Vice Wears Black
Hose
Italy
1975. Director: Tano Cimarosa
Cast: John Richardson, Dagmar Lassander, Ninetto Davoli
Aka: Il Vizio ha le Calze Nero, Reflections In Black
You've
seen all the plots, all the premises and all the variations of the black
leather-clothed killer and you've seen Edwige Fenech nude from all the
angles there are (and some there aren't). You're pining for something new, something fresh or
something different to turn up. A forgotten treasure,
a lost classic just waiting for rediscovery and reappraisal. But let's
forget all about that for now, Vice Wears Black Hose is none
of it.
Daniela Giordano opens the door and has her face turned into tomato juice by a killer dressed in black hose and leather. An old police arrives on a bicycle but his gun jams so the killer can escape. "Only a crazy nut could have done this" says inspectors Lavina and Panto and are confused over a found photography because all of the women on it are found dead one after another. All clues eventually lead them to Giacomo Rossi-Stuart who is a little bitter about the fact that his red-headed wife Dagmar Lassander prefers female flesh instead of his. As it turns out, the wife is also a photographer of nude models and also has a curly-haired son with a sharp razor.
Only a crazy nut could have done this indeed. Why would funny actor Tano Cimarosa (L'Uomo delle Stelle) want to announce his directing debut with a tired and half-hearted waste of celluloid such as this? It has no ambition, no style, no sense. It has a great title, a captivating Dagmar Lassander (our favorite from Mario Bava's Hatchet For the Honeymoon), and it may not be the wimpiest giallo thriller I've seen (though right now I can't remember anyone else up for the honor), but that's about the best things to say about it. John Richardson (Black Sunday) look like he just want to go home and eat a sandwich while Cimarosa himself as Inspector Panto wears the kind of too small hat that only comes with a moustache. If you are looking for that forgotten and undiscovered giallo gem, look somewhere else. There is a reason why Vice Wears Black Hose isn't on anyone's top-10. There's really nothing more here than a handful of uninspired killings mixed with scenes of the two police inspectors interrogating witnesses. Cimarosa's next movie Death Hunt wasn't too impressive either but at least it had Al Cliver riding on the roof of a car.
© The Inzomniac's Movie Madness Review.