I recently watched the Italian giallo Fourth Victim (1971) on Tubi. The storyline follows a man whose third wife mysteriously dies...much like the two wives before her. The husband inherited large sums of money in each case and is the primary suspect. As the police poke around the circumstances a new blond arrives at the husbands doorstep with her own motives, but what are they? Could she want to be the fourth victim and why?
This movie is directed by Eugenio Martín (Horror Express) and stars Carroll Baker (Kindergarten Cop), Michael Craig (I Promised to Pay), Enzo Garinei (Dr. Clown) and Marina Malfatti (All the Colors of the Dark).
This picture has a tremendously unique storyline with a nice mix of murder mystery and slasher elements. The kills only take place at the very beginning and very end, and both scenes are shot in classic giallo fashion. The "who done it" elements are solid and have a classic 70s feel to them. Michael Craig delivers an excellent performance as a strong, rigid character who could care less what the police or society thinks of him and is just doing his best to get through the circumstances, no matter who is poking into his affairs. Carroll Baker is gorgeous and delivers her conniving role to perfection. The ending is rewarding with a classic giallo twist.
Overall, this is an above average addition to the giallo genre that I would score a 5.5-6/10 and recommend seeing once.
The Fourth Victim
1971 [SPANISH]
Action / Mystery / Romance / Thriller
Plot summary
A wealthy Englishman finds his third wife dead. After the police discover that his first two wives had also died suddenly, an investigation is launched. Meanwhile, a new neighbor moves in and becomes very interested in him.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
January 09, 2022 at 09:34 PM
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An above average addition to the giallo genre
So what did I just watch ?
"The fourth victim" pretty much left me speechless : not because it was good, but because it had the effect of, say, a drunken joy ride through a field full of crumbling haystacks. The movie started out as a promising mystery thriller with some comedic or satirical elements, before wandering off in ten directions at once. Storylines petered out while others appeared out of nowhere. After a while nothing made sense any longer, except - perhaps - in a "dream logic" fashion. The ending fit the intrigue like a police helmet fits a rabbit.
There's also another major problem. The male protagonist of "The fourth victim" is a rich, suave and sophisticated man who may, or may not, have killed off several of his spouses. Sadly enough the actor playing the part looks and sounds deeply, remarkably dull. You constantly expect him to lecture the other characters on the nature of pyroclastic breccia.
Still, the movie will be of interest to those viewers who like to watch a classic mystery thriller go off the rails, bigly. And to be fair there are a great number of beautiful or intriguing locations to admire.
Giallo soap opera.
Michael Craig stars as Arthur Anderson whose blonde wife is found suspiciously drowned in their swimming pool.Because he two previous wives also died strange deaths Anderson is charged with murder and only gets off because his motherly housekeeper lies to clear his name.Soon a pretty blonde woman(Carroll Baker)shows up and starts flirting with Anderson but it's clear from the get-go that she may not be who she seems to be.She quickly becomes the fourth Mrs. Anderson."The Fourth Victim" is very rare Spanish giallo with capable cast and nice score by Piero Umiliani.There is not much gore and the pace is slow,but last 20 minutes are quite twisted.6 out of 10.