The name Maurizio Pradeaux probably won't ever be written in the annals of cinematic history, but he will at least be remembered by the true lovers of Italian gialli for his two contributions "Death Steps in the Dark" and "Death Carries a Cane". The former was released in 1977, already after the heyday of the gialli, and tries to be successful through mixing the whodunit-mystery plot with slapstick elements. The latter is from the absolute peak-year 1973 and is an exemplary giallo from every possible viewpoint! The plot, the disguise and modus operandi of the killer, the red herrings, the gratuitous nudity … it's all prototypic and by-the-numbers giallo material. But personally I couldn't care less. Quite the contrary, in fact, I tremendously enjoyed "Death Carries a Cane" although – admittedly – the plot twists are slightly too transparent and I would have preferred an even higher body count. Whilst waiting for her lover, photographer Kitty looks through a tourist telescope and witnesses the brutal murder of a pretty girl by a maniac dressed in black. Nobody believes her, of course, and it takes quite a while before the police find the body. It even takes so long that the killer also has the time to eliminate two other witnesses, namely a chestnut vendor (no, it's not Tom Savini) and a greedy cleaning lady. Eventually another pretty ballerina gets killed and the police are on the lookout for a crippled killer, because they found the print of a cane in the blood. Kitty's lover Alberto is the prime suspect, because he's an artist who stabs mannequin dolls for pleasure and he just happened to hurt his ankle. It's actually rather easy to guess who the killer is, and I don't quite know if this is because I've seen far too many gialli, or because the plot is really predictable. I suppose option number two… Still, you have to watch this film for it's hilarious politically incorrect dialogs ("Take a look at my girlfriend's pictures, it's the only thing she does well aside from making love…"), the bloody razor blade massacres and the nudity provided by one-hit-wonder Anuska Borova!

I have to admit that Italian films never cease to surprise me almost every time. I didn't expect much of this movie and i wasn't disappointed at all. It's just a crazy Italian movie with a few intense scenes that'd work even today.Argento influence is certainly there and this isn't far from being a cult classic. Its plot just isn't solid enough and there are just too many scenes that make no sense at all. Even with all the flaws this movie is still fun to watch.I had no idea who the bad guy was before the finale because everyone seemed to have a cane at some occasion throughout the film.

Released during the height of Giallo's popularity, Death Carries a Cane is a sadly lackadaisical film. It seems as though everyone involved couldn't really be bothered, with the sole intention of creating another popular film on the mind of the director and scriptwriters. The acting is mundane, the plot is highly derivative, the scene settings are very bare and the character's motivations range from unlikely to completely ridiculous, and more often than not are an obvious attempt at furthering the plot. The film seems to be taking Dario Argento's masterpiece 'The Bird With the Crystal Plumage' as its main inspiration, as the plot centres on someone who witnesses part of a murder and endeavours to solve the case. The plot follows Kitty; a young woman that, while looking through an observation point, spies a murder happening in a house across the street. After doubting her story, the police do nothing; but then the murders continue, and Kitty's boyfriend ends up noticing that all of the murder victims were a part of a ballet group.Stylish murders are an important part of the Giallo, so it's lucky that director Maurizio Pradeaux decided to do a good job with this area of the film. The murders are rather tame compared to other genre films, but the director makes them stylish, and shots of things such as the killer hiding under a bed or on the backseat of a car are good, and the cane/razor blade murder weapon combo features well. The film benefits from a strong Giallo cast, including most notably; Luciano Ercoli's spouse, Susan Scott. Scott is largely wasted, however, as her role doesn't allow her strong screen-presence to shine through and she left only with the task of providing some nice nude shots. She is joined by her Ercoli Giallo co-star Simón Andreu as well as prolific Italian horror star, Robert Hoffman. The plot doesn't flow too well, as the murders are the only standout parts of the film, and much of the build up/aftermath to them isn't interesting, especially as the police investigation is mostly lacklustre and redundant. Overall, Death Carries a Cane isn't a particularly bad Giallo; but it's not a very good one either, and Giallo fans can feel free to skip it.

Ketty,a photographer living in Rome,accidentally witnesses the murder of a young woman at the hands of a razor-wielding black-gloved killer.Ketty and her fiance,Alberto,go to the police-only to learn that two other witnesses to the crime have been slashed to death.Ketty fears that she will be the next victim when her ballerina friend Magda is brutally killed by the same elusive culprit.The police are baffled,unable to find a motive.It is Alberto who discovers the connection:all the murdered girls were dancers.Investigating further,Ketty finds a photo identifying the killer.But before she can warn Alberto,Ketty is trapped in a lonely greenhouse,stalked by the vicious madman!"Tormentor" is a pretty stylish Italian giallo that features plenty of graphic violence and nudity.The film is quite suspenseful and there are some bloody razor slashings.So if you're a fan of Italian giallos give it a look.8 out of 10.