The Case of the Scorpion's Tail

1971
6.7| 1h36m| en| More Info
Released: 16 August 1971 Released
Producted By: Copercines
Country: Spain
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website:
Synopsis

After her husband dies in a freak plane accident, a woman leaves London for Athens to collect his generous life insurance policy. She soon discovers that others besides herself are keen to get their hands on the money - and are willing to kill for it. Meanwhile, a private investigator arrives to investigate irregularities in the claim, teaming up with a beautiful reporter.

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Reviews

Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.
Jeanskynebu the audience applauded
Lucybespro It is a performances centric movie
Geraldine The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.
BA_Harrison Lisa Baumer (Ida Galli) collects on her husband's life insurance—a cool $1m—after he is blown to smithereens in an air disaster. Several people suspect Lisa of foul play, including a junkie ex-lover who resorts to blackmail, her husband's mistress Lara (Janine Reynaud), who also feels entitled to some of the money, and insurance investigator Peter Lynch (George Hilton). But when Lisa is murdered after cashing her check, and the money goes missing, the case becomes much more complicated…Sergio Martino's The Case of the Scorpion's Tail might not be the most innovative of giallos, but it does meet many fans' expectations of the genre, making it a very enjoyable way to waste some time.An animal in the title: the insect of the title refers to the Scorpion-shaped cuff-link discovered at the scene of an attempted murder.A convoluted plot: this one's got twists and turns aplenty, making it a thoroughly engrossing mystery from start to finish A character struggling to recall a vital clue: Peter Linch is convinced that he knows something that will help to solve the case.Red herrings: there are lots of these, but to tell you about them would be to spoil the film.Exotic locations: the film opens in London, but the action soon moves to sun-kissed Athens.Stylish cinematography and lighting: Martino employs some crazy camera angles to help spice up proceedings, and lights certain scenes with vivid colour.Sexy women in peril: there are several Euro-babes in this giallo, a couple of whom meet very nasty fates. Anita Strindberg as French photojournalist Cléo Dupont, Peter's love interest, provides the obligatory T&A, happily showing off her '70s silicone implants.Creepy dolls/freaky paintings: it has absolutely nothing at all to do with the story, but there is a scene featuring several dolls with missing eyes and limbs, and a portrait of a man with bug-eyes.Gruesome murders: Martino ensures that gore-hounds are kept happy with two bloody throat slashings, a nasty knife in the abdomen, an even nastier broken bottle in the eye, and a victim having the back of their hands slashed with a switchblade before falling from a height to their death.A leather-gloved killer: goes without saying.Blatant product placement: fancy a glass of J&B Scotch? You might do after watching this film.Cops who figure out the truth in the nick of time: the law waits till the very last moment before arriving on the scene to save the heroine.In fact, all that's missing is a haunting lullaby/nursery rhyme.7.5/10, happily rounded up to 8 for IMDb.
ma-cortes ¨The Case of the Scorpion's Tail¨ begins with the mysterious death of a billionaire when a plane explodes and spirals into the killing ; as the newspapers publicize : ¨Air disaster , nor survivors¨ . As his suddenly rich wife (Evelyn Stewart or Ida Galli) because he's insured for one million of dollars . Being the unfaithful spouse the beneficiary as the insurance agency arranges to pay . It draws the attention of various sleuths to sniff out suspects . A dogged and top investigator named Peter Lynch (George Hilton) , a Greek police (Luigi Pistilli), a Interpol agent ( Alberto De Mendoza ) and a journalist ( Anita Strindberg) , follow a wake of blood to the bitter final . Meanwhile Peter Lynch becomes companion and protector the widow .Sergio Martino's great success is compellingly directed with well staged murders plenty of startling visual content , though was submitted to limited censorship in Spain . This is a customary slasher where the intrigue, tension, suspense appear threatening and lurking in every room , corridors and luxurious interior and exterior . The picture packs atmospheric blending of eerie thrills and creepy chills combined with a twisted finale . It displays lots of guts and blood but it seems pretty mild compared to today's gore feasts . It's a solid movie , a thrilling story plenty of suspense and intrigue in which the victims seem to be continuous . The staged killings are the high points of the movie , they deliver the goods plenty of screams, shocks and tension . The intriguing moments are compactly made and fast moving ; as the film itself takes place from various points of sights . It packs tension, shocks , thrills, chills and lots of blood . There's plenty of moments of gore and a number of scenes that are quite thrilling , resulting to be definitely the spotlight of the film the surprising ending situation . Lousy special effects when the plane explodes , it's in made in ridiculous scale model that lookalike a little toy . Written by the usuals , Ernesto Gastaldi and Eduardo Manzanos Brochero ( also producer with his Production Company called Copercines , as he produced several Gialli and Western as ¨Apocalypse Joe , Danger Pass , Winchester one among thousand , Arrival Sartana , Djanjo the condemned ¨) . Good ambiance design and acceptable production design by Cubero and Galicia , both of whom created lots of sets in several Western filmed in the 60s and 70s . Sergio Martino's so-so direction is well crafted, here he's less cynical and more inclined toward violence and lots of killings . It's a co-production Italian- Spanish , for that reason appears Spanish actors as Luis Barboo , Alberto De Mendoza , Janine Reynaud and Italian players as Luigi Pistilli and Ida Galli , among others . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Emilio Foriscot who photographed splendidly Londres , Madrid , Rome and Greece where is developed the action . However , the photography is washed-out and for that reason is necessary an urgent remastering . Very good and suspenseful score by Bruno Nicolai , known disciple of Ennio Morricone and his director of orchestra . The picture is professionally directed by the prolific filmmaker Sergio Martino . Talented and versatile writer/director Sergio Martino has made a vast array of often solid and entertaining films in all kind of genres as horror, Giallo , comedy, Western, and science fiction in a career that spans over 40 years . He especially was expert on Western as proved in ¨Mannaja¨ and ¨Arizona returns¨ and Giallo as this ¨The case of scorpion's tail ¨ , ¨Torso¨ ,¨the scorpion with two tails¨ and of course ¨The strange vice of Mrs Ward¨. Rating: Acceptable and passable , this is one more imaginative slasher pictures in which the camera stalks in sinister style throughout a story with magnificent visual skills. This is a bewildering story , funny in some moment but falls flat and it will appeal to hardcore Gialli fans
Coventry I'm really tempted to reward "The Case of the Scorpion's Tail" with a solid 10 out of 10 rating, but that would largely be because I think Italian horror cinema of the 1970's is SO much better than the cheesy crap I usually watch. But even without an extra point for nostalgia, this is STILL a genuine masterwork and earning a high rating for its excellently convoluted story, uncanny atmosphere, blood-soaked killing sequences and superb casting choices. In my humble opinion this is actually Sergio Martino's finest giallo, and that has got to mean something, as "The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh", "All the Colors of the Dark", "Torso" and "Your Vice is a Locked Room and only I have the Key" are all top-notch genre achievements as well. But this film is just a tad bit superior with its ultra-compelling plot revolving on an insurance fraud gone madly out of control. Following her husband's peculiar death in a plane explosion (!), Lisa Baumer promptly becomes the suspicious owner of one million dollars and she's eager to leave the country as soon as possible. Due to the bizarre circumstances, the insurance company puts their best investigator Peter Lynch on the case and he follows her to Greece. There, Lisa becomes the target of many assaults and the case's mysteriousness increases when it turns out several people are hunting for the money. I'm always overly anxious when briefly summarizing gialli because I don't want to risk giving away essential plot elements. In "The Case of the Scorpion's Tail", the events take an abrupt and totally unexpected turn before the story is even halfway, and I certainly don't want to ruin this for you. Many red herrings follow after that, but Sergio Martino always succeeds to stay one step ahead of you and, even though not a 100% satisfying, the denouement is at least surprising. It's also a very stylish film, with imaginative camera-work and excellent music by Bruno Nicolai. Everyone' s favorite giallo muse Edwige Fenech oddly didn't make it to this cast (she stars in no less than 3 other supreme Martino gialli), but Anita Strindberg ("Lizard in a Woman's Skin", "Who Saw Her Die?") is a more than worthy replacement for her. The charismatic and hunky George Hilton is reliable as always in his role of insurance investigator and – duh – ladies' man deluxe. If you're a fan of giallo, don't wait as long as I did to WATCH THIS FILM!!!!
splattaflix La Coda Dello Scorpione (a.k.a. Case of the Scorpion's Tail) was director Sergio Martino's follow-up to the wonderful giallo Strano vizio della Signora Wardh. This is the quintessential giallo, featuring all the aspects fans of the genre have come to know and love. Twisty plot, beautiful girls, black gloves, sharp blades, and a bit of gore all come together to make one heck of a piece of Italian exploitation.A group of gialli favorites, both in front of and behind the camera, work to make this one of the best non-Argento gialli around. There's the aforementioned Martino adding his touches as director, giallo great Ernesto Gastaldi as the writer, Bruno Nicolai creating the music, and a host of giallo stars and starlets, such as George Hilton, character actor Luigi Pistilli, and the fetching Anita Strindberg.With all this talent behind it, does Scorpione deliver? You bet. The film works on many different levels. It's a thrilling murder mystery, a tense and violent horror film, and a suspenseful thriller. All in all one of the best gialli around.Martino definitely knows what fans want when it comes to gialli. At some points in the film, he almost seems to be channeling Argento in his approach. For example, there is a direct rip-off of the scene in Bird With the Crystal Plumage where the killer tries to break through the door, that actually outdoes Argento's flick.Are there any problems with the flick? Hmmm... only minor ones. First, any scenes that aren't following the murders or the budding romance between the two leads begin to bore. But just before you fall asleep, the killer will pop out of nowhere and you'll be right back in the swing of things.Also, towards the end, the twists get a little too bizarre. I mean, what purpose did the scorpion pins really serve? If you don't play close attention to the dialogue, you could easily become lost with the twisting, weaving storyline.But these minor quibbles aside, La Coda Dello Scorpione is a tense, suspenseful, classy and all around entertaining film for giallo fans. Seek it out!