Fragments Of Fear Episode 6: Death Carries A Cane (1973)

For the latest episode of Fragments of Fear Rachael and Peter turn their focus once again to the golden period of the genre with Maurizio Pradeaux’s 1973 giallo, Death Carries a Cane – a formulaic giallo indicative of the trend for Argento styled thrillers in early 1970s Italy. Analysing the film’s merits, they discuss the effectiveness of its humour – touching upon the role of comedy in the giallo – and examine how it impacts on Death Carries a Cane’s characterisation. The pair also muse on the film’s Argento inspired set pieces and brief similarities with Luciano Ercoli’s Death Walks films including the multiple shared cast members. Finally, the duo assess the effectiveness of Death Carries a Cane’s ending and the alternative explanation given for the film’s events in the German version:

In many ways a ‘pure’ giallo (the opening murder, with the black-clad killer seen from a distance via a tourist telescope is practically the embodiment of the genre), the star here is Nieves Navarro, a Spanish actress who headlined a string of gialli under the pseudonym Susan Scott (the ‘Death Walks…’ series, All The Colours Of The Dark, So Sweet, So Dead etc).

Here’s the synopsis…

Kitty sees a murder and learns witnesses to the crime have been murdered, including her friend. Kitty finds a photo identifying the killer and becomes trapped in a greenhouse with the homicidal madman.

And here’s some footage from the film (it’s on Youtube people)…