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When a southern Italian town is rocked by a string of child murders, the police and two urban outcasts search for the culprit amid scapegoating within the superstitious community.When a southern Italian town is rocked by a string of child murders, the police and two urban outcasts search for the culprit amid scapegoating within the superstitious community.When a southern Italian town is rocked by a string of child murders, the police and two urban outcasts search for the culprit amid scapegoating within the superstitious community.
Georges Wilson
- Francesco
- (as George Wilson)
Virgilio Gazzolo
- Police Commissioner
- (as Virginio Gazzolo)
Fausta Avelli
- Malvina
- (uncredited)
Gianfranco Barra
- Impallomeni
- (uncredited)
John Bartha
- Policeman
- (uncredited)
Empedocle Buzzanca
- Interrogation Officer
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaLucio Fulci was arrested on child endangerment grounds due to the infamous scene where a fully nude Patrizia (Barbara Bouchet) flirts with the underage Michele (Marcello Tamborra). The charges were dropped when Fulci explained that the actors' close-ups were filmed separately, and that the shot of Michele walking towards Patrizia with a pitcher and glass of orange juice was achieved by having an adult dwarf actor, Domenico Semeraro, stand in for Tamborra (if you look carefully, you will notice how different Semeraro's facial structure is from Tamborra's).
- GoofsAt one point during the fight scene between Martelli and Don Alberto near the end, the camera's shadow can briefly be seen on the ground.
- Alternate versionsThe Anchor Bay release is the complete, uncut version of the film.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Innocence Lost (2015)
- SoundtracksQuei giorni insieme a te
Lyrics by Jaja Fiastri (uncredited)
Music by Riz Ortolani (uncredited)
Performed by Ornella Vanoni
Featured review
A compelling story about supersticion and ignorance
"Don't Torture a Duckling". I'm still not absolutely certain what the title means, so i guess this movie is in good company with some other gialli, but
it's really atypical. I'm a fan of the style but it's always the atypical ones that stand out. This one isn't about rich sleazebags getting their just
desserts, and the rural setting gives it a very different feeling than most. My stepmother's family was from a village like this, and even today, just
an hour outside of Rome you can find places like the town featured in this movie -- a bit old-fashioned (some unkindly might say, "bkacward"), insular,
etc. No electricity is pretty commonplace.
Anyway, here we have a movie by Lucio Fulci, from the period when he was making a lot of very high-quality thrillers. It's short on the gore and bloodshed that he's known for except in a few key scenes, when the violence is really pronounced and startling. It also is a film that makes use of its red herrings in an unusual way. in fact, you could even say that the red herrings are the very point of the movie. Basically young boys on the verge of puberty are being killed violently in this little community, and of course, the townsfolks' suspicion immediately turns toward the outsiders, or those who are deemed to be weird and thus isolated even within the community, like Maciara, the epileptic witchy lady. The community is so suspicious, so determined to put someone away for these terrible crimes, that they simply will not listen to reason. Maciara's death is both the most violent and saddest moment in the film, as on her way out of town she is beaten to death with chains while soul music blairs from a radio so that people can't hear her screams of pain. The killer, of course, ends up being someone much closer to home, so to speak, and is "unmasked" almost in the last three minutes. His final scene is way more over-the-top than what came before but it somehow is really fitting. I love this movie and I think it's very possibly Fulci's best.
While the english dubbing might be considered a bit stiff by some, I really don't think it's too bad. The cast is also very much an international one, so I highly doubt they were all speaking Italian, thus hearing the film in English is not really any less" true" than the italian cut. Speaking of the cast, there are some real notables here, from western stars to women known for their roles in Bond films. The story is the real treat here, and it might surprise you how much pathos Fulci is able to wring out of it.
Anyway, here we have a movie by Lucio Fulci, from the period when he was making a lot of very high-quality thrillers. It's short on the gore and bloodshed that he's known for except in a few key scenes, when the violence is really pronounced and startling. It also is a film that makes use of its red herrings in an unusual way. in fact, you could even say that the red herrings are the very point of the movie. Basically young boys on the verge of puberty are being killed violently in this little community, and of course, the townsfolks' suspicion immediately turns toward the outsiders, or those who are deemed to be weird and thus isolated even within the community, like Maciara, the epileptic witchy lady. The community is so suspicious, so determined to put someone away for these terrible crimes, that they simply will not listen to reason. Maciara's death is both the most violent and saddest moment in the film, as on her way out of town she is beaten to death with chains while soul music blairs from a radio so that people can't hear her screams of pain. The killer, of course, ends up being someone much closer to home, so to speak, and is "unmasked" almost in the last three minutes. His final scene is way more over-the-top than what came before but it somehow is really fitting. I love this movie and I think it's very possibly Fulci's best.
While the english dubbing might be considered a bit stiff by some, I really don't think it's too bad. The cast is also very much an international one, so I highly doubt they were all speaking Italian, thus hearing the film in English is not really any less" true" than the italian cut. Speaking of the cast, there are some real notables here, from western stars to women known for their roles in Bond films. The story is the real treat here, and it might surprise you how much pathos Fulci is able to wring out of it.
helpful•90
- crystallogic
- Apr 21, 2019
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Ne mucite pace
- Filming locations
- Monte Sant'Angelo, Foggia, Apulia, Italy(the town of Accendura setting)
- Production company
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
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By what name was Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) officially released in India in English?
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