Un Maladetto Imbroglio (aka The Facts Of Murder) (1959)

A police inspector (Pietro Germi, who also directed) investigates what, at first, seems a routine robbery in an upscale Rome apartment building. But when questioning the reluctant victim (Ildebrando Santafe), he gets the feeling something isn't quite right. But a week later, the woman (Eleonora Rossi Drago, LE AMICHE) who lives next door to the robbery victim is brutally murdered. Coincidence? Or is there a connection? After his international breakthrough with DIVORCE ITALIAN STYLE (1961) for which he won a screenplay Oscar, Pietro Germi specialized in satirical comedies like SEDUCED AND ABANDONED. But just before DIVORCE, he directed this dark noir-ish unsettling crime drama that ranks with the best of his work. Ironically, it wasn't released in the U.S. until 1965 after his comedies had given him a recognizable name ("from the director of DIVORCE ITALIAN STYLE"). It's a sadly disturbing film yet absorbing. Except for the murder victim, you can't really like any of the characters, not even the police who engage in what we refer to today as harassment. The number of suspects is abundant and Germi keeps us guessing until the very end and when the murderer is revealed, we don't get catharsis, just more depressed. A really excellent film of its kind. With Claudia Cardinale, Nino Castelnuovo (UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG), Claudio Gora and Franco Fabrizi.