Morte Sospetta di una Minorenne/Suspicious Death Of A Minor (MERGED)

[Jonny Redman]

Morte sospetta di una minorenne Dir by Sergio Martino (1975)

Anyone seen this rare film? I managed to get hold of a copy via a friend who picked up a 'fansub' version off Ebay. And a nice copy it is too, fully letterboxed and nicely subbed into English.

All the waiting after years of trying to track this film hasn't been in vain as I think this is possibly one of my favourite Poliziesco's, at least from the ones I've seen in recent memory.

I'll not go into too much detail for fear of possibly spoiling it for anyone who has yet to see it... describing the film properly would ruin the opening 30 minutes, it wouldn't ruin the film completely, but it's best to not have it spoiled I know I got a kick out of how things turned out after the first third of the film...

I'm going to leave it short and hopefully anyone else who has seen it can chip in with some discussion (?)

I've never seen Claudio Cassinelli be this good in a film, I really took a shine to his character and I see him in a new light. The film on the whole is a mixed bag you start off thinking it's a Giallo then maybe a comedy (The car chase sequence!) and then it's a poliziesco! Good score by Luciano Michelini even though it does sound almost identical to Goblin nearly all of the time, especially their work on Tenebrae!

Anyone else seen this?

[Joe S]

I have the Italian re-release on vhs. Fully letterboxed and Italian language only. You are correct Jonny, in that this is a curious hybrid of giallo/anarchic Italian comedy and a police thriller. It's one of Sergio Martino's post Torso offerings. He was at the end of his giallo period and was totally out of ideas for the genre. As the cop thriller was beginning to take hold, he decided to film a cop thriller, but just could not keep away from his beloved giallo. Hence the film is slightly haphazard, mixing elements of 3 genres, but he pulls it off and I believe it is one of his better films.

[Jonny Redman]

Originally Posted by Joe S

...Hence the film is slightly haphazard, mixing elements of 3 genres, but he pulls it off and I believe it is one of his better films.

And Martino does pull it off, I had serious doubts about this film during the first third and was about to give up on it and then it really kicked in and turned into a really good film. When I say Kicked in I don't mean that the film exploded with car chases and shootouts, far from it, the clues started to add up, Teenage Prostitutes, Elderly Bankers... the plot thickened... I had to keep watching. A Good solid Crime film from Martino, with a daft car chase sequence featuring a man who spins on his head and a guy who's bicycle ges hit by a speeding car and ends up on a unicycle!

A man who's been run over spinning on his head...


A Bicycle split into a unicycle... Comedy genius!

[Jason Theobald]

Great, Great Film that took me ages to track down.

Nice to see someone mention it to be honest with you!

[Joe S]

I almost forgot about that Irish breakdance sequence. That's what I mean about anarchic comedy, Italian style. I can't stop grinning at that sequence...Damn fine film and just bursting to be released onto dvd.

[P.Gough]

The most apt comparison with Suspected Death of a Minor is What Have They Done to Your Daughters. Both films star Claudio Cassinelli and are a mix of police thriller and giallo. Similarly, both films are about the prostitution of minors by rich and powerful men. The identity of the killer in each film is never properly revealed, but it is assumed that he is a professional killer hired to silence the witnesses, rather than somebody whom murders for traditional giallo motives. The scores are similar too, in a pre Goblin way. What Have They Done to Your Daughters is the slightly better film because it is less uneven, Suspected Death of a Minor lurches from giallo to cop thriller to slapstick and back to giallo.

[Richard Fussenegger]

IMDb: Main details

Director: Sergio Martino
Country: Italien
Year: 1975
Label: Sazuma Productions
Cast: Claudio Cassinelli, Mel Ferrer, Lia Tanzi, Gianfranco Barra, Patrizia Castaldi,...

"An adolescent is murdered in a cheap, pay-by-the-hour hotel in Milan. It looks like a
typical crime in the realm of the local underworld, the "Mala". One of those crimes that, af-
ter the usual hollow investigations, go unresolved. But this time, there is something more to
it. And it doesn't seem to make much difference if his modus operandi is legal or not.
The woman who owns the hotel is questioned and a name is revealed: Menga. Paul (that's
what the man calls himself) also uncovers two suitcases containing the five-billion lire ransom
paid by a Milanese industrialist the day before to get his son back.
As the investigation has grown more comples, Paul is forced to report to his supervisor, the
Chief of Police. Paul is an undercover man on a "special" assignment. Too special, according
to the district attorney's office. But his investigations continue.
His search soon points him to a banker, Gaudenzio Pesce - too important a figure not to
create problems for him. The Chief tells him point blank: to trap a guy like that, you'll need
evidence as big as a skyscraper. And Paul knows that that kind of evidence is impossible
to get. He ends up giving in to an anonymous bribe which could only have come from the
banker himself. If you've got to make a living, you might as well be paid right for it.
It looks for awhile as if Pesce has got himself off the hook, but the illusion won't last long.
His men are still out there eliminating the witnesses, including a young boy - a friend of Paul's.
The rage explodes inside the ex-cop. He catches up with Pesce on a train. The banker is
trying to slip out of the country through the Semöione tunnel. The time has come for Paul
to take justice into his own hands..."

Aspect Ratio: 2,35:1 (Anamorph Widescreen)
Audioformat: English, Italien (Dolby Digital Mono)
Subtitels: German, English, Dutch
Release: Tba.
RC: Tba.
Discs: Tba.
SRP: Tba.
Rating: Tba.
Extras:

• Tba.

[KH Brown]

Good news. This is slightly weird film IIRC - part giallo, part polizia, with some grim subject matter and some slapstick humour that don't fit well together. Good action sequences though.

[Richard Fussenegger]

Go and check out the new blog from Sazuma Productions for more news about there upcoming releases.

-> Sazuma Productions Blog

The next movie which Sazuma Productions is going to release through there Italian Genre Cinema Collection is La Settima Donna.

Yours sincerely
Richard 'Fleshgrinder'

[KH Brown]

Is Settima Donna a film that's available elsewhere? If so, I'd rather they concentrate on bringing out films that are otherwise unavailable, though their commitment to good transfers and extras packages bodes well.

[Jonny Redman]

Oliver mentioned over in the Upcoming Gialli thread that there's a DVD on the way from Sazuma so I thought I'd bump this thread...

DVD info...



* 2.35:1, 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen
* English and Italian Language in Dolby Digital Mono
* English, German and Dutch Subtitles
* Bonus Features TBA

http://www.sazuma.com/productions/

[Ian Jane]

This is good news. Their Subconcious Cruelty and Cannibal Ferox DVDs were excellent.

[Liam Kennedy]

Cool, next time I'm in Holland, I'll have to pick this up.

[Martin N]

Originally Posted by KH Brown

Is Settima Donna a film that's available elsewhere? If so, I'd rather they concentrate on bringing out films that are otherwise unavailable, though their commitment to good transfers and extras packages bodes well.

Yeah, there's a nice Japanese DVD.

Cheers

Martin

[Ian Jane]

Sazuma sent out a press release this morning, looks like they've run into some snags on the restoration and that there won't be an English audio track on the upcoming release. It's also been pushed back to September 10, 2006.

Roland over at Sazuma has assured me that there will be 100% English subs included on the disc though, so this will still be worth while from the looks of things.

Their second Giallo release will be Last House On The Beach and it'll street on October 23 and it'll include the soundtrack on CD!