Double Face
| Double Face | |
|---|---|
.jpg) German theatrical poster to Double Face (1969) | |
| Directed by | Riccardo Freda |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Story by |
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| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Gábor Pogány[1] |
| Edited by | |
| Music by | Nora Orlandi[1] |
Release dates |
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Running time | 80 minutes |
| Countries |
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| Budget | DM 1.3 million |
| Box office | ₤175.626 million |
Double Face (Italian: A doppia faccia, German: Das Gesicht im Dunkeln) is a 1969 thriller film directed by Riccardo Freda and starring Klaus Kinski.
Cast
- Klaus Kinski as John Alexander
- Christiane Krüger as Christine
- Günther Stoll as Inspector Stevens
- Annabella Incontrera as Liz
- Sydney Chaplin as Mr. Brown
- Barbara Nelli as Alice
- Margaret Lee as Helen Alexander
- Alice Arno as (hardcore inserts – French 1976 version)
- Carlo Marcolino as Servant
- Luciano Spadoni as Inspector Gordon
- Ignazio Dolce (uncredited)
- Bedy Moratti (uncredited)
- Gastone Pescucci as Peter (uncredited)
- Claudio Trionfi (uncredited)
- Alfred Vohrer as Edgar Wallace (voice: German version) (uncredited) (archive footage)
Production
During the later part of director Riccardo Freda's career, the director began attempting commercially viable genres.[2] Freda met with Italian producer Oreste Coltellacci who set up a deal with the German company Rialto who created several work in the German subgenre called the krimi.[2] The krimis were inspired by the works of Edgar Wallace and had been popular since Harald Reinl's film Der Frosch mit der Maske (1959)[2] In Germany, the film was promoted as being based on Das Gesicht im Dunkeln by Edgar Wallace.[2] This was done for commercial reasons as the script had nothing to do with the book.[2] The original story for the film was developed by Lucio Fulci, Romano Migliorini and Giambattista Mussetto.[2] The films screenplay is credited to Freda and Austrian-born Paul Hengge.[2] Fulci would claim in an interview in 1994 that he wrote the film for Freda.[2][3] Freda also disliked the film, stating that Freda had "completely crushed it down to a pulp; at that time, he just didn't care anymore."[3]
When casting the film, Freda met with Klaus Kinski in Rome where Kinski initially refused to be in the film not wanting to play another psychopathic character.[4] Freda convinced him to take the role after learning he would play the part of victim instead.[4]
Double Face was shot between January 20 and March 15 1969 in London, Liverpool and Rome.[1] Freda and Kinski did not get along on set, with Freda referring to him as "the crown Prince of Assholes"[4] and eventually shot proceeding shooting the film with a Kinski double he found on the set of a Federico Fellini film.[4] When Kinski found out about this, he put aside his differences and continued work on the film.[4]
Release
Double Face was released in West Germany on 4 July 1969 under the title of Das Gesicht im Dunkeln (lit. The Face in the Dark) with an 80 minute runtime.[1][5][6] It was distributed in West Germany by Constantin Film GmbH.[1] It was released theatrically in Italy as A doppia faccia on 26 July 1969 where it was distributed by Panta.[5][6] The film grossed 175,626,000 Italian lire domestically in Italy.[5][6]
It was released later in France as Liz et Helen (lit. 'Liz and Helen'), Puzzle of Horrors[7][8] and also as with more scenes with adult content involving actress Alice Arno as Chaleur et Jouissance (lit. 'Heat and Pleasure').[9]
References
Footnotes
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Das Gesicht im Dunkeln". Filmportal.de.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Curti 2017, p. 238.
- ^ a b Curti 2017, p. 239.
- ^ a b c d e Curti 2017, p. 240.
- ^ a b c Curti 2017, p. 325.
- ^ a b c Curti 2017, p. 326.
- ^ "Double Face". www.latarnia.com. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
- ^ "A Doppia Faccia (1969) - Riccardo Freda - Related - AllMovie". AllMovie. Retrieved 11 September 2017.
- ^ Lucas, Tim. Blood and Black Lace DVD, Image Entertainment, 2005. ASIN: B000BB1926
Sources
- Brizio-Skov, Flavia (2011). Popular Italian Cinema: Culture and Politics in a Postwar Society. I.B.Tauris. ISBN 1848855729.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Curti, Roberto (2017). Riccardo Freda: The Life and Works of a Born Filmmaker. McFarland. ISBN 1476628386.
{{cite book}}: Invalid|ref=harv(help) - Paul, Louis (2005). Italian Horror Film Directors. McFarland. ISBN 978-0-7864-8749-3.
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External links
- Double Face at IMDb
