[a.k.a. Salvare la faccia] (Italy/Argentina/1969)
Review By-Johan Melle
Cast: Adrienne LaRussa, Rossano Brazzi, Nino Castelnuovo, Paola Pitagora, Alberto De Mendoza, Idelma Carlo, Renzo Petretto, Nestor Garay, Marcello Bonini Olas 
Directed by Rossano Brazzi & Ted Kneeland. 

Rossano Brazzi was one of Italy's most successful actors - enjoying a fruitful career in both his native Italy as well as in Hollywood. His impressive career, which is impossible to surmise in a few sentences, includes everything from Hollywood classics like THE BAREFOOT CONTESSA (1954) and SOUTH PACIFIC (1958) to low-budget Euro-schlock like FRANKENSTEIN'S CASTLE OF FREAKS (1974) and FATAL FRAMES (1996). One aspect of Brazzi's career that has been almost completely ignored, however, is his brief stint as a director. From the mid to late 1960s he directed three films. The first one was THE CHRISTMAS THAT ALMOST WASN'T (1966), a Christmas family film starring himself and his wife Lydia Brazzi. The second was CRIMINAL AFFAIR (1968), a crime comedy that once again starred Brazzi himself - paired together with Ann-Margret this time. But his third, final and decidedly least known film is PSYCHOUT FOR MURDER, a weird, off-beat thriller-drama. 

The plot centers around the beautiful Licia (Adrienne LaRussa), a free-spirited, young upper-class woman whose father (played by Brazzi himself) is a wealthy and influential industrialist. Unfortunately, the naïve Licia has ended up with a rather sleazy boyfriend, Mario (Nino Castelnuovo), who talks her into coming with him to a brothel and have sex there. The uninhibited Licia agrees but the young lovers are caught red-handed by a police vice squad and a bunch of press photographers. Licia’s father is enraged and embarrassed by the whole incident – not made any better by the revelation that Mario set the whole thing up in order to blackmail him. The father, along with his other daughter, the more well-mannered Giovanna (Paola Pitagora), agree that the best way to avoid a scandal is to quietly pay off Mario and to whisk Licia away to an insane asylum as this will gain them sympathy and help save the father’s reputation. Hurt that Mario only used her as a way to extort her father, the perfectly sane Licia agrees to be committed to the asylum. When the whole case finally blows over, Licia is allowed to return home but it is a changed young woman who returns to her family. Having been subjected to both shock treatment and various injections, it seems as if Licia’s time in the asylum has made her a little crazy for real and she starts plotting a diabolical revenge to get back on her father, her sister and her ex-boyfriend… 

Distribution-wise, PSYCHOUT FOR MURDER appears to have received rather limited release. It had a theatrical release in the US in 1971 and actually got a video release there as well in 1998 but this was apparently deleted within one year. Furthermore, the film is hardly ever brought up in discussion at all. Which is probably because it’s a real oddity. In spite of the English title, this is more of a psychological drama than an all-out thriller (the original Italian title, SALVARE LA FACCIA, actually means to ‘save face’, which is of course what Licia’s family tries to do by sending her away to the asylum). It still has a few disturbing sequences, though; starting with its very opening scene, which shows a clearly disturbed Licia in a hospital bed, being forcefully given an injection while she hallucinates about some creepy-looking, laughing weirdos observing at the foot of her bed – all illuminated by Mario Bava-style red and green lighting. All the scenes from the asylum are very brief but highly effective; consisting of a rapidly edited montage of various images of a blank-eyed, white-clad Licia surrounded by huge, white walls. 

Once the action relocates back to the outside world, however, there isn’t really too much disturbing or violent stuff going on as Licia exacts her revenge either by psychological torture to drive her victims crazy, or by using her body and behaving like an expert cock-teaser to achieve her goals. But all of this is really quite enjoyable to watch. There’s something fascinating about seeing Licia play out her unscrupulous plan; carefully plotting all kinds of little details with willful glee. 

Enjoyable for the most part, there are nevertheless some disrupting elements that occasionally bog the film down somewhat. Some of the dialogue scenes, for instance, are rather boring and irrelevant to the plot; having obviously been thrown in for padding. A bad rock music number is another unwelcome intrusion but the film’s chief flaw is that it’s at times a bit hard to fully sympathize with Licia. While we can certainly understand her reasons for seeking revenge, Licia sometimes still comes across like too much of a weirdo for us too easily identify with her. Her almost hysterical outbursts of laughter are also particularly annoying. She’s still an interesting character, though, and if annoying in certain scenes, this is made up for by other sequences in which one really feels for her. There is particularly one moment in which Licia – newly released from the asylum – meets several of her friends in town, and they all give her strange looks, point at her and whisper amongst themselves, or just plain ignore her. Set only to music and without any dialogue, this is a very simple yet surprisingly effective and heartfelt scene – ending with Licia tearfully running away from her former friends. 

Visually, this is a pretty impressive film – boasting some inventive cinematography combined with rapid, effective editing. The music by Benedetto Ghiglia features a catchy and unforgettable theme song called “Daddy, Daddy”, which is repeated numerous times throughout the film – both with and without vocals. While perhaps a bit over-used, it’s a great song that really fits the tone of the film and, once heard, it is never forgotten. You’ll be humming this one to yourself for days and weeks after seeing the film. 

Whereas most Italian sources list Rossano Brazzi as the sole director, the English-language print under review actually credits both Brazzi (under the pseudonym Edward Ross) as well as a certain Ted Neeland with the direction. As such, it’s difficult to say exactly what Neeland’s contribution consists of. Curiously, this English print also doesn’t list any writer’s credit but several sources indicate that the film was written by its producer Oscar Brazzi (Rossano’s brother) together with Mario Proietti and Diana Crispo. Other sources also list the great Renato Polselli, director of such mind-blowing films as DELIRIUM (1972) and THE REINCARNATION OF ISABEL (1973), as a co-writer. Which may well be correct as Polselli is at least listed as the production manager in the end credits. Furthermore, the film deals with insanity and sexual shenanigans amongst sleazy upper-class people, which is a recurring theme in most of Polselli’s films. There’s also a memorable uncredited performance by Polselli regular Marcello Bonini Olas as a cardinal. 

The small but interesting cast is made up of many familiar and popular actors of the time. Nino Castelnuovo appeared in Radley Metzger’s CAMILLE 2000 (1969) around the same time and does quite well here as the cynical, scumbag boyfriend. Castelnuovo would later repeat the role of the chauvinist prick boyfriend in Andrea Bianchi’s lurid trash-giallo STRIP NUDE FOR YOUR KILLER (1975). Paola Pitagora, a respected and popular actress whose other genre efforts include THE HASSLED HOOKER (1972) and REVOLVER (1973), does a nice job as the frosty and jealous sister, while Albert De Mendoza, memorable from a string of Sergio Martino gialli among other things, convinces as Pitagora’s husband, who falls for Licia’s seductive, prick-teasing act. Rossano Brazzi himself is also quite good as Licia’s materialist father – referred to only as “Daddy” – but he doesn’t really give himself all that much to do in front of the camera. 

All in all, though, the supporting cast deliver more or less low-key performances as this is really Adrienne LaRussa’s film. The New York-born actress of Italian descent is absolutely gorgeous to look at here! With her raven eyes and her long dark hair, LaRussa reminds one quite a bit of the great Barbara Steele. Her dark, mysterious beauty is used to great effect here as her character must use her looks and her body to achieve what she wants. The role of Licia is a challenging one that demands a lot of range from the actress, and LaRussa is able to go from naïve and carefree, to disturbed and tormented, to seductive revenge-seeker with great ease and conviction. Her brave and committed performance is nothing short of excellent and the actress really owns every scene she is in. Not long after, LaRussa would be cast as the title character in Lucio Fulci’s BEATRICE CENCI (1969), which remains one of her most celebrated roles. But in spite of her impressive acting talent and fantastic looks, she never did too much else in Italy. Instead she returned to America where she enjoyed a successful acting career but without ever really achieving much fame, except a regular role on the long-running daytime soap “Days of Our Lives” in the 1970s and supporting roles in notable projects like THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH (1976) and the mini series CENTENNIAL (1978). In 1984, she married action superstar Steven Seagal but the marriage ended in a bitter annulment as Seagal was still legally married to his first wife. It must be said that the idea of the hauntingly beautiful Beatrice Cenci herself in holy wedlock with goofball action hero Seagal really boggles the mind! 

PSYCHOUT FOR MURDER is probably too weird to appeal to a large audience but it has a special, quirky charm and is refreshingly different. Sure enough, some scenes drag a little but on the whole this is a satisfying and unfairly obscure film. Fans of Adrienne LaRussa definitely need to check this out! 

3.5/5 BITCH SLAPS

2008 @ Cinema Nocturna