A serenade, a splat, and Marcello Mastroianni limping into chaos. Italian pulp at its weirdest.
Raphael, a restaurant mandolin player with a limp, a father to support, and a lot of debt, accepts a job offered by his friend, Giardino, to play a serenade under an apartment window at the behest of a mysterious blonde. As he’s playing, a man high up on a balcony is pushed to his death. Raffaele is compelled to conduct his own investigation and becomes embroiled in a mystery involving a macabre secret...
Acting
Mastroianni plays defeated dignity like nobody else.
Cinematography
Rome looks gorgeous even when the plot doesn't.
Writing
Corbucci's cynical one-liners sting harder than the mystery.
Director
Sergio Corbucci
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Corbucci made this between his spaghetti western decline and TV work, channeling his frustration into Raffaele's washed-up desperation. The director saw himself in the limping mandolin player.
Ornella Muti was 24 playing mysterious femme fatale; she'd become Corbucci's muse and later his partner. The uncomfortable age gaps in their films suddenly make more sense.
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