Michael_Elliott What Have They Done to Your Daughters? (1974) *** (out of 4)A teenage girl commits suicide and at first the two inspectors (Claudio Cassinelli, Giovanna Ralli) think it's just a random case but soon more bodies begin to appear. After questioning a peeping tom the police learn that there's a group of teenage girls being kidnapped for a prostitution ring and a maniac on a motorcycle willing to kill to keep it a secret.This is the second film in the "schoolgirls in peril" giallo series, which started with WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE? Both that film and this one were directed by Massimo Dallamano but whereas the first went for a good classic mystery, this second film is pure exploitation and offers up plenty of nudity and some graphic death scenes. This film certainly isn't a masterpiece but it's slightly entertaining.The best thing the film has going for it is the direction, which includes one terrific sequence inside a parking garage where one of our inspectors is stalked by the maniac dressed in black. The entire sequence is well-directed and really contains some nice tension. The film also benefits from its rather naughty story-line and there's no question that it has a rather perverted feel for the teenage girls and the prostitution ring.The film also benefits from a nice cast who certainly help keep the picture moving. This includes Ralli as the female investigator as well as a supporting bit by Farley Granger as a victim's father. The cinematography is quite good throughout and we're also given a nice score.WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOUR DAUGHTERS? is a rather sleazy entry in the giallo genre and while the mystery isn't the greatest ever written, there's enough here to make it worth watching.

Witchfinder General 666 Massimo Dallamano's "La Polizia Chiede Aiuto" aka. "What Have They Done To Your Daughters" is a very suspenseful, atmospheric and intelligentGiallo with elements of the Poliziotteschi/Crime genre, that no lover of Italian genre cinema of the 70s should allow himself to miss. When a teenage girl is found hanged in an attic, the police first think of suicide. Further investigations, however, point out that it was murder. As the investigations go on, it becomes clear that the murder is somehow related to a teen-prostitution ring... This very suspenseful and tough-minded Thriller keeps the suspense going from the beginning to the end. The plot is very elaborate and stunning and score by Stelvio Cipriani is brilliant and contributes a lot to atmosphere and suspense. Most of the murders are actually not seen, and there is no excessive splatter and gore, but what remains of the murders is often quite brutal, not least due to the delicate context. I must say that, concerning the cast, "La Polizia Chiede Aiuto" was not quite what I had expected. As the DVD cover had 'Mario Adorf' in fat capital letters written on top, I expected Adorf to be the star of this movie but just plays a supporting role (in which he is, once again, excellent). This is not a flaw however, since Claudio Casselini and Giovanna Ralli are very good in the leading roles. Cassellini is excellent as the investigating homicide detective Silvestri, and beautiful Giovanna Ralli fits very well in her role of a young female assistant district attorney. Ralli may also be known to Italian movie buffs for films like Sergio Corbucci's revolutionary Western "Il Mercenario" or Enzo Castellari's Giallo "Gli Occhi Freddi De La Paura". My favorite film from Massimo Dallamano will always be his Giallo-masterpiece "Cosa Avete Fatto A Solange" ("What Have You Done To Solange", 1972), but "La Polizia Chiede Aiuto" is also a highly memorable film. All things considered, this is a tantalizing thriller that my fellow fans of Italian Genre-Cinema can not afford to miss. An elaborate plot, great performances and a brilliant score go in hand with constant suspense from the beginning to the end. In Short: "La Polizia Chiede Aiuto" comes with my highest recommendations!

sborges POTENTIAL SPOILER!!! BEWARE!!! (Well, not really, but just to be on the safe side of things).From the glaring reviews posted here, on IMDb, I went out of my way (and, boy, did I ever go out of my way to see this dud! I live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, so hunting for a three-decade old and rather obscure giallo wasn't necessarily a walk in the park) to fetch a copy of "What have they done to your daughters" and what a put down it was! The film's plot, tenuously copied from Jules Dessin's 1948 masterpiece "Naked City", is so full of holes, seems like a swiss cheese! A good many of the leads go nowhere and the killings, which are central to the plot, or so seem to be, are really never explained; we have no idea why a mysterious biker goes zooming around Rome, with a meat ax, butchering lust-crazy teenagers, private detectives and, even, a district attorney (played by a rather dazed Giovanna Ralli - her 70s hairdo stood out way, way more than her deadpan acting). Well, yeah, there's the usual link with the "rich & powerful", but its just too lame to fully explain a good deal of the killings. The film ends on a rather low key, leaving you to wonder if there wasn't anything a tad more interesting to do with your 90 minutes instead of watching this incredibly confusing piece of italiana. In all due respect with the previous comments, can't really see what the praise is all about - probably, I should go back and give it another shot - but that would be wasting another hour and a half, and life is just too short of a deal.

Wheatpenny Second in Dallamano's schoolgirls-getting-killed trilogy, it's not as good as Who's Next? (Solange) but not bad in its own right. The killer is someone who rides a motorino (hey, it is Italy!) and never takes off his/her riding helmet, ala Magnum Force, the 2nd Dirty Harry film. This one's more exciting than scary, as the police hunt down this maniac. He's one of the cooler villains in film history though, because unlike the traditional drag-ass killer, this guy never speaks and just RUNS at you with a machete. He really SPRINTS at top speed, which is actually very scary, especially to a jaded horror buff used to the Michael Myers/Jason/zombie method of ambling on over to their victims, who usually have to trip in order to be caught. And there's one scene involving a light switch that will make you jump out of your undies. Stelvio Cipriani's score is again top-notch (he later reused part of it for Tentacles), the dubbing tolerable.