Short Night of Glass Dolls

I stepped away from Italian police movies and instead stepped back into giallo. A friend mentioned Short Night of Glass Dolls (1971) and the premise intrigued me.

I have talked about some giallo movies before. Films like Bird with the Crystal Plumage, Deep Red and Tenebre. All classics of the genre and quite enjoyable, so when I heard that Short Night of Glass Dolls is set in Prague in 1971 I was excited. Most giallo movies follow a fairly common pattern. They are set in Italy, there is a killer with black leather gloves, often some mild nudity and a varying amount of blood. Another trope that is quite common is that the protagonist is a foreigner, usually an American.

So hearing that Short Night of Glass Dolls was set in communist Czechoslovakia felt like a breath of fresh air. Something different. I sat down and gave it a go, here's the synopsis.

An American (told you) journalist in Prague is found dead and taken to the hospital. The doctors are puzzled by the fact that his body temperature is quite high even though all other life signs are flat. The journalist, Gregory Moore (Greg Sorel), is not dead and the movie is his attempts at remembering what happened to him through flashbacks.

His girlfriend (Barbra Bach) joined him in Prague but soon disappeared. Gregory was understandably desperate to find her and started an investigation with two colleagues, Jessica (Ingrid Thulin) and Jacques Versain (Mario Adorf).

That's as much as I'm willing to “spoil”. The investigation is intriguing and uncovers all sorts of things. The actors are good, and the atmosphere is good, creepy and foreboding. Oh, and the music is by Ennio Morricone.

The story jumps back and forth between what happened to Gregory and what is happening now that he is in hospital, trapped in his own body. The fact that the story is told in this format is interesting since we know something has happened to him, but we don't know what. Compared to a regular mystery this fact adds an extra level of suspense that is really fun.

The plot could unfortunately be used better. The disappeared girlfriend and the boyfriend hot on her trail is not exactly a new one, and at times the pace is a bit plodding. All the elements are there, but it could have benefited by some re-balancing. For example, the fact that it is set in a communist country really never comes up. Sure, there is police Kommisar Kierkoff, the man formally in charge of the investigation, who walks around in a black leather trench coat and spouts threats left and right, but that's all. They set the film in a country like Czechoslovakia and it ultimately matters very little, which is a shame.

There is also a strong possibility that Gregory is an unreliable narrator. This is a powerful trope when used right, but it is only hinted at. I get the feeling that the filmmakers were a bit undecided on what is actually going on in the story and intended to present several possibilities, but sadly they missed the mark, though not by much.

Overall, I had a good time with Short Night of Glass Dolls. It may seem as if I'm too critical, but that is only because a decent film is so close to being really good. I got vibes of True Detective from Short Night of Glass Dolls, and a short TV series could really take this story and run with it.

So do I recommend it? Yes, to giallo fans and mystery fans alike, this should be an enjoyable watch. For everyone else, perhaps give it a pass.

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great and safe week!