La bambola di Satana

La bambola di Satana (lit. Satan's Doll') is a 1969 Italian gothic horror film written and directed by Ferruccio Casapinta.[2]

Not to be confused with the 1980s film La Bimba di Satana.
La bambola di Satana
Italian film poster
Directed byFerruccio Casapinta[1]
Screenplay by
Story byFerruccio Casapinta[1]
Starring
  • Erna Schürer
  • Roland Carey
  • Aurora Batista
  • Ettore Ribotta
  • Lucia Bomez
Music byFranco Potenza[1]
CinematographyFrancesco Attenni[1]
Edited byFranco Attenni[1]
Production
companies
Cinediorama[1]
Distributed byParis Etoile
Release date
  • June 12, 1969 (1969-06-12) (Italy)
Running time
90 minutes[1]
CountryItaly[1]
Box office₤118 million

Plot

When her uncle dies, Elizabeth goes back to her family's castle to hear the reading of his will. Her boyfriend, Jack, suspects there is a plot afoot to steal Elizabeth's inheritance and keeps a close eye on her. She learns the castle is said to be haunted, and her relatives try to get her to sell it cheaply, but she hesitates. Later, she's kidnapped and brought to a dungeon where Elizabeth is tortured by a hooded figure.

Cast
  • Erna Schurer (as Elizabeth)
  • Roland Carey (as Jack)
  • Aurora Battista
  • Ettore Ribotta
  • Manlio Salvatori
  • Franco Daddi
  • Lucie Bomez
  • Beverly Fuller
  • Eugenio Galadini
  • Giorgio Gennari
  • Domenico Ravenna[2]

Production

La bambola di Satana was Ferruccio Casapinta only film where he was credited as a director.[1] Emma Costantino described the production as a "troubled shoot", stating that Ferruccio Casapinta's assistant director was the person who "did everything on set" and that Casapinta "was an idiot who couldn't do anything."[3]

La bambola di Satana was filmed at Castle Borghese in Pomezia, Pratica di Mare and in Abruzzo.[1][4]

Release

La bambola di Satana was released in Italy on June 12, 1969 where it was distributed by Cinediorama.[1] It grossed a total of 118,009,000 Italian lire on its theatrical release.[1] The film was never dubbed into English and did not receive a theatrical release in the United States.[2]

Critical reception

Roberto Curti, author of Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957–1969 stated that Ferruccio Casapinta "shows no directorial flair at all."[5] and that for a gothic film, it "looks awful."[5] The review noted that editing was poor, with night and day shots alternating within the same scene and that the special effects were terrible noting the thunderstorms and pink clouds that surround the castle.[5] Curti concluded that the film was an "obscure— and deservedly so— addition to the Gothic genre"[1] Louis Paul, author of Italian Horror Film Directors stated that the film is"certainly rooted within the classic gothic atmosphere of early Italian horrors, but the addition of considerable nudity and a black-gloved killer clearly places La bambola at the cusp of the new age. It is an indication of the changing aspects of the Italian horror film to come."[6][7] AllMovie gave the film a three and a half star out of five rating, finding that the film "benefits from a slicker look and a better sense of humor." and that "It all seems a bit overwrought, but fans of Italian horror don't come to it for subtlety. Indeed, the nearly operatic histrionics on display are immensely enjoyable, for their camp value if nothing else."[8]

Home media

In 2016, Twilight Time released the film for the first time on Blu-ray.[9]

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See also

Footnotes
  1. Curti 2015, p. 192.
  2. Luther-Smith 1999, p. 3.
  3. Pulici, Davide (June 2007). "Le sorelle di Venere 2,". Nocturno Dossier (in Italian). Vol. 59. p. 32.
  4. Curti 2015, p. 194.
  5. Curti 2015, p. 193.
  6. Paul 2005, p. 24.
  7. Paul 2005, p. 25.
  8. Firsching, Robert. "La Bambola di Satana". AllMovie. Retrieved January 19, 2016.
  9. Galbraith, Stuart IV (March 13, 2016). "La bambola di Satana (Satan's Doll) (Blu-ray)". DVD Talk. Archived from the original on May 13, 2020.

References
  • Curti, Roberto (2015). Italian Gothic Horror Films, 1957–1969. McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-1989-7.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Luther-Smith, Adrian (1999). Blood and Black Lace: The Definitive Guide to Italian Sex and Horror Movies. Stray Cat Publishing Ltd. ISBN 0-9533261-1-X.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Paul, Louis (2005). Italian Horror Film Directors. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-8749-3.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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