Tino Carraro Movies

The career and character of Dr. Ignazio Filippo Semmelweis is the focus of this sometimes confusing but informative biographical film. Semmelweis is the Hungarian doctor who first proposed that infections are transmitted by germs from one person to the next. His biggest contribution to the advancement of medicine is when he discovers why fevers can occur during childbirth (and sometimes cause death). The good yet often surly doctor notes that his students go directly from anatomy class to gynecology and do not wash their hands in between. When they examine their female patients, the germs from the cadavers are passed on to the women. This simple discovery is revealed in flashbacks, along with the scientific community's resistence to the idea. The doctor's own ironic death is noted right at the beginning of the story. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

Francesco Rosi utilizes the breathtakingly beautiful Italian landscape in an unspecified Italian city to hatch this mystery film involving murder and corruption in high places. As the film begins, a well-known prosecutor is killed. The murder turns out to be the first in a series of murders -- and all the victims are judges. With Italy lapsing into chaos because of the crimes, the craggy and careworn Inspector Rogas (Lino Ventura) is brought in to solve the murders. Rogas thinks that a man, sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit, is the person responsible for the killings. But when Rogas reports that fact to his superiors, they want nothing to do with the case. When more killings occur, Rogas uncovers a plot involving his superiors who are using one man's revenge murder as a ploy in order to affect nefarious changes on the entire country. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi

This international exploitation feature is set in the 16th century and centers on a nun who faces moral degradation and corruption within the confines of her convent. She soon finds out the nunnery is run by a lesbian mother superior who engages in all kinds of graphically-presented taboo behavior. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this flawed mystery-thriller from flamboyant horror director Dario Argento, Karl Malden portrays a blind man who joins forces with a reporter (James Franciscus) to catch a killer with an extra chromosome. Much of the action occurs at a research hospital, where the killer seeks to conceal the original crime with still more murders. Easily the least interesting of Argento's early thrillers (which include the superior L'Uccello dalle Piume di Cristallo and Quattro Mosche di Velluto Grigio), this film seems almost a parody of the genre at times, with preposterous coincidences and bogus Freudian analysis substituting for genuine mystery. Those familiar with the director's work may find it difficult to believe that Argento was responsible, but some undeniable stylistic touches -- such as one victim's wallpaper resembling a blood-splattered wall -- reveal that even a genius can make bad films. Ennio Morricone's soundtrack and a cast including Catherine Spaak and Pier Paolo Capponi offer little relief. The American version is missing approximately twenty minutes. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi

In this suspenseful caper, a sightless professor decides to steal jewels and relics from the Vatican. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

In this effective though still slightly uneven drama about mental illness, the worsening condition of a highly disturbed son wreaks havoc on the rest of the family. Dario (Thomas Milian) has episodes when he becomes violently insane yet his mother (Madeleine Robinson) refuses to put him in an institution where he can be professionally helped. Her desperate clinging to the belief that Dario will get better starts to wear away the equilibrium of the two other members of the family, the father (Tino Carraro) and Dario's brother, Gabriele (Nino Castelnuovo). In the end, the continued presence of Dario and his mother's near-fanatical insistence that he will recover create tragic consequences for everyone. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The English-language title of this Italian WW I drama is Seven of the Big Bear. The title refers to a group of Italian navy frogmen, who train arduously for a raid on the allied stronghold of Gilbraltar. Their "inside man" on the island is actually a woman, nightclub singer Eleanora Rossi Drago. When last seen, the deep-sea-diving heroes are engaged in an assault on the British fleet at Alexandria. I Sette Dell'Orsa Maggiore would make a fascinating companion feature to the American wartime actioner The Frogmen. The music is by Nino Rota, whose later filmwork included the two Godfather films. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi