is just poorly written trash.
Never trust a film that kills off Barbara Bouchet in the first 15 minutes.
Never trust a film that kills off Barbara Bouchet in the first 15 minutes.
Fun and enjoyable Italian giallo with plenty of sleaze.
HumanoidOfFlesh1 April 2008
I saw "French Sex Murders" in the cinema during Dni Makabry festival in Warsaw and wasn't disappointed.This one has a truly bizarre murder plot involving a jewel heist,an all-knowing-all-seeing medium,a brothel,hooded killers,a mad scientist,incredibly sexy women butchered in gruesome ways,incest,human eyeball fondling and a professional Humphrey Bogart look-a-like brilliantly played by Robert Sacchi.The female cast is full of Italian beauties including Anita Ekberg,Barbara Bouchet and Rosalba Neri.The killings are surprisingly violent and gory in true giallo-style,including throat-slashings and decapitations,but most surprising is the innovative camera-work associated with the death scenes.Each murder is replayed four times in a quick and continuous sequence where the colour of the lighting is changed for each replay.There is also plenty of sleaze and nudity for fans of Eurohorror to enjoy.8 out of 10.
Fun.
christopher-underwood19 July 2005
Not expecting too much from this probably helped me actually enjoy it quite a lot. The poor dubbing does little to help along what was probably already crap dialogue but this has a great cast and a lot of spirit. Everyone seems to be enjoying themselves, not least Howard Vernon and the ridiculous but endearing Bogart look alike. The girls of course are lovely, particularly, Rosalba Neri, the Bruno Nicoli music fun and if the killings are a little lacking in style at least we get them all repeated in about six different colours! A Dick Randall production, this keeps moving and is full of incident and character. Fun.
Did I see this move?
bensonmum23 July 2005
Warning: Spoilers
- I had planned to write something explaining what I didn't like about this movie, but this is going to be more difficult than I thought. Honestly, I can't remember much about it. I watched it just three days ago and it's made almost no impression on me. That's usually the sign of a real stinker. About the only thing I remember was being incredibly bored by most of it. The novelty of having a Humphrey Bogart look-a-like as the detective wore off real quick. It would be different if he could act, but he's a one-note entertainer. The kill scenes were amateurishly handled and there was no suspense leading up to them. If you can't spot the killer five minutes into the movie, you need to see more Euro horror. The casting is a dead giveaway to the killer's identity.
Bogart's on the case
Camera-Obscura21 February 2007
THE FRENCH SEX MURDERS (Ferdinando Merighi - Italy 1972).
Formerly, the usual UK title was THE BOGEY MAN AND THE FRENCH MURDERS. There's also a Greek video with the sleeve title, CALL GIRLS FOR INSPECTOR BOGART. The inspector is not named Bogart, nor does he get any call girls, but who cares? It's a title that sells.
There's a killer in Paris, a suicide from the Eiffel Tower, a brothel as the main setting, insane professors, an eye-ball thief, an inspector who looks like Humphrey Bogart (for no apparent reason), a truly creepy Anita Ekberg, and an impressive line-up of Euro-stars. How Dick Randall assembled this cast is beyond me, but he did it. Besides Anita Ekberg, there's Rosalba Neri (who even sings a song in a nightclub), Barbara Bouchet, Evelyn Kraft, Howard Vernon, and Robert Sacchi as inspector Pontaine or Humphrey Bogart. The title is pretty accurate. The murders take place during, before or after sex in a brothel in Paris. In between, the Bogey-man snoops around trying to track down the killer, but he is not too bright. You'll probably have figured it out long before he does.
The film's producer was American Dick Randall who took residence in Rome in the '60s but basically was wherever the deals where made, which meant Rome in the '60s, Bangkok and Hong Kong in the '70s and London in the '80s. Whilst residing in Italy, he payed close attention and decided to take a shot at the giallo as well, and produced this piece of cinematic soufflé. It's a perfect example of totally round the bend Euro-tosh, with a rather tame execution actually. The direction is not wildly imaginative, a workman's job at best, so don't expect outrageous Italian craftsmanship and style here, but some spicing-up in the editing by Bruno Mattei.
The special effects were done by future Oscar-winner Carlo Rambaldi of ET fame. I guess he learned a lot since this one. Of course, the presence of Robert Sacchi, among some other ingredients (mostly the cast) give this film a certain weird identity of its own. All together, it's pretty much a poor man's interpretation of an Italian Giallo.
The version on Mondo Macabro's DVD never existed in this form. From various copies, they assembled the longest version they could possibly paste together. There's an English audio-track, but a couple of scenes appear in Italian with subtitles.
Camera Obscura --- 5/10
Formerly, the usual UK title was THE BOGEY MAN AND THE FRENCH MURDERS. There's also a Greek video with the sleeve title, CALL GIRLS FOR INSPECTOR BOGART. The inspector is not named Bogart, nor does he get any call girls, but who cares? It's a title that sells.
There's a killer in Paris, a suicide from the Eiffel Tower, a brothel as the main setting, insane professors, an eye-ball thief, an inspector who looks like Humphrey Bogart (for no apparent reason), a truly creepy Anita Ekberg, and an impressive line-up of Euro-stars. How Dick Randall assembled this cast is beyond me, but he did it. Besides Anita Ekberg, there's Rosalba Neri (who even sings a song in a nightclub), Barbara Bouchet, Evelyn Kraft, Howard Vernon, and Robert Sacchi as inspector Pontaine or Humphrey Bogart. The title is pretty accurate. The murders take place during, before or after sex in a brothel in Paris. In between, the Bogey-man snoops around trying to track down the killer, but he is not too bright. You'll probably have figured it out long before he does.
The film's producer was American Dick Randall who took residence in Rome in the '60s but basically was wherever the deals where made, which meant Rome in the '60s, Bangkok and Hong Kong in the '70s and London in the '80s. Whilst residing in Italy, he payed close attention and decided to take a shot at the giallo as well, and produced this piece of cinematic soufflé. It's a perfect example of totally round the bend Euro-tosh, with a rather tame execution actually. The direction is not wildly imaginative, a workman's job at best, so don't expect outrageous Italian craftsmanship and style here, but some spicing-up in the editing by Bruno Mattei.
The special effects were done by future Oscar-winner Carlo Rambaldi of ET fame. I guess he learned a lot since this one. Of course, the presence of Robert Sacchi, among some other ingredients (mostly the cast) give this film a certain weird identity of its own. All together, it's pretty much a poor man's interpretation of an Italian Giallo.
The version on Mondo Macabro's DVD never existed in this form. From various copies, they assembled the longest version they could possibly paste together. There's an English audio-track, but a couple of scenes appear in Italian with subtitles.
Camera Obscura --- 5/10
Cheaply made
nick12123520 August 2023
This one looks very cheaply made but it has a somewhat innovative plot. Did they still execute people by guillotine in france in the 70s? Cause if so i'm sorry but I was laughing when the judge doled out that sentence. Regardless, this one almost seems more noir-ish than I would have expected, it's a pretty interesting movie and hard to classify. It may be classified as a giallo but it seems to only have made the barest effort to be one, most likely it was made for that milieu but the ideas about it were scattered; it seems to like action but also wants to add in a police procedural element. It's all over the place. Unfortunately the low budget is very visible in this movie, and the kills are just annoying the way the color is always changing, but the plot is still engaging. You know what I finally realized after finishing the movie? This thing is closer to an American grindhouse film than anything else.
Humphrey Bogart and a load of dead prostitutes...you've got to love Giallo!
The_Void1 August 2006
Despite the fact that this Giallo is often lambasted, I actually had rather high hopes for it; just due to the sheer number of cult names on the cast list and the fact that the more convoluted Giallo's are often the best. However, while this film does have a vast array of ideas on display, director Ferdinando Merighi isn't able to round everything up into one coherent plot line. Furthermore, not many of the genre trademarks have made it into the film; as it's not very colourful, the mystery is obvious from the beginning and despite the fact that the plot focuses on a brothel; there isn't a great deal of nudity. The film gets off to a good start, and after the first half hour I was really expecting a more than decent Giallo. We are introduced to Antoine Gottvalles; a customer at the aforementioned brothel. He's in love with prostitute Francine (the gorgeous Barbara Bouchet, whom I'm in love with) and after her murder, he becomes the prime suspect while the real killer manages to escape. It's not long before the murders continue and police inspector/Humphrey Bogart look-alike Inspector Pontaine gets on the case.
The cast list is among the most impressive of any Giallo. The most exciting element for me was the fact that Amuck co-stars Rosalba Neri and Barbara Bouchet were reunited, even if the latter does only last a few minutes. 'Killer Nun' Anita Ekberg gets a supporting role alongside 'Dr Orloff' Howard Vernon, while the film introduces the lovely Evelyn Kraft. The film is rounded off by a bizarre performance from professional Humphrey Bogart look-alike Robert Sacchi. Quite why the Inspector looks like Bogey is never actually explained; my theory is that it either has something to do with the alternate title (Bogeyman and the French Murders), or director Ferdinando Merighi really wanted Bogart in his movie, but couldn't get him...for obvious reasons. The problem with Sacci in the lead is that, unfortunately, he can't act...and he doesn't look that much like Bogart anyway. The plot manages to move along without getting too dry despite being highly derivative, and the film does have a number of standout death scenes; even if they are extremely unprofessional in their handling. The Parisian setting is good and provides a little beauty to offset the mundane plot. The ending is a little obvious...but it's fun enough to watch and overall, I won't say that The French Sex Murders is a great example of the Giallo...but it just about qualifies as a decent one.
The cast list is among the most impressive of any Giallo. The most exciting element for me was the fact that Amuck co-stars Rosalba Neri and Barbara Bouchet were reunited, even if the latter does only last a few minutes. 'Killer Nun' Anita Ekberg gets a supporting role alongside 'Dr Orloff' Howard Vernon, while the film introduces the lovely Evelyn Kraft. The film is rounded off by a bizarre performance from professional Humphrey Bogart look-alike Robert Sacchi. Quite why the Inspector looks like Bogey is never actually explained; my theory is that it either has something to do with the alternate title (Bogeyman and the French Murders), or director Ferdinando Merighi really wanted Bogart in his movie, but couldn't get him...for obvious reasons. The problem with Sacci in the lead is that, unfortunately, he can't act...and he doesn't look that much like Bogart anyway. The plot manages to move along without getting too dry despite being highly derivative, and the film does have a number of standout death scenes; even if they are extremely unprofessional in their handling. The Parisian setting is good and provides a little beauty to offset the mundane plot. The ending is a little obvious...but it's fun enough to watch and overall, I won't say that The French Sex Murders is a great example of the Giallo...but it just about qualifies as a decent one.
This is an uneven addition to the giallo genre that's a must see for fans of these pictures
kevin_robbins7 August 2023
French Sex Murders (1972) is an Italian giallo that I recently watched on Tubi. The storyline follows a French prostitute who is murdered and her number one client is assumed to be the killer. The client escapes police custody but dies in a crash in the process. As the police start seeking whitenesses they would have used to testify against the now dead suspect, they find the whitenesses murdered (by a black gloved serial killer)? Can the police capture the killer and uncover the truth about the prostitute's murderer?
This movie is directed by Ferdinando Merighi (His Colt, Himself, His Revenge) and stars Anita Ekberg (Blood Alley), Rosalbal Neri (The Arena), Evelyne Kraft (Lady Dracula), Barbara Bouchet (Gangs of New York) and Robert Sacchi (Funland).
This is an absolute must see for giallo film fans, but it's definitely an inconsistent addition to the genre. The story setup is fantastic, as the opening "bloody wh@$&" sequence was intense. There was a lot of potential of this having a worthwhile plot. There's also some eyeball scenes in here that are awesome. But unfortunately, most of the horror elements are awful and dated. The decapitation and head bashing scenes were hilariously bad. The use of flashing lights didn't create the level of intensity the director intended. The fall at the end is awful. I will say there's plenty of nudity, sex scenes and gorgeous ladies.
Overall, this is an uneven addition to the giallo genre that's a must see for fans of these pictures. I would score this a 5/10 and recommend seeing it once.
This movie is directed by Ferdinando Merighi (His Colt, Himself, His Revenge) and stars Anita Ekberg (Blood Alley), Rosalbal Neri (The Arena), Evelyne Kraft (Lady Dracula), Barbara Bouchet (Gangs of New York) and Robert Sacchi (Funland).
This is an absolute must see for giallo film fans, but it's definitely an inconsistent addition to the genre. The story setup is fantastic, as the opening "bloody wh@$&" sequence was intense. There was a lot of potential of this having a worthwhile plot. There's also some eyeball scenes in here that are awesome. But unfortunately, most of the horror elements are awful and dated. The decapitation and head bashing scenes were hilariously bad. The use of flashing lights didn't create the level of intensity the director intended. The fall at the end is awful. I will say there's plenty of nudity, sex scenes and gorgeous ladies.
Overall, this is an uneven addition to the giallo genre that's a must see for fans of these pictures. I would score this a 5/10 and recommend seeing it once.
We'll always have Paris
and a lot of sleazy murders!
Coventry21 June 2015
I love the Italian Gialli and "The French Sex Murders" is a title that has been on my must-see list for several years now, but I always postponed watching it because I too often read harsh and negative reviews about this goofy looking film. Now, of course, I regret having waited so long, because "The French Sex Murders" is a massively entertaining – if heavily flawed – giallo treasure with plenty of gruesome murders, a cast full of familiar faces and a nicely offbeat sense of black humor. The most curious and striking aspect about this film is that the police inspector who investigates a series of bloody prostitute murders is played by Humphrey Bogart doppelganger Robert Sacchi, and he also dresses, acts and talks exactly like the legendary film-noir actor. In some countries the film was even released with an alternate title referring to Bogart, like "The Bogeyman and the French Murders" (in Norway) and "The Brigade of Inspector Bogart" (in Spain). But anyway, the film opens with an unidentifiable body falling to its death from the Eiffel Tower. The camera zooms in on Inspector Bogart, he lights a cigarette, and begins narrative the whole story. The first murder victim is the luscious Francine, a blonde prostitute working in the Paris' luxury brothel of Madame Colette. The prime suspect is of course her last client, Antoine Gottvalles, especially because he's known as an aggressive man and regular visitor at Madame Collete's. But the murders continue even after Antoine is beheaded in a freak accident, so the Inspector has a number of suspects including a vile night club owner, a perverted American novelist who practically lives at the brothel and the sinister assistant of the acclaimed Professor Waldemar. The latter, by the way, has a morbid fascination for human eyeballs, which results in a couple of nauseating and 200% gratuitous gore sequences. As quite often the case in Italian gialli, as well as in all the films of the infamous producer Dick Randall, the plot isn't all that important. The emphasis here particularly lies on naked ladies, nasty bloodshed and a couple of truly sick and depraved plot ingredients (like the ultimate motivation of the killer). The culprit's identity is painfully easy to predict, although admittedly typecasting is also to blame for this, while several potentially intriguing characters remain vague and underdeveloped. The cast and crew list "The French Sex Murders" is definitely one that makes the mouth of every Italian cult fanatic water! Director Ferdinando Merighi is perhaps an unknown soldier, but what a bunch of acclaimed people he managed to gather! In front of the camera we have cult goddesses like Anita Ekberg (as the French Madame), Barbara Bouchet (as a feisty prostitute in red lingerie) and Rosalba Neri (I'm in love with her since "Lady Frankenstein"). Among the males we have the grim-faced Rolf Eden, Renato Romano and Jess Franco regular Howard Vernon. There is even room for a small cameo by Gordon Mitchell as an over-enthusiast night club visitor. Behind the camera, Merighi could count on the collaboration of Bruno Nicolai for the cool soundtrack, Bruno Mattei for the editing and Carlo Rambaldi – creator of E.T. – for the special effects. "The French Sex Murders" is far from great, but it's definitely a cult oddity that giallo freaks can't afford to skip.
nothing here makes this a stellar film.
abduktionsphanomen3 March 2024
The French Sex Murders (Italian: Casa d'appuntamento) - 1972
(This Film Rates a C )
An angry and sloppy jewelry thief named Antoine is blamed for the murder of a prostitute. He slaps her around quite a bit after she refuses to stop whoring herself out. The police inspector arrives to view the murder scene and thinks its "pretty obvious what happened". Antoine is eventually caught and sentenced to death by guillotine. In court he promises to return and kill all those who helped get him convicted. He escapes but winds up decapitated in a motorcycle accident. Shortly after a scientist acquires his severed head and uses it for experimentation. But is his head actually alive? Is Antoine killing people or is it some weird science experiement? By the time you get to the end of the film you wont care. The story builds too slow and there are a lot of filler scenes. The gore and effects are ok for 1972 but whats up with the murders being seen 3-4 times with psychedelic flashing colors? The kills are decent but not realistic, though the eye ball cutting scene isnt for the squimish. The English dubbing is horrendous and at times its still in Italian. The acting and script are average at best. The music is hit or miss but fits the film quite well. There is sex and a fair amount of nudity but also a lot of scenes of women being slapped around and taken advantage of. Enough to offend some. But nothing here makes this a stellar film.
An enjoyable slice of giallo Eurotrash fun
Woodyanders17 January 2008
Warning: Spoilers
A vicious killer brutally bumps off prostitutes at a swanky Paris bordello run by the stern Madame Colette (the lovely Anita Ekberg). The hard-boiled Inspector Pontaine (an amusing performance by Humphrey Bogart impersonator Robert Sacchi) investigates the murders. Propable suspects include the hot-headed Antoine Gottvalles (moody Peter Martell), smarmy nightclub owner Pepi (slimy Rolf Eden), and sinister Professor Waldemar (Jess Franco film regular Howard Vernon). Director Ferdinando Merighi maintains a snappy pace throughout as well as delivers a smattering of sleazy soft-core sex, a sprinkling of tasty gratuitous female nudity, and a few dollops of tacky gore (a couple of cheesy decapitations rate as the definite splatter highlights). Moreover, Merighi stages the grisly murder set pieces with deliciously garish psychedelic stylistic aplomb. The always welcome and enticing presences of beautiful cult Eurobabe starlets Barbara ("Don't Torture A Duckling") Bouchet, Rosalba ("The Arena") Neri, and Evelyn ("The Mighty Peking Man") Kraft qualifies as another substantial asset. The polished cinematography by Mario Mancini and Gunter Otto makes nifty occasional use of a hand-held camera. Bruno Nicolai's pretty and melodic, yet groovy and jazzy score really hits the funky spot. Italian peblum muscleman star Gordon Mitchell pops up in a bit part as a nightclub patron. Good, trashy fun.
Unpredictable without high expectations
jordondave-280853 February 2023
DUBBED
Co-written and directed by Ferdinando Merighi an irrational guy stealing jewelry from what I gather might be a church. And he steals the jewelry so that he manipulate his favorite escort, Francine (Barbara Bouchet) away from the business of a French brothel. His name is Antoine (Peter Martell) and because she got him so angry, he assaults her by slapping her, before being seen leaving her room. Making Antoine to be the only suspect for her murder. And this was just the beginning, for there is more. With a twist I could not have seen coming. And that to me is the reason why this movie warrants a pass.
Co-written and directed by Ferdinando Merighi an irrational guy stealing jewelry from what I gather might be a church. And he steals the jewelry so that he manipulate his favorite escort, Francine (Barbara Bouchet) away from the business of a French brothel. His name is Antoine (Peter Martell) and because she got him so angry, he assaults her by slapping her, before being seen leaving her room. Making Antoine to be the only suspect for her murder. And this was just the beginning, for there is more. With a twist I could not have seen coming. And that to me is the reason why this movie warrants a pass.
Humphrey Bogart Fights Back From the Grave
gavcrimson24 July 2000
Warning: Spoilers
SPOILERS INCLUDED A masterpiece of the 70's European horror film, Bogeyman and the French Murders sadly remains a rarely screened film, doubly odd given that it has enough style, stars and strangeness to be the epitome of that era. Co-producers Dick Randall and Marius Mattei assembled some of Eurosleaze's most famous faces, Anita Ekberg, Rosalba Neri, and Howard Vernon, or The Killer Nun, Lady Frankenstein and Dr Orlof respectively in what could have been called Humphrey Bogart Fights Back From the Grave. Welcome to the world of Antoine Gottvalles, a lovesick minor jewel thief who we first meet looting a Paris bank. Escaping with a handful of jewels, he heads over to the brothel of Madame Colette in an attempt to lure his girlfriend, a prostitute (Goliathon's Evelyn Kraft) out of a life of vice. When Kraft doesn't want anything to do with him or his err... jewels a butt naked Antoine goes berserk `you are nothing but a broad.. a bloody whore'. Later when the tart without a heart is found with her faced bashed in, the police are called to investigate, bringing unwanted attention to Madame Collette and no surprise since her whorehouse is swinging with Parisian perverts who dress in psychedelic Satanic robes and sex kittens in heat. But wait, in all the towns in all the bars who should be investigating the French murders than an Inspector who acts, looks and dresses like Humphrey Bogart! All the fingers of guilt point to quick tempered Antoine and after a keystone cops chase that has to be seen to be disbelieved Antoine is caught by Paris's finest and sentenced to death (by the guillotine!) but vows to his former friends `from the grave I'll come back'. Later Antoine escapes and is chased around until his motor-cycle runs head on with a pane of glass that lops his head off, but director FL Morris isn't finished with us yet and much to the amazement of the all star cast and `Inspector Bogart' the French Murders continue with the black gloved killer (who keeps a pair of eyeballs in his pocket) disposing of those involved in Antoine's trail. Soon heads are severed with swords, throats are cut and corpses appear with their eyeballs missing. The late Vernon turns up as Doctor Waldemar who requests to experiment on Antoine's severed head! only to end up frantically dissecting Antoine's eyeballs after his assistant reports them moving! Hard as this maybe to swallow Bogeyman was announced as an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe's The Evil Eye, surprising as no such book appears to exist. Still Bogeyman contains one feature noticeably absent from any Poe film treatment, the incredible Robert Sacchi a Bronx born actor whose resemblance to Bogart has to be one of the most spookiest things committed to celluloid, not even Madame Tussards could have come up with a more uncanny likeness. It was certainly enough to earn him the nickname `The Man With Bogart's Face' he even played the title role in a 1980 movie of the same name, but Randall and Mattei were the first to really milk the Bogart comparisons for all their worth. Some may have actually believed the Hollywood star was alive and well and appearing in Euro exploitation movies. Even the plodding detective angle, usually the stepping stone of lesser known giallo into boredom is given a kick by the absurdity of Sacchi's `L'Homme Au Visage de Bogart', less a character than a living breathing film homage lost in a world of psychedelia, bell bottoms and the fleshpots of Pigalle. For a film that captures a time and place in all its kitsch glory, what is amazing is that Bogeyman isn't even a French film, stock shots were later added (by Eurocine) to give the film a Paris by night feel, no easy feat for a movie that begins and ends on the Effel tower. Bogeyman's set must have been an exciting place to be on, not just for the bouncing severed heads, a host of international actresses with their clothes off and a Bogart impersonator but the collection of people behind the camera. The grisly effects were by an uncredited Carlo Rambaldi, the haunting music courtesy of Bruno Nicolai, plus years before he gave the world Women's Camp 117 or Zombie Creeping Flesh, Bruno Mattei's name can be found lurking in the editing credits as well. Bogeyman has a unique utterly mad hallucinatory quality, it forces you to except a world that is unreal. Why is Sacchi's inspector modelled on Humphrey Bogart!, Why is the entire courtroom scene shown in negative! Why would anyone want to operate on a severed head!- just sit back and enjoy the many moments where you wonder if the filmmakers had completely lost any touch with reality. Bogeyman is crazy in a way that all of Dick Randall's Italian productions tend to be, but its also one of his finest post Wild, Wild World of Jayne Mansfield creations. Much like Lady Frankenstein and Frankenstein's Castle of Freaks Randall's influence seems to dominant the proceedings, no doubt because he also wrote the story under his Robert H Oliver pseudonym and cameo's in the film as a fez wearing Egyptian. Largely forgotten in the Randall back catalogue somewhere between The Wild Wild World of Jayne Mansfield and Pieces, Bogeyman merits the energy it takes to track down. For many seeing one of the stars of Slaughter Hotel badly lip-synching to a gloomy song in a Pigalle club will be enough of a recommendation, but Bogeyman shouldn't also be missed by fans of sexy Italian actresses, giallos, stock footage of the Effel Tower, gratuitous sex and violence or Humphrey Bogart!!!
A flawed masterpiece
james1-494-82685710 September 2022
While the movie has horrible editing it can be overlooked. Jumps from one scene to the next with no real cohesion. It's a heavily flawed masterpiece. Beautiful female actresses. You have to look past the flaws and take the movie as a whole.. everything you want- urban nightclub scenes and singing by Rosalba Neri, sex, killings, 1970's, lots of gory murders, creepy actors and actresses. What else can you ask for.? Loved it- seen it two or three times. If you're looking for perfection or if it's being reviewed by a film critic forget it. They would have a field day criticizing it.
I have to keep writing they're telling me a minimum of 600 characters so this guy walks into a bar he says to the goose what are you doing in the bar the goose says I have to keep writing for a minimum of 600 words.
I have to keep writing they're telling me a minimum of 600 characters so this guy walks into a bar he says to the goose what are you doing in the bar the goose says I have to keep writing for a minimum of 600 words.
Not entirely uninteresting, but not very good either
lazarillo15 July 2006
Although this is definitely one of your lamer Italian gialli, like all gialli it has some points of interest. It has two different chase scenes involving the Eiffel Tower, just so you know (if the title doesn't clue you in) that it's set in Paris. It has an ironic scene where a condemned murderer is decapitated while fleeing police on a motorcycle. It has a strange scene where the police then turn over the disembodied head to a mad scientist, played by Jess Franco regular Howard Vernon, for him to conduct vague "experiments" on. And perhaps strangest of all it has a lead detective who is played by a Humphrey Bogart impersonator, which no one in the movie remarks on, but will have everyone at home scratching their head.
The plot involves the murder of a prostitute in a Paris brothel (run by early 60's sex symbol Anita Ekberg). It's blamed on a jealous client, but the lead detective ("Bogey")suspects otherwise. And when the murders continue after the suspect's ironic-if-he-were-actually-guilty demise, his suspicions are confirmed. The movie has all the standard giallo elements but it's directed without much flair. There's a lot of sex and female nudity (perhaps too much), but it doesn't involve the "name" actresses for the most part who are pretty much wasted in general. Barbara Bouchet is good as a bitchy prostitute but she is murdered before she can even strip out of her sexy red lingerie. Rosalba Neri has a brief nude scene but also a completely throwaway part as the condemned man's ex-wife. And Anita Ekberg, looking middle-aged and none to svelte, also has pretty phoned-in role that pales not just to her early sexy roles, but to the over-the-top trashy stuff she'd do later in movies like "Killer Nun".
Howard Vernon is about as good as he usually is in Franco movies, and as for the Bogart impersonator--well, nobody ever saw him again after this movie. I would definitely not recommend buying an overpriced DVD of this disappointing movie, but it might not be a total waste of 90 minutes of your life, especially if you're kind of a giallo completist like I am.
The plot involves the murder of a prostitute in a Paris brothel (run by early 60's sex symbol Anita Ekberg). It's blamed on a jealous client, but the lead detective ("Bogey")suspects otherwise. And when the murders continue after the suspect's ironic-if-he-were-actually-guilty demise, his suspicions are confirmed. The movie has all the standard giallo elements but it's directed without much flair. There's a lot of sex and female nudity (perhaps too much), but it doesn't involve the "name" actresses for the most part who are pretty much wasted in general. Barbara Bouchet is good as a bitchy prostitute but she is murdered before she can even strip out of her sexy red lingerie. Rosalba Neri has a brief nude scene but also a completely throwaway part as the condemned man's ex-wife. And Anita Ekberg, looking middle-aged and none to svelte, also has pretty phoned-in role that pales not just to her early sexy roles, but to the over-the-top trashy stuff she'd do later in movies like "Killer Nun".
Howard Vernon is about as good as he usually is in Franco movies, and as for the Bogart impersonator--well, nobody ever saw him again after this movie. I would definitely not recommend buying an overpriced DVD of this disappointing movie, but it might not be a total waste of 90 minutes of your life, especially if you're kind of a giallo completist like I am.
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