WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOUR DAUGHTERS? : ITALIAN HYBRID

 

Two of the most well-known genres in Italian films from the seventies were the giallo films, murder mysteries where you only saw the hands of the killer, and the police dramas, crime dramas that pitted the police against fearless criminals. Both of these genres are combined to form this movie, WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOUR DAUGHTERS?

The film opens with the discovery of a young girl hanging from the rafters of an apartment building. Called in by an anonymous tip the police find the body but no identification. After investigating they do discover her identity as well as the fact that she was younger than expected, just 15. Following more clues they track down two potential suspects.

The first is a man across the way from the top floor apartment she was found in, a man who had a bird’s eye views as well as a telephoto lens to shoot pictures of her there. This was their anonymous caller and he has pictures of the girl and her boyfriend. A search for the young man finds him spelunking. Bringing him up his alibi is solid as he was down below. He tells them about their meetings.

More investigating leads the police to a private investigator who is found dead. Audio recordings he made are missing and the only lead they have is his girlfriend who is in a hospital recuperating from an auto accident a month prior. Through her they recover the one remaining tape that was not stolen and learn that the private detective was part of a ring of older men who were using pre-teen schoolgirls as prostitutes.

A black gloved killer in a motorcycle helmet is seen murdering people and attacking others. Car chases involving this character take up plenty of the 96 minute running time of this film. The culprits responsible are found out and the ending is quite unsatisfying for a movie like this. Even more so when you consider the fact that it was made by Massimo Dallamano who made WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE which surpassed this film by miles.

One thing I noticed that made this film different than most, and in a positive way, was that the lead investigator on the case (at least paperwork wise) is a woman. That’s rare in most movies from this time period and was refreshing. Of course at some point the killer stalks her as well and she becomes a damsel in distress saved by a man. But she carries on with the investigation in spite of the attack and the victims she is exposed to.

On the whole not much stands out about this film. The cinematography isn’t anything exceptional, the acting a bit over the top at times and the story a bit too convoluted for its own good. The end result is unsatisfying at best and predictable at worst. While I commend Arrow Video for insuring that this film is presented in the best format possible and included a number of extras, it is perhaps the weakest entry I’ve seen from them so far.

Those extras are fairly extensive though. They include a new audio commentary track with author Troy Howarth, MASTERS AND SLAVES: POWER, CORRUPTION & DECADNES IN THE CINEMA OF MASSIMO DALLAMANO a new video essay by author Kat Ellinger, ETERNAL MELODY an interview with composer Stelvio Cipriani, DALLAMANO’S TOUCH an interview with editor Antonio Siciliano, unused hardcore footage shot by Dallamano, the Italian theatrical trailer, an image gallery, a reversible sleeve with newly commissioned artwork by Adam Rabalais and for the first pressing only an illustrated collector’s booklet featuring new writing by Michael Mackenzie.

I would suggest this for purist trying to collect all giallo style films they can find or fans of Dallamano only. All others will most likely enjoy the film for an afternoon’s viewing but repeat viewings are unlikely. Kudos still to Arrow Video for at least keeping these films alive.

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