''The Suspicious Death of a Minor'' ( it, Morte sospetta di una minorenne), a.k.a. ''Too Young to Die'', is a 1975 Italian ''giallo'' film directed by

Sergio Martino Sergio Martino (born 19 July 1938) is an Italian film director and producer, notable for his contributions to the giallo genre. Martino is the brother of the late producer Luciano Martino (who died in 2013). They collaborated frequently in their ...

Plot summary

Police detective Paolo Germi (Claudio Cassinelli) and the mysterious Marisa meet each other at a dance hall. Germi is unaware of the secret Marisa carries with her: adverse conditions in her life have forced her into prostitution. As Germi finds the young girl brutally murdered, he decides to go after her killers. During his investigation, he enters a world of intrigue and obfuscation that leave an endless trail of blood.

Cast

Claudio Cassinelli Claudio Cassinelli (13 September 1938 – 13 July 1985) was an Italian film, stage and television actor. Life and career Born in Bologna to Giuseppina Tafani and Antonio Cassinelli, a well known opera singer, he had two sisters, Paola Cr ...

as Paolo Germi *

Mel Ferrer Melchor Gastón Ferrer (August 25, 1917 – June 2, 2008) was an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He achieved prominence on Broadway before scoring notable film hits with ''Scaramouche'', ''Lili'' and ''Knights of the Round ...

as Police superintendent *

Lia Tanzi Lia Tanzi (born 3 November 1948) is an Italian actress and television personality. Life and career Born in Buenos Aires to Italian parents, Tanzi moved to Parma at young age. She studied acting at the Drama School of the Piccolo Teatro in Mil ...

as Carmela *

Gianfranco Barra Gianfranco Barra (born 5 April 1940) is an Italian film, television and stage actor. He has appeared in more than 80 films. Born in Rome, Barra studied at the Silvio d’Amico Academy of Dramatic Arts in his hometown. First active on stage, he ...

as Teti * Patrizia Castaldi as Marisa * Adolfo Caruso as Giannino *

Jenny Tamburi Jenny Tamburi (27 November 1952 – 1 March 2006), born as Luciana Tamburini, was an Italian actress and television hostess. Her first stage name was "Luciana della Robbia" and after her first film she changed it to "Jenny Tamburi". Born in Rom ...

as Gloria *

Massimo Girotti Massimo Girotti (18 May 1918 – 5 January 2003) was an Italian film actor whose career spanned seven decades. Born in Mogliano, in the province of Macerata, Girotti developed his athletic physique by swimming and playing polo. While studying eng ...

as Gaudenzio Pesce *

Barbara Magnolfi Barbara Magnolfi (born 16 April 1955) is a Franco-Italian actress. She appeared in more than sixteen films since 1969. Selected filmography References External links * * 1955 births Living people Actors from Rennes Italian film ...

as Floriana *

Franca Scagnetti Franca Scagnetti (17 May 1924 – 1 November 1999) was an Italian film actress. She appeared in over 80 films between 1969 and 1999. She was born and died in Rome, Italy. Selected filmography * ''Ehi amigo, sei morto!'' (1970) - Nathaniel' ...

as Mother of Giannino

Production

''The Suspicious Death of a Minor'' was developed under the title ''Milano Violenta'' (), a title later used for

Mario Caiano Mario Caiano (February 13, 1933 – September 20, 2015) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, producer, art director and second unit director. Career Born in Rome, he directed nearly 50 films between 1961 and 2001 and wrote some 27 ...

's film ''

Bloody Payroll ''Bloody Payroll'' ( it, Milano violenta) is a 1976 Italian noir-poliziotteschi crime film written and directed by Mario Caiano. Author Roberto Curti described the film as more of a film noir than a ''poliziottesco''. Cast *Claudio Cassinelli ...

''. The film was a hybrid of a crime film and a ''giallo''. The screenwriter,

Ernesto Gastaldi Ernesto Gastaldi (born 10 September 1934) is an Italian screenwriter. Film historian and critic Tim Lucas described Gastaldi as the first Italian screenwriter to specialize in horror and thriller films. Gastaldi worked within several popular ge ...

, later spoke about the film stating "In my opinion, it's a minor film ..the usually very good Martino didn't manage to give the film a decisive shot-in-the-arm."

Release

''The Suspicious Death of a Minor'' was distributed theatrically by

Titanus Titanus is an Italian film production company, founded in 1904 by Gustavo Lombardo (1885–1951). The company's headquarters are located at 28 Via Sommacampagna, Rome and its studios on the Via Tiburtina, 13 km from the centre of Rome. Lom ...

in Italy on 12 August 1975. The film grossed a total of 507,396,250

Italian lire The lira (; plural lire) was the currency of Italy between 1861 and 2002. It was first introduced by the Napoleonic Kingdom of Italy in 1807 at par with the French franc, and was subsequently adopted by the different states that would eventually f ...

on its domestic release. The film is also known as ''Too Young to Die''.

Notes

References

External links

* 1975 films 1970s crime comedy films Giallo films 1970s Italian-language films Films directed by Sergio Martino Films with screenplays by Ernesto Gastaldi 1975 comedy films Films set in Milan 1970s Italian films {{comedy-crime-film-stub