Sylva Koscina Movies

Ricky (Renato Pozzetto) has been a prosperous businessman, but lately things haven't been going so well, and he isn't sure why. Whatever the reason, he attempts suicide and is saved by Barabbas (Christian De Sica), a very peculiar man with the hereditary vocation of being a hobo (he's the seventh generation). Not only is Barabbas a hobo, but he's got a real talent for living elegantly and well. As Barabbas restores his new friend's spirits, he also investigates the causes for his business reversals and discovers that the culprit is his adulterous wife (Francesca Reggiani), who has been sharing her bed and important business secrets with a business rival. Together, they concoct a scheme to put things right. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In a revealing documentary about one slice of film history, directors Francesco Bortolini and Claudio Masenza interview eight Italian actresses who attained fame in the U.S. through films they made in Hollywood. Most of the eight agree that performers are treated better in Hollywood than in Italy, and that U.S. efficiency and organization impressed them -- but that in Italy, they had more challenging roles than was allowed in the U.S. Virna Lisi was made over to look like another Marilyn Monroe, Gina Lollobrigida was employed like the others for her sex appeal -- and left after a few films --, and Claudia Cardinale, for inscrutable reasons, was meant to be another Doris Day. Unfortunately, even though great stars are included among the eight, the most obvious and inexplicable omission is Sophia Loren, well-known to American audiences. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

On his wedding night, of all times, a husband appropriately named "Ace" (Adriano Celentano) gambles away the night at a local bar -- and wins a handy amount of money. As Ace heads home to his waiting bride Bocconcino (Edwige Fenech), he is killed by a hired gun. When he reappears to see his wife, he has a hard time convincing her that only she can see him -- he is definitely invisible to everyone else, and definitely quite dead. Aghast at his wife's determination to go to work as a dancer on the stage, he undermines her rehearsal and then connives to get her married off to an appropriately aged and wealthy banker. So the next question arises: Is there divorce after death? ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

This Italian horror outing is made even more horrible by the fact that the first two thirds were originally a complete feature, Lisa and the Devil by Mario Bava and the last third was tacked on later to capitalize on the continued popularity of The Exorcist by producer Alfredo Leone thereby nearly obliterating the spooky tone created in Bava's original. Innocent, voluptuous Lisa's travails begin when she sees a wax mannequin in her own image. She then sees a sinister fellow, whom she knows is the devil, hanging around nearby and runs for her life. Unfortunately, she ends up hiding in the mansion of a typical creepshow psycho family who prefer spending their evenings making love to everything and every one that moves, or doesn't move in the case of one necrophiliac. If that weren't creepy enough, Lisa gets a luck at the butler and realizes that he is old Satan himself. Surprise! Soon she finds herself possessed and doing the things that post Exorcist demonized movie stars are expected to including the obligatory projectile vomiting (this time it's frogs rather than pea soup), lasciviousness and a few levitation exercises until the brave exorcist arrives to cure her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this chiller from Italian director Mario Bava, Elke Sommer stars as Lisa, a young tourist who keeps running into a strange bald man who carries around a mannequin. The bald man is Leandre (Telly Savalas), the butler at the estate of a blind Countess (Alida Valli) and her slightly off-kilter son Max (Alessio Orano). In a bizarre turn of events, Lisa kills a man in self-defense and winds up hitching a ride with Frances Lehaf, his wife Sophia (Sylva Koscina), and her chauffeur/lover George. Car troubles land them at the Countess' estate where Lisa is plagued by strange dreams and visions of the man she killed. More troubling for Lisa is that both the dead man and Max appear to know her. Meanwhile, the other guests begin to die: George is murdered by an unseen assailant, Sophia runs over her husband with the car, and then is dispatched herself by a killer who is revealed to be Max. Lisa awakens in Leandre's room full of dummies and runs off through the house. She encounters Max, who shows her the skeletal remains of Eleanor, the lover he killed for having an affair with his stepfather. Max believes that Lisa is Eleanor reincarnated. After an odd sex scene, he is confronted by his mother whom he winds up stabbing to death. Moments later, she reappears and the shock sends Max falling to his own death. Lisa awakens in the house, which now appears to have been abandoned for decades. She boards an airplane to head home, but in a chilling climax, she discovers the plane devoid of all passengers...except for a few old friends including the diabolical Leandre. ~ Patrick Legare, All Movie Guide

A serial killer is murdering beautiful models in this Italian slasher film. It turns out that he is using the poisoned claws of a black cat to do it. A blind composer whose girlfriend was one of the victims sets out to stop him. ~ Brian Gusse, All Movie Guide

Geremia is a smuggler who sneaks cigarettes and chocolate across the border between Switzerland and Italy. His brother-in-law Augusto, a municipal guard, draws him into a plot to smuggle a person across the border, but their efforts collapse when the illegal immigrant is caught and falls to his death in a ravine. Geremia and Augusto discover that the dead man was also transporting two billion lire in his suitcases, which he was supposed to deposit in a Swiss bank. The two men decide to keep the loot, and so its true owners in Switzerland must connive to get it back from them. They succeed in duping Augusto, but the clever Geremia is able to hold onto the money and safely escape with it into Switzerland. ~ Nicole Gagne, All Movie Guide

Since the Italian Homo Eroticus was released to the US as Man of the Year, this video version is available under both titles. Lando Buzzanca plays the servant to dazzling socialite Rosanna Podesta. His duties go far beyond carrying tea on a silver tray. Fact is, Rosanna is what you might call insatiatable. Pretty soon, Buzzanca is wondering where his next reserve of energy will be coming from. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide