Blood and Black Lace

"A Fashion House of Models… Becomes a Terror House of Blood!"

1964 1h 28m IT

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 488

CrimeHorrorMystery

Synopsis

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Isabella, a young model, is murdered by a mysterious masked figure at a fashion house in Rome. When her diary, which details the house employees' many vices, disappears, the masked killer begins killing off all the models in and around the house to find it.

“A Fashion House of Models… Becomes a Terror House of Blood!”

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Cast

Cameron Mitchell
Massimo Morlacchi
Eva Bartok
Contessa Cristiana Cuomo
Thomas Reiner
Inspector Silvestri
Ariana Gorini
Nicole
Dante DiPaolo
Franco Scalo
Mary Arden
Peggy Peyton
Franco Ressel
Marchese Riccardo Morelli
Claude Dantes
Tao-Li

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Mario Bava
Writers: Giuseppe Barilla, Mario Bava, Marcello Fondato
Languages: Italian
Countries: Germany, France, Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

88 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

62 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 3 countries: Germany, France, Italy.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Mario Bava, shot by Ubaldo Terzano. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Carlo Rustichelli. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor Mario Serandrei shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Cameron Mitchell and Eva Bartok and Thomas Reiner carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "A Fashion House of Models… Becomes a Terror House of Blood!".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Mario Bava directs. Ubaldo Terzano behind the camera. Carlo Rustichelli scores. Mario Serandrei cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Germany, France, Italy. Dialogue in Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

188 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
262 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3International production across 3 countries: Germany, France, Italy.
4Directed by Mario Bava, shot by Ubaldo Terzano. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Carlo Rustichelli. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Mario Serandrei shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Cameron Mitchell and Eva Bartok and Thomas Reiner carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "A Fashion House of Models… Becomes a Terror House of Blood!".
9IMDB entry: tt0058567 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Released under 25 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography: Ubaldo Terzano
Original score: Carlo Rustichelli
Editing: Mario Serandrei
Costume design: Tina Grani
Makeup / hair: Marisa Laganga
Runtime: 88 min · 1h 28m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: IT
Certification (US): NR
IMDB: Blood and Black Lace (1964)

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Mario Bava

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Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-07-06
★ 7/10
When the glamorous model "Isabella" is found murdered, "Insp. Silvestri" (Thomas Reiner) is drafted in to investigate. Pretty quickly he discovers, as do we, that she kept a diary and it now becomes distinctly dangerous for anyone who has handled this book as the masked killer seems hell bent on retrieving it. There are suspects a-plenty for the killings, and an intriguing sub-lot between a penniless Marquis (Franco Ressel) being blackmailed for an alibi by the boyfriend of one of the deceased, makes the main plot a little more puzzling too. It packs quite a lot into ninety minutes and the story is peppered with red herrings but not in an Agatha Christie fashion. They are more plausible, the characterisations malevolent, duplicitous and back-stabbing and for much of this, we really have no idea who is committing these heinous crimes, nor why. The score is left in the reliable hands of Carlo Rustichelli and though the dialogue isn't that bad, it is this that works well to create a sense of menace - and mischief, as the investigation reaches it's denouement. Tangentially, it takes a swipe or two at the rather insincere worlds of modelling and fashion in general, and is easily as good as the best horror thrillers to emanate from Hammer. Despite the whole thing having something of an episode of "Columbo" to it, it's still worth a watch.

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