''Sette scialli di seta gialla''/ ''Seven Shawls of Yellow Silk''Luther-Smith,Adrian (1999). ''Blood and Black Lace: The Definitive Guide to Italian Sex and Horror Movies''. Stray Cat Publishing Ltd. p. 25 (International title: ''Crimes of the Black Cat'') is a 1972 Italian

giallo In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that often contains slasher, crime fiction, psychological thriller, psychological horror, sexploitation, and, ...

film. It was directed by

Sergio Pastore Sergio Pastore (1932-1987) was an Italian director and screenwriter best known for the ''giallo In Italian cinema, ''Giallo'' (; plural ''gialli'', from ''giallo'', Italian for yellow) is a genre of mystery fiction and thrillers that ofte ...

and written by Pastore, Alessandro Continenza and Giovanni Simonelli. ''Sette scialli di seta gialla'' stars

Anthony Steffen Anthony Steffen, born Antonio Luiz de Teffé von Hoonholtz (July 21, 1930 – June 4, 2004), was an Italian-Brazilian character actor, screenwriter and film producer. Steffen achieved fame as a leading man in Spaghetti Western features. He was also ...

, Sylva Koscina, Jeannette Len, Renato De Carmine,

Giacomo Rossi-Stuart Giacomo Rossi Stuart (25 August 1925 – 20 October 1994) was an Italian film actor often credited as Jack Stuart or Giacomo Rossi-Stuart. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1953 and 1989. Biography Born in Todi to an Italian father ...

and

Umberto Raho Umberto Raho (4 June 1922 – 9 January 2016) was an Italian stage, film and television actor. Life and career Born in Bari, the son of an Italian father and a Bulgarian mother, Raho graduated in philosophy and then, immediately after the w ...

. The film has been cited as being inspired by Dario Argento's ''

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage ''The Bird with the Crystal Plumage'' () is a 1970 giallo film directed by Dario Argento, in his directorial debut. The film has been credited with popularizing giallo, an Italian genre of thriller developed in the 1960s. It is the first in what ...

'', and has been called "entertainingly flamboyant" by one reviewer.

Cast

(English dubbing : Edmund Purdom) as Peter Oliver * Sylva Koscina as Francoise Bally *

Giacomo Rossi Stuart Giacomo Rossi Stuart (25 August 1925 – 20 October 1994) was an Italian film actor often credited as Jack Stuart or Giacomo Rossi-Stuart. He appeared in more than 80 films between 1953 and 1989. Biography Born in Todi to an Italian father ...

as Victor Morgan * Jeanette Len as Giovanna Lenzi *

* Renato De Carmine * Romano Malaspina * Annabella Incontrera * Imelde Marani * Liliana Pavlo * Irio Fantini

Plot

Several fashion models are killed by a murderer who poisons a cat's claws with

curare Curare ( /kʊˈrɑːri/ or /kjʊˈrɑːri/; ''koo-rah-ree'' or ''kyoo-rah-ree'') is a common name for various alkaloid arrow poisons originating from plant extracts. Used as a paralyzing agent by indigenous peoples in Central and South ...

. Each victim is given a shawl as a gift, which is laced with a chemical attracting the cat. The first such victim, Paola, had been in a relationship with a blind composer, Peter Oliver (

) who overhears a conversation he believes may help him track down the killer. Oliver, aided by his butler Burton (

) tracks the cat to its owner Susan ( Jeannette Len), who is murdered before she can reveal who has been using the cat. However, the identity of the killer is eventually discovered to be Françoise ( Sylva Koscina), the owner of the studio employing the murdered models. Francoise had killed Paola after discovering that her husband Victor (

) had been having an affair with the young model, and had committed the other murders to help cover up the motive for the first killing.

Production

Production of ''Sette scialli di seta gialla'' began on 31 March 1972. The film has been described as part of a "boom" of "imitative whodunits" released after the success of Dario Argento's ''

L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo ''The Bird with the Crystal Plumage'' () is a 1970 giallo film directed by Dario Argento, in his directorial debut. The film has been credited with popularizing giallo, an Italian genre of thriller developed in the 1960s. It is the first in what ...

'', along with such films as ''

Una lucertola con la pelle di donna ''A Lizard in a Woman's Skin'' ( it, Una lucertola con la pelle di donna) is a 1971 ''giallo'' film directed by Lucio Fulci and produced by Edmondo Amati and Robert Dorfmann. It stars Florinda Bolkan, Stanley Baker, Jean Sorel, Leo Genn, and Ani ...

'' and ''

Los ojos azules de la muñeca rota LOS, or Los, or LoS may refer to: Science and technology * Length of stay, the duration of a single episode of hospitalisation * Level of service, a measure used by traffic engineers * Level of significance, a measure of statistical significance ...

''. Alessandro Continenza and Giovanni Simonelli, who wrote the script alongside director

, had previously collaborated on the screenplay for the 1966 Spaghetti Western ''

Django spara per primo ''Django Shoots First'' ( it, Django spara per primo) is an Italian Spaghetti Western film directed by Alberto De Martino. Plot Ringo, a bounty hunter, has killed the father of Glenn Garvin (Glenn Saxson) to collect a bounty. Glenn kills Ringo ...

''. The film's title has been noted as one of many giallo titles using either numbers or animal references, having been directly compared to ''

Sette note in nero ''Sette note in nero'' () is a 1977 Italian giallo film directed by Lucio Fulci and co-written by him with Roberto Gianviti and Dardano Sacchetti. ''Sette note in nero'' stars Jennifer O'Neill, Gianni Garko, Marc Porel, and Ida Galli. The film i ...

''.

Release

''Sette scialli di seta gialla'' was released on 12 August 1972 in Italy. The title translates as ''Seven Shawls of Yellow Silk''. It has also been distributed under the title ''Crimes of the Black Cat''.

Critical reception

Allmovie gave the film a positive review, calling it "an underrated gem" and one of the most "entertainingly flamboyant" giallo films.

Footnotes

References

* * *

External links

* * {{AllRovi movie, 143291 Giallo films 1972 films Films set in Copenhagen Films scored by Manuel De Sica 1970s Italian films