The first Giallo, or so I've heard. Before the Giallo was the German Krimi films, also murder mysteries with a fair bit of comedy, I understand. Of course, the Giallo were based on the yellow murder mystery books on sale in Italy at the time, and before that was Agatha Christie, and so on and so forth. However, the Giallo Mario gives us is full of future clichés, but almost right away Bava starts messing with the genre! Oh, you, Bava.Nora arrives in Rome from New York and immediately starts having a really bad day. The guy hitting her on the plane was smuggling drugs, the Aunt she was visiting dies of a heart attack that night, and she gets mugged on the Spanish Steps. Not only that, but while reeling from a sore head after getting mugged, she thinks she sees a woman getting stabbed in the back by a fella! The only good thing that happened was that she met Marcello, a hunky young doctor played by John Saxon. Saxon's all out to help Nora get to the bottom of the mystery (there's no body and nobody believes her) but I think Marcello is just trying to get into her pants.Nora moves into an apartment next to the Spanish Steps and Bava clues us in right away that this is a bad move by sliding the camera towards a mysterious locked door before Nora even notices it, then a framed picture of the man Nora thought she spotted during the murder. Uh oh! Bava does this a lot during this film, and to be honest that's why I'm such a fan of his work. Every part of this film is beautifully constructed, from the scene were Nora is drawn to an apartment where the bare lightbulbs sway in the wind of an open window while an unseen voice talks and taunts Nora, to the use of shadows even in the most routine of scenes (like the printers, were a simple 'tracing a character' scene becomes a lovely display of shadows on fabric). The only thing that doesn't work out is some of the comedy, although it is funny that Saxon ends up with various injuries as the film carries on.My favourite scene is when Nora visits someone else investigating the murders, and from outside the apartment hears the hammering of a typewriter. After trying to get the person to open the door, she finds it open, and the camera pans across the room...to a disused typewriter...then to a tape recorder playing the sound of someone typing. I love it when Bava does this and he takes it to extremes in later films.This early Giallo was not successful, and it would take until the international success of Dario Argento's The Bird With The Crystal Plumage to launch the genre into overdrive. However, it does give me the chance to use the phrase Chiaroscuro and sound well wanky, for Bava use of the contrast between light and dark hints towards theory I have that these guy involved in Italian cinema aren't that far removed from the artists that populated Rome back in the days of Caravaggio.

The Girl Who Knew Too Much (1963)*** (out of 4)American Nora Davis (Leticia Roman) travels to Italy to see her aunt but right from the start things go bad. After waking up to a thunderstorm, Nora goes to check on her aunt and finds her dead. In search of some help, Nora runs outside where she is robbed but things take a worse turn when she witnesses a brutal murder. Soon people are trying to convince her that it was all in her mind but before long she thinks she might be the next victim.Mario Bava directed this thriller, which also goes by the name EVIL EYE. The traditional title is obviously a wink at the Alfred Hitchcock thriller and there's no question that Bava must have been a fan of the director because his trademark is all over this. What makes this film different is that Bava manages to bring his terrific vision to the screen as he takes the thriller element and mixes it perfectly with the mood of a film noir. THE GIRL WHO KNEW TOO MUCH is created as being the first giallo and it's a mighty impressive one.I think the best thing working for the film are the performances as well as Bava's style. The style can easily be seen in the terrific visuals but what's so impressive is Bava's use of shadows. A lot of the film takes place in the dark so the shadow use is very important and builds up a rather nice atmosphere and it also helps show the terror of Nora. Another major plus is the cinematography as we get some terrific shots throughout the picture. Roman makes for a terrific lead as she's flawless in her role.She certainly makes you believe the terror that the character is feeling but she also comes across as intelligent enough to uncover the secrets. John Saxon and Valentina Cortese are also extremely good in their roles. There are a few moments where the film drags but for the most part the story is good enough to keep you captivated throughout. Bava's style and the performances really make this film stand out, although the end result isn't as ground-breaking as the director's next giallo BLOOD AND BLACK LACE.

With The Girl Who Knew Too Much, director Mario Bava planted the seed that would evolve into the sub-genre known as the giallo. In fairness, it doesn't much resemble the films that would typify this genre in the 70's. Bava's next film Blood and Black Lace would truly be the definitive template film that would inform the giallo. But there is no doubting that some of the recurring motives and ideas of this most Italian film genre began here.As the title suggests, The Girl Who Knew Too Much is indebted to Alfred Hitchcock more than anything else. The idea of an innocent thrust into the middle of a deadly situation is one Hitchcock used many times. While the romantic sub-plot and moments of light comedy also recall his work. These latter two elements are mainly what mark out TGWKTM as a cross-over film, as they are certainly not features of giallo cinema as it would develop. But the light, comic approach is one of the things that make this one of the most playful and upbeat films that Mario Bava ever made. Unlike his three other gialli, this film actually has sympathetic characters. While it doesn't have the melodramatic tendencies that those ensemble movies had either. The approach is much more restrained, with a fairly simple amateur sleuth narrative being the framework. Completely different too is the black and white aesthetic. Bava is of course rightfully famous for his masterful use of colour but in this film he shows that his use of light and contrast is just as impressive. This is a very handsome looking movie. Letícia Román adds to this aesthetic too of course, seeing as she is a very beautiful woman. Visually, this is a terrific film. Story-wise, it's certainly less interesting. The fairly mechanical plot is sufficient enough in taking us from A to B but it isn't particularly memorable. But it does introduce some of the motives that would go on to form an important part of giallo cinema such as the convoluted mystery, the bizarre reasoning for murder and the importance of optical subjectivity as well as the focus on style over substance.The Girl Who Knew Too Much is a film that should be seen by fans of Mario Bava as well as dedicated students of all things giallo. It's a film that is as breezy and light as the genre ever got. It's a lovely and beautiful looking flick from a master film-maker.

Coming out in 1963, The Girl Who Knew Too Much is not as ground-breaking as other Mario Bava efforts but it's still every bit as stylish and suspenseful. The plot of the film, convoluted and filled with twists and red herrigns galore, anticipates the giallo cycle of the late 60's. Of course one year later the director would practically define the style with Blood and Black Lace, introducing other genre staples like the black-gloved killer, the garish colours and the gore but that doesn't detract from the ifluential status of this proto-giallo.As the title imples, The Girl Who Knew Too Much is with one foot firmly set in Hitchcock territory, but whereas Hitch films had a tendency of trying to be too many things at once (little bits of comedy, romance etc) something I always considered distracting, Bava allows nothing to come between him and his goal: a suspenseful horror thriller.The chiaroscuro photography is simply beautiful to look at, light and shadow play off each other in expressive ways, not unlike film-noir. Leticia Roman's face is at times only half-lit to stress her confusion, while in other set-pieces dark figures stand out against fully lit backgrounds. Bava is famous for being one of the best visual directors in the history of the medium for good reason. His black and white work is as good as his colour films.Minor quibbles I had with the film include that many scares turn out to be false, the first person narration (another film-noir influence) and the implied possibilities in the ending *was it all a dream?* Leticia Roman and John Saxon hit it off with great chemistry, the DP work is fantabulous, the opening 15-20 minutes leading up to the first murder are among the best 20 minutes in 60's horror and this an all around accomplished horror film that deserves every fan's attention.