Director Eugenio Martin is most known for the creature film HORROR EXPRESS, a movie that’s found its way to so many different packages of horror collections with it falling into public domain that the odds of not having seen it are slim. Thankfully a beautiful edition of it was released this year by Arrow. With 31 films to his credit as a director through 1996, Martin worked in numerous genres. With THE FOURTH VICTIM he dipped his toe into the giallo genre. The results are mixed.
Playboy Arthur Anderson (Michael Craig) discovers the body of his wife floating face down in their pool. This would be tragic for most but in the case of Anderson this is the third wife he’s had that met and unfortunate end. Each one also had a generous insurance policy leaving everything to Anderson. The fact that his longtime maid seems a bit suspicious doesn’t help things. All of this leads to Inspector Dunphy (José Luis López Vázquez) taking an interest in the case.
Seemingly unaffected by his wife’s death, Anderson is surprised one night to hear someone swimming in the same pool his wife drowned in. He goes to investigate and finds a woman in the pool swimming. She leaves the water and apologizes saying that it was so hot that night she couldn’t resist. She introduced herself as Julie Spencer (Carroll Baker), a new next door neighbor. Anderson disbelieves her immediately thinking she’s a plant placed there by the police to keep an eye on him.
As the viewer we are given information Anderson doesn’t have when we witness Julie return to her home. She phones someone and tells them she’s finally met Anderson. We also notices that while she may be renting the house her accommodations are a bit Spartan since she’s inside a tent inside the house.
Anderson eventually allows his guard to fall down and he becomes enamored with Julie as she does with him. They marry and are soon living in his home. But things are still a bit strange. And when her car is found parked near the nearby seaside cliffs, the suspicions of the police are roused once again.
The movie has enough twists and turns to make it a genuine giallo picture, black gloves and all, but it never seemed to have any popularity both when released and on home video. With the rare exception of bootlegs it never found a release in the US. Severin has corrected that with their release of the film. Thank goodness.
It might not be the most perfect example of the genre and things at times seem rushed, as in the marriage, but the movie does keep you guessing. Is Anderson a black widow marrying women with huge insurance policies in order the kill them? Or is there someone else out there making it appear so? And who is the stranger person on the phone that Julie talks to? All are answered by the end of the film.
Baker was set to be a huge star in Hollywood but by the time this film was produced she was in less demand. That led to her starring in a number of foreign films where she remained popular. She does and admirable job here in this lead role. Craig also does a fine job helping to present the character of Anderson as potentially killer and victim at the same time.
Severin has done a wonderful job here with the film first by offering a 2k scan of the film negative presenting a pristine version of the film. The extras are limited but include “Eugenio Martin, Auteur” an interview with Eugenio Martin biographer Carlos Aguilar, a deleted scene and the trailer for the film.
If you enjoy giallo films, foreign films or mysteries then you’ll want to check this one out. While many have offered negative reviews for the film I found it entertaining from start to finish.
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