Le foto proibite di una signora per bene (The Forbidden Photos of a Lady above Suspicion). 1970. Spain/Italy. Directed by Luciano Ercoli. Screenplay by Ernesto Gastaldi, Mahnahén Velasco. With Pier Paolo Capponi, Simon Andreu, Dagmar Lassander, Susan Scott. In Italian; English subtitles. 2K DCP restoration courtesy of American Genre Film Archive. 96 min.
This is a colorful example of giallo, the genre of sadomasochistic suspense for which Luciano Ercole was best known. The film’s kinky atmosphere owes much to Alejandro Ulloa’s cinematography, Juan Alberto Soler and Claudio Gianbanco’s set designs, and Ennio Morricone’s seductive bossa nova score. Kittenish German actress Dagmar Lassender is Minou, the pill-popping, neurotic housewife who suspects her husband of murder and succumbs to her blackmailer’s every dirty fantasy to protect him.