The Suspicious Death of a Minor

This week I watched an Italian movie and I can't decide which genre it is:

The Suspicious Death of a Minor (1975).

Directed by Sergio Martino, whose name is familiar here on Eccentric Spheres and starring a good chunk of Italian actors across the Giallo and Poliziotteschi catalogue. The main character Paolo Germi is played by Claudio Cassinelli who hasn't appeared here yet.

Right off the bat I want to give a mild spoiler warning. If you look up this movie on IMDB or Wikipedia you will discover this anyway so it isn't a big deal, but if you really want to remain spoiler free, go watch the movie before you read another word.

Paolo is an undercover police inspector who's job it is to secretly look into kidnapping cases since the families usually don't want to involve the cops for fear of angering the kidnappers. We don't find out that he is a cop until about the halfway mark.

The movies starts with a young woman being stalked by a creepy man in mirrored sunglasses. She encounters Paolo but runs away and gets killed. Paolo starts snooping around her death and discovers a seedy conspiracy filled with drugs, sacks of money and underage prostitutes that lead up to some seriously dangerous people.

I want to point out that the underage girls are about 16 while I'm sure the actors were 18+ or the brief nudity would have been illegal. Gross as it is anyway, I'm at least glad that the minor mentioned in the title wasn't even younger.

The reason I can't decide on what kind of movie The Suspicious Death of a Minor is, falls to the fact that IMDB calls it a Giallo, but it feels more like a Poliziottesci movie with a strong tough inspector as the male lead. It also has a strong comedic element. I don't think it is trying to be a comedy but there are scenes that are deliberately slapstick which is odd for a Giallo. I slammed Four Flies on Grey Velvet for its comedy elements, but oddly enough, it doesn't bother me as much here. Possibly because it is such a hybrid movie and because many Poliziottesci movies don't take themselves too seriously anyway. They can be funny in a way Gialli can't. Sure there are some pretty gruesome murders here in Minor, but the overall tone is nowhere near as dark as many Giallo.

The Suspicious Death of a Minor is definitely a “journey not the destination” movie. Particularly since the ending was quite weak, while the rest of the movie is pretty entertaining. Paolo has no problems using some very unorthodox investigative methods, and his bosses are non too happy with him at times.

From a technical perspective, I have no complaints. It is a solid Italian action/drama/mystery/comedy. The actors are fine, the cinematography is fine. The music is what it is as always. Some of the dialog is goofy as hell, and could have been better, but that could also be the comedy rearing it's confusing head, I really don't know.

So, do I recommend this movie? To Giallo and Poliziottesci fans, yes. It's nowhere near the top of any list in my opinion but that also includes the bad lists. The Suspicious Death of a Minor is solidly alright, but I wouldn't recommend it to someone who isn't a fan of the above mentioned genres. I wasn't bored at any time, and in fact I was even intrigued, but middle of the road is what it is.

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