Nuns, giallos and comedy mix ups…

Death Steps in the Dark
Death Steps in the Dark
Death Steps in the Dark locandina
Death Steps in the Dark locandina

Here’s a fun article I found in L’unita from February 1977 regarding Maurizio Pradeaux’s middling giallo Death Steps in the Dark.  Smacks of being publicity buff, but it’s quite fun anyway…

In Aretino, an erotic-giallo was projected instead of the passion of Jesus Christ.

On the occassion of a convent feast, the nuns sent out to hire from via Fiume, where there are several film distributors, a film which was to be projected in their convent that evening. But, instead of the passion of Christ, the clerk accidentally gave them an erotic-thriller which was due to be released the same evening in a cinema in Florence, namely Death Steps in the Dark directed by Maurizio Pradeaux.

The owner of the distribution company, Sr. Pocci, went to the convent to withdraw the film as soon as he realised the mistake.

Believing he’d find the convent in a state of uproar, he was instead astonished to find all the sisters intent on seeing the film with an open mind. Scandalized, Sr. Pocci talked to the Mother Superior, who told him: “We’re modern sisters, a new christian order, we try to keep up to date with everything that happens in the world.” So, after a long conversation, Sr Pocci was forced to stop the screening because the film was due to come out in the afternoon for it’s world premiere at the Cinema Modernissimo di Firenze.

The incident led to the delayed screening of the film, where the audience were demanding refunds of their tickets. But, fortunately, everything fell into place with the arrival of Sr. Pocci and the film.

The film was very much enjoyed by the sisters, and also to the cinema spectators who saw the film yesterday night at its premiere. It’s a film to see from the start. Also present at the premiere were the protagonists and cultural figures, from industry and the arts.

About Matt Blake 890 Articles
The WildEye is a blog dedicated to the wild world of Italian cinema (and, ok, sometimes I digress into discussing films from other countries as well). Peplums, comedies, dramas, spaghetti westerns... they're all covered here.

1 Comment

  1. Presumably, the film that was going to be screened at the premier was a 35mm print. And I doubt that a convent would have the equipment to screen a 35mm film. So the story, almost certainly, is false.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

*