aka Ti aspetterò all’inferno
Director: Piero Regnoli
Italian release date: 29/10/1960
Original running time: 91 mins
Italy
Verdestella Film
Story: Based on the novel by Piero Regnoli
Screenplay: Piero Regnoli, Dario Ferra, Arpad De Riso
Cinematography: Luciano Trasatti
Music: Giuseppe Piccillo
Editor: Tatiana Casini Morigi
Art director: Giulio Bongini
Cast: John Drew Barrymore (Walter), Eva Bartok (Danielle), Antonio Pierfederici (Jules), Massimo Serato (Al), Renato Chiantoni (Paco), Moira Orfei (Anouk), Mario Passante, Nino Vingelli, Renato Terra, Leonardo Porzio, Barbara Francia
Story: Three young hoods conspire to rob a jewelry store, killing a guard in the process. Walter (John Drew Barrymore, at the beginning of his Eurotrash period) is a hotheaded beatnik, Al is the debonair brains behind the heist, and Sam is a dreamer who wants to buy a plot of land in Israel with his share. They high-tail it to a wilderness cabin where they plan to lay low and divvy up the take, but after Walter taunts Sam with anti-semitic remarks, they start to tussle, and Sam falls into quicksand and succumbs. Later, a sexy drifter (Eva Bartok) who is looking for work shows up, causing tension between the two remaining gang members. At the same time, subtle clues begin to convince the increasingly paranoid Walter that Sam is haunting him.
Comments: Here’s an early film from prolific scriptwriter Piero Regnoli. It’s a bit of a mish-mash, including elements of melodrama, crime film, giallo and even ghost story, but it’s not ineffective. It defintely benefits from having a good cast: Barrymore, Bartok and Serato were all big-ish names at the time so it mast have had some budget behind it. Unfortunately, it’s an obscure one. It’s turned up on US TV, but doesn’t seem to have had any kind of international distribution. But not a bad film by any means, if a bit slow and deliberate.
