The movie starts out with the murder of a young girl, which straight away I found rather unsettling and then fast forward a few years later and we meet George Lazenby who lives in Venice and also has a young daughter and what becomes even more unsettling his daughter becomes the next victim, which becomes heartbreaking as firstly we get to know the little girl and sees her bonding with her father and then the rest of the movie focus's on the father trying to solve the mystery as the police are absolutely clueless.Okay the storyline isn't to everyone's taste, and if you keep watching as the movie goes on it is rather good, and of course we get array of quirky characters and suspects in the usual giallo style and watch as the numbers dwindle down and this movie does a good job of keeping you guessing all the way through to the end, with twists and turns at almost every corner.The Venice setting is a nice touch and rather beautiful and yet at the same time rather sinister and the wonderfully staged murder set pieces. Plus the performances are decent as well, George Lazenby gives a decent performance and a character to root for and Anita Strindberg as his wife was also strong and Nicoletta Elmi is a real highlight as the doomed daughter.All in all a decent movie but does have a few small flaws like the countless red herrings, but with it's moody atomoshere, Who Saw Her Die is still a decent addition to the giallo genre.

To my shame, I've yet to see Nicholas Roeg's celebrated 1973 classic Don't Look Now, which by all accounts was heavily influenced, both thematically and stylistically, by this lesser giallo by Aldo Lado (The Night Train Murders, Short Night of the Glass Dolls). I can only hope that Roeg's film doesn't prove equally as disappointing...Boasting decent cinematography, a brutal veiled killer who thinks nothing of killing kids, and a haunting Ennio Morricone score, Lado's film possesses an undeniably unsettling atmosphere, but still manages to be a frustratingly weak affair overall, a dreary, unmemorable murder mystery so baffling that it really isn't worth the effort trying to follow.After several relatively tame murders that slowly whittle down the list of suspects, and scene upon scene of hippy-haired, mustachioed artist Franco (George Lazenby) running around Venice following a trail of clues, we finally find out who the killer is and what their silly motive is. Be prepared to be seriously under-whelmed and quite possibly still very confused.

Another film that uses Venice as a kind of infernal labyrinth of desolation and grief, pre-dating Nicholas Roeg's celebrated supernatural thriller Don't Look Now (1973), while simultaneously capturing the melancholy spirit of Visconti's near-iconic adaptation of Tomas Mann's Death in Venice (1971). Although somewhat rough around the edges, Aldo Lado's Who Saw Her Die? (1972) is nonetheless one of the more credible Giallo films of the post-Argento landscape; capturing that similar air of pervasive mystery, intrigue and suspense, alongside an evocative depiction of a Venice out of season - here used to convey the lost, hopeless confusion of the central character, as he attempts to find his daughter's murderer in this never-ending maze of wandering streets and endless canals - all the while offering a myriad of dark corners and empty, dilapidated storefronts for the killer (or killers) to lurk.With this in mind, the title becomes a self-reflexive comment on both the narrative and the voyeuristic nature of the thriller genre itself; as George Lazenby's character Franco poses the question, "who saw her die?", to which the answer is obviously us (the viewer). We may not have sees the killing itself, or indeed, the moment of death, however, as a collective audience, we are undoubtedly in a greater position of information than Franco, having literally witnessed the scene unfold through the eyes of the killer until the moment of capture, making us somewhat implicit within the eventual tragedy. "Who saw her die?" It is also important in stressing the significance of the investigation within the Giallo film genre, more so than the actual resolution. It has often be said about Argento's work, particularly a film like Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1971) or his masterpiece Deep Red (1975), that the process of elimination, both in the sense of eliminating the potential suspects, as well as the supporting cast, is more enjoyable than the actual pay off."Who saw her die?" Not a confession, not an admission of guilt, nor a plea for the killer to come forward, but an urging for witnesses; someone who knows something (anything). "Who saw her die?" The implication of the title is used by the filmmaker throughout to establish this world in which the various characters seem to know more than they initially let on; continuing that idea of claustrophobia, of the world closing in on these characters as the net of information grows ever tighter. Again, "who saw her die?" The opening scene offers some information, with a chilling sequence taking place at a mountain resort near the French Alps, where a young girl, breaking away from her beleaguered nanny, is beaten and subsequently buried beneath a drift of snow; the entire sequence shot from the perspective of the killer, whose black veil covers the camera, obscuring the image and again, hinting at that same titular question.Once the story cuts ahead, picking up with Franco and his visiting daughter and the eventual reconciliation between separated husband and wife, reunited through tragedy, we get the formation of the typical Giallo set-up, wherein the amateur sleuth - who may or may not know more than they initially realise - begins a process of investigation. The resulting story offers a number of interesting twists and turns, including the spirit of corruption, blackmail, revenge and other unsavoury character traits, as that feeling of desolation and claustrophobia is expressed visually, with Lado using a series of eye-catching if unconventional locations, jarring camera angles and the fantastic score from Ennio Morricone to bolster the dramatic tension. The film is also notable for introducing a more human element to the story, implicating Franco's negligence as a father as a significant factor in his daughter's disappearance and eventual murder, as well as focusing on the emotional distance between the husband and wife/father and mother, who are brought together again through an act of cathartic lovemaking, in which - again, pre-dating the aforementioned Don't Look Now - with the reconciliation expressed physically, without words.Obviously we have the usual exploitation film shortcomings in abundance - including the post-synchronised sound, the sometimes obvious prosthetic effects, the uncomfortable misogyny, etc - but all of these factors are nicely balanced by the mannered central performances from Lazenby and his leading lady Anita Strindberg, the deft storytelling and subtle thematic complexities of the script, and the skillful direction from Aldo Lado; a vast improvement over the only other film of his that I have so far seen, the sleazy, post-Last House on the Left (1972) exploitation piece, The Night Train Murders (1975). Who Saw Her Die? is a competent and often engaging thriller that makes great use of its Gothic, highly depressing locations, the obvious pulling factor of the central mystery and the always alluring sense of audience participation that the Giallo genre seems to inspire.

In Venice Franco (George Lazenby!) is visited by his young daughter. She disappears and is found brutally murdered. His estranged wife Elizabeth (Anita Strindberg) comes to comfort him and help find the murderer. But Franco finds out things are complicated and soon the murderer is after him and his friends.There's a LOT of problems with this. For starters Lazenby looks terrible. He's far too thin (the scenes of him with his shirt off are actually pretty horrifying) and he has long hair and an ugly moustache. The dubbing is lousy--even Lazenby is dubbed! The story ceases to make sense more than once. There are far too many characters to keep track of and the final resolution really doesn't make sense. Also the POV shots of the killer stalking people are cool at first...but then they're happening nonstop and quickly get tiresome. Still this has some things going for it.Before the plot goes barreling out of control it's actually kind of interesting. All the characters and situations keep your attention. The location shooting in Venice is just great--their are some incredibly beautiful visuals here. It has its share of spooky sequences (one with Elizabeth alone in Franco's apartment actually got to me) and some cool bloody murders. Also Ennio Morricone's score is incredible--kept reminding me of "Deep Red" and "Suspiria".So, it's not a good film but has its moments. Director Aldo Lsdo did much better with "Short Night of the Glass Dolls". Giallo fans might want to take a look.