LIBIDO

Giancarlo Giannini in his screen debut

LIBIDO (1965). Directed by Julian Berry Storff (Ernesto Gastaldi and Vittorio Salerno). 

As a young boy, Christian came across a mirrored room where his father brutalized and murdered women. Now an adult, Christian (Giancarlo Giannini of Black Belly of the Tarantula) returns to his father's beautiful mansion  after the man's death with his wife, Helene (Dominique Boschero), estate trustee Paul (Luciano Pigozzi), and Paul's dizzy blond wife, Brigitte (Mara Maryl). Christian has three months before he will come into complete control of his father's assets, but for now Paul is in charge. Christian is terribly afraid that he has inherited his father's malevolent tendencies, or that one or more of the others are conspiring against him. He also is afraid that his father may still be alive ... 

Dominique Boschero and Mara Maryl

With a wonderful location and some interesting actors -- Giannini in his first picture (in the lead role no less) is especially compelling -- Libido should have emerged a memorable picture but despite a (not entirely unexpected) final twist, it is a real disappointment. The movie is too slow to be suspenseful and we're kept in the dark about much of the back story. On the plus side it has to be said that the movie is unpredictable and the dubbing job is first-class. With his excellent performance in this, it is no surprise that Giannini eventually became an internationally famous actor.

Verdict: Any movie that begins with a quote from Sigmund Freud can't be all bad -- or that good! **1/4.