Memorable, crazy movie

Absolutely Brilliant!

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Blistering performances.

A lousy Italian made thriller starring Carroll Baker & Stephen Boyd. Baker is a neurotic career girl (it's never clear what it is that she does for a living) being stalked by a bunch of hoods looking for a diamond her twin sister may or may not have stolen. Boyd is her lawyer. George Hilton is Baker's lover who becomes her pursuer. A hopelessly confusing and very long 90 minute crime film from director Osvaldo Civirani. Shot in Italy & Holland, the film has no sense of any place at all. There are exactly zero thrills. This still-born dreck was just one of many films Baker made in Italy during the late '60/early '70s. The meaning of the title remains a mystery.

This is another one of those Italian giallo/poliziotteschi crossover movies that will keep you guessing to the end, and it's full of groovy music, funky clothes, chain smoking and that delightful sexism we've come to expect from Italian films of this era.Carrol Baker is Julie, an identical twin who works for Air India, translating things. Her sister, who is the bad twin, is on the run from some goons but little is revealed about that at first, and I'm not going to spoil things here. After being convinced she's being stalked, Julie goes for help from her lawyer buddy and his friend Tony (George Hilton). They agree to help, which is just as well as Julie is attacked the moment she leaves the lawyer's building!Although not overly violent or action-packed, I thought the mystery angle of the story kept things going, as you have no idea who is after the twins or indeed why anyone is doing what they do. This is a film that initially raises loads of questions, but in a refreshing break from the usual Italian methods, actually answers them (although sometimes that quickly that you'll have to rewind to catch what's being said). There's car chases, shoot-outs, a creepy giallo style scene with Baker in an old house. Baker in fact has a rough time here as various people terrorise her throughout the film. No idea what the title has to do with things though!

"The Devil has Seven Faces" isn't a giallo, but admittedly it looks and sounds more like a giallo than most genuine gialli do. Now that was a weird sentence! Allow me to elaborate. The enticing title, the starring of George Hilton and Carroll Baker and the Stelvio Cipriani musical score have got written "GIALLO" all over it. Without even knowing what the plot is about, these elements are enough to convince all avid fans of Italian cult cinema that we're dealing with a bona fide giallo here. The plot, however, is that of a crime-thriller/mystery movie. There are no heavily breathing perverts with black gloves massacring scantily dressed fashion models here. Instead, "The Devil has Seven Faces" is an overly convoluted diamond heist thriller full of double-crossing and untrustworthy characters. Beautiful businesswoman Julie Harrison's life gets turned upside down when she suddenly receives threats, harassments and unwelcome visitors. It seems like her twin sister Mary stole a valuable diamond in London and vanished. Now the fellow jewel thieves that her sister double-crossed are mistaken Julie for Mary and terrorize her. She seeks help with a befriended lawyer Dave Barton and his hunky friend Tony Shane. Even though the men do everything to protect her, Julie's life is increasing danger. "The Devil has Seven Faces" is a fairly adequate Italian thriller, but like so often the case with these films, the screenplay tries to be overly clever and misleading, resulting in one too many convoluted plot twists. The film is also too talkative, especially during the first hour, and contains only a handful memorable moments of action, including a shoddy car chase and a tense confrontation inside a windmill. Speaking of windmills, for some reason the majority of the film (or at least all the exterior sequences) are shot in The Netherlands. I have no idea what the added value of that was, because it's weird to see all the road signs and newspaper clippings in Dutch. There are quite a number of shootouts and suggestive killings, but this definitely isn't a gory film. It's not even at all sleazy even though the cover image illustrates Carroll Baker in lingerie. Cipiriani's music is sensual and very lounge-like as usual.

This film was one of two videos featuring Carroll Baker that I found in a resale shop in Portland, Oregon. The reason I say this is that they both seem to be specialty videos dubbed from international sources and initially sold on a "request only" basis. Being a fan of La Baker, I was anxious to try both. This movie was lensed by a director primarily known for peplum and spaghetti westerns, but manages a nice steady clip and passable performances from the international cast. The plot involves Baker and her "twin sister" with international jewel thieves and a missing diamond. It appears that the criminal element believes Baker is her sister, involved with the potentate whose gem was stolen. Baker approaches solicitor Stephen Boyd and sidekick George Hilton for protection. Those with even a cursory knowledge of Italian gialli know that "all-is-not-what-it-seems" and perhaps knowing this will dilute some of the surprises.The music is gloriously overblown Morricone-esque lounge, and Baker's blue wig worn at seaside is worth the price of viewing. If you can find this film, I recommend viewing for the sheer brilliance of having an action pursuit taking place in and around a windmill! The setting has been used before and since (most memorably in Black Windmill), but creates a nice frisson not usually associated with Italian thrillers.