An adulterous wife (Barbara Steele) impatiently awaits the demise of her moribund husband to inherit his wealth and mansion. Her dalliance with his personal doctor, virtually in plain sight, eventually tempt them both to bring about his premature death. Unfortunately, things soon start going bump in the night and their now public relationship rather quickly disintegrates as they become consumed by greed, guilt and suspicion. The whole sorry affair is ended abruptly by another murder and the inevitable plot-twist this genre seems to demand.
Although I respect Freda and his pioneering greatness for Italian horror cinema, I found this rather poor quality suspense film pretty slow and predictable. The story is so transparent, I had worked out all the plot details within the first 15 minutes! Visually, the film is very interesting though. There are some very creative shots which help in creating a moody, Gothic atmosphere.
The cast are capable enough, with particular mention to the husband's lawyer. But it is Barbara Steele who is the big name here; her at once vulnerable beauty and femme fatale guile give her such charisma, her on- screen presence lend as much to her performance as any of her acting skills do. However, in this film, I felt she could have did better in that department.
This murder mystery blends in to many of the others of the day and has nothing to offer of considerable value that makes it stand out from the rest. Not that it is a bad film though, rather it is a tame and vaguely entertaining piece which will do nothing more than amuse for 90 odd minutes.
Although I respect Freda and his pioneering greatness for Italian horror cinema, I found this rather poor quality suspense film pretty slow and predictable. The story is so transparent, I had worked out all the plot details within the first 15 minutes! Visually, the film is very interesting though. There are some very creative shots which help in creating a moody, Gothic atmosphere.
The cast are capable enough, with particular mention to the husband's lawyer. But it is Barbara Steele who is the big name here; her at once vulnerable beauty and femme fatale guile give her such charisma, her on- screen presence lend as much to her performance as any of her acting skills do. However, in this film, I felt she could have did better in that department.
This murder mystery blends in to many of the others of the day and has nothing to offer of considerable value that makes it stand out from the rest. Not that it is a bad film though, rather it is a tame and vaguely entertaining piece which will do nothing more than amuse for 90 odd minutes.