Who Saw Her Die?

This visually striking ‘giallo’ from 1972 is more mysterious thriller than slasher and thus lends itself perfectly to its atmospheric setting, in this case Venice. Former Bond-actor George Lazenby and Anita Strindberg play a divorced couple who are brought together by the murder of their little daughter.

In a prelude sequence set in 1968 in a French ski resort, a young governess and a young girl (presumably her charge) can be seen frolicking about in the snow. We don’t know what they are saying as both converse in French and there seem to be no English subtitles for this particular scene. When the girl takes off riding on a sleigh, she ends up in a tiny forest and we (but not she) can spot the silhouette of a female figure dressed in Victorian/Edwardian garb, with matching shoes and her face veiled. The editing here is deliberately choppy and we only ever see parts of the figure. Stomping trough the snow, the girl is suddenly attacked from behind, with the strangely clad woman bashing her head in with a huge stone. Thankfully, we are spared the graphic details of this brutal killing and make a leap to the Venice of 1972.

Enter sculptor Franco Serpieri (a frightfully emaciated looking George Lazenby) who makes his way to the airport to welcome his little daughter Roberta (Nicoletta Elmi, a former child actress who appeared in numerous giallos). Separated from his wife Elizabeth (Anita Strindberg), it’s now his turn to look after Roberta for a while and Franco does so with great pleasure. Cue for some cosy domestic scenes with Franco and Roberta strolling along the canals of Venice, him keeping her entertained and introducing her to a ‘delicacy’ in his local trattoria (the delicacy in question being snails) and oh, did I hear him saying “Would you like more wine”? Later on, he and Roberta are sitting outside in a café together with his friends, one of them being a close journalist friend, Cuman (Piero Vida), who’s always dressed in a shabby white suit and wearing a woollen scarf. He also a chainsmoker. Typically for a bohemian father, Franco divides his time between looking after his daughter and his sculpting work and along the way we are introduced to his art dealer Serafian (Adolfo Celi), who appears to be ever so slightly on the shady side and turns out to be even shadier. His private secretary, Ginevra Storelli (Dominique Boschero), rumoured to have had an affair with Serafian, is secretly in love with a young man called Philip Vernon (Peter Chatel) and plans to leave with him. Is she afraid of Serafian, or what is the reason for her secrecy?

Days pass and Roberta quickly makes new friends among the children in the neighbourhood, many of them under the protective wing of Father James (Alessandro Haber). Things turn creepy whenever the children play in the street, because they, or Roberta as it turns out, are observed from afar by the same strange woman who killed the little girl four years earlier. Once again, we only see glimpses – accompanied by composer Ennio Morricone’s distinctive soundtrack reminiscent of children’s nursery rhymes. Henceforth, whenever we hear this melody (complete with a children’s choir) is signals danger. During one occasion, when Franco sees off his daughter before she meets her friends for a round of hopscotch, he reckons he’ll do her a favour by granting her some extra playtime. In reality though, he grants himself a favour because he meets with his lover Gabriella (Rosemarie Lindt) and together they walk to her apartment for some steamy sex. Meanwhile, after Roberta’s friends have all walked home, she stands around alone and it is then that the camera zooms in on her startled looking face. Hours later, Franco returns home and is surprised that his daughter isn’t at home – where could she be? Has he only noticed now that she is missing? What a lackadaisical daddy is he? The police are called (to little avail) and his buddy Cuman tries to reassure an increasingly worried Franco that everything will be ok and that Roberta will be found. She is found alright, although face down floating in a canal and presumably murdered. Riddled with guilt (and so he should be) over having neglected his daughter in favour for having sex with his girlfriend, Franco finds it understandably hard to break the devastating news to his wife Elizabeth, who arrives at the airport. Whether she is aware of his affair with Gabriella and the real reason as to why he had neglected Roberta, we don’t know. Devastated and gutted, the estranged couple try to reconcile their broken marriage but it is a reunion which is tested to the very limit. Enter Police Commissioner De Donato, who tries his best to find the killer, as does journalist Cuman, as does Franco, who has vowed to conduct his own investigations.

Neither have any idea that they have opened a hornets nest which will see more people getting killed in brutal ways. They also make the acquaintance to Bonaluti (José Quaglio), a bird collector and perverted lawyer among other things, who happens to be a close friend of art dealer Serafian and Philip Vernon. What is the connection and why did Ginevra, of all people, ask Bonaluti some time ago to conduct his own research into the killings of the little girls… The findings are shocking and smack of corruption in the highest places although ultimately, the conclusion leaves more than just a few questions unanswered.

Often compared with Nicolas Roeg’s ‘Don’t Look Now’, WHO SAW HER DIE? is suitably atmospheric although here, Venice doesn’t look anywhere near as spooky as it does in Roeg’s psychological chiller. Nonetheless, cinematographer Franco Di Giacomo perfectly managed to visually capture an increasing feel of unease by focusing on the labyrinthine layout of the city. It’s hard to judge Lazenby’s performance as for the English version, his voice was dubbed by an American actor whose voice did Lazenby no favours.

WHO SAW HER DIE? has just been released in a new 2K restoration on Blu-ray, with the following Bonus Material:
Interview of Director Aldo Lado - ‘Ring a Ring o’Rosie’
Interview of Producer Enzo Doria - ‘The Quest for Money’
Interview of writer Francesco Barilli - ‘To Live and Die in Venice’
Aldo Lado Q&A courtesy of the 'Abertoir International Horror Film Festival’
Original English soundtrack with additional English SDH
Alternative Italian audio track with new English subtitles