If only I had a pound for every time a big British or American movie star lent their name to a European film venture. It was a common ploy in the 60's and 70's, designed to give films a certain appeal outside their country of origin. In this one, John Mills is the star in question and he is easily the best thing about this thriller, even if he is rather miscast. It is hard to believe Mills would be married to fiery red-headed femme fatale Luciana Paluzzi, and harder still to swallow the concept of him as a hard-edged cop who throws gangsters and drug dealers around his office like some 9-stone version of Dirty Harry. However, if one can forgive these unlikely contrivances, the film does have its share of intriguing moments.
Hamburg cop, Franz Bulon (John Mills) is trying to bring down a major drug syndicate in the city. However every time he gets close to a potential informant, the said person has a nasty knack of turning up dead. Bulon's superiors are concerned that his mind doesn't seem to be on the job, which is why he is being thwarted at every turn. And to a degree they're right – because Bulon is so preoccupied with keeping tabs on his wife Lisa (Luciana Paluzzi) that he isn't keeping on top of the rest of his work. He suspects that she is having an affair, and is plagued by thoughts of her with other men. When Bulon eventually tracks down Alex (Robert Hoffman), the assassin that has been picking off his informants, he decides not to charge him but instead hires him kill his wife
A giallo thriller which tips its hat to the hard-boiled film noirs of the 40's and 50's, La Morte Non Ha Sesso is a perfectly watchable film throughout. The plot keeps you guessing, the music and photography create a suitably murky mood, and the film moves briskly enough to avoid taxing the patience, There have been a few notably scathing reviews of the film – the Radio Times claims it "hardly passes muster in any department", and castigates it as "one of John Mills's lowest career points". Such criticism is hardly warranted in all honesty. La Morte Non Ha Sesso is certainly no masterpiece but it is an intriguing minor thriller with flashes of style.
Hamburg cop, Franz Bulon (John Mills) is trying to bring down a major drug syndicate in the city. However every time he gets close to a potential informant, the said person has a nasty knack of turning up dead. Bulon's superiors are concerned that his mind doesn't seem to be on the job, which is why he is being thwarted at every turn. And to a degree they're right – because Bulon is so preoccupied with keeping tabs on his wife Lisa (Luciana Paluzzi) that he isn't keeping on top of the rest of his work. He suspects that she is having an affair, and is plagued by thoughts of her with other men. When Bulon eventually tracks down Alex (Robert Hoffman), the assassin that has been picking off his informants, he decides not to charge him but instead hires him kill his wife
A giallo thriller which tips its hat to the hard-boiled film noirs of the 40's and 50's, La Morte Non Ha Sesso is a perfectly watchable film throughout. The plot keeps you guessing, the music and photography create a suitably murky mood, and the film moves briskly enough to avoid taxing the patience, There have been a few notably scathing reviews of the film – the Radio Times claims it "hardly passes muster in any department", and castigates it as "one of John Mills's lowest career points". Such criticism is hardly warranted in all honesty. La Morte Non Ha Sesso is certainly no masterpiece but it is an intriguing minor thriller with flashes of style.