Cosa avete fatto a Solange?

Plot synopsis:
Enrico and Elizabeth are making out in a rowboat when Elizabeth sits up and thinks she sees a girl running along the shore. She interrupts the kissing session again when she sees a knife being swung. Enrico, thinking she just wants an excuse to stop, angrily rows the boat to shore Enrico and Elizabeth leave, and a pen is dropped. Enrico, at home with his wife, Herta, hears a radio report of a murdered girl. On his way to school where he works as a teacher, Enrico stops by the crime scene. Inspector Barth is at the school with the headmaster Mr. Leach and some teachers with Enrico walks in late. Enrico leaves, passes by a classroom, and sees Elizabeth (she's a student). He goes to gym class and tells his students that their classmate Hilda has been killed.Later, Enrico asks Elizabeth what she saw then they were together. She says she saw a shadow like a man and "something funny". Enrico asks her not to go to the police, for fear that they will ask Elizabeth who she was with. At home, and an irate Herta asks Enrico where he was that morning (he had lied by saying that his car and broken down). She shows him the front page of the newspaper, with a photograph of the crime scene and Enrico pictured in the background. Inspector Barth talks to Enrico and asks him how he found such a obscure local in such a short time. Barth is shown a pen that was found on the victim's dress, and he talks to Hilda's parents, who say that their daughter went to confession the afternoon she was killed.Enrico calls Elizabeth at home and gives her an address for a place to meet. She tells her uncle that she is going to study with Brenda. She rides her bicycle and is followed by someone in a car. Enrico lets Elizabeth into a small apartment and two lovers kiss. Some calls from a pay phone and hangs up.Enrico is back at home grading test papers, and Herta asks him if he had sex with Hilda. The inspector arrives at the front door, and he slyly places Enrico's pen on the table. Enrico sees it. Herta leaves the room, and Barth states his belief that Enrico was a witness. The teacher admits to being there with Elizabeth and says she claims to have seen the killer.Janet is at home with the maid when a man, saying he is Helen's father, calls and says that Helen needs to borrow Janet's Italian book. As she goes to the car outside, tape is slapped over her mouth and she is driven away. Janet is dragged out of the car and stabbed to death.Elizabeth wakes up in bed, thinks back to Hilda running and calls Enrico. Elizabeth runs to her car when Enrico arrives and tells him she remembers that the killer wore a black habit, like a priest. The next day, Elizabeth tells Mr. Bascombe she knows something about Hilda's murder. He leads her to a room of teachers (including Enrico) where she tells of the priest-like pursuer. Afterwards, Enrico thanks the girl for leaving him out of the story. Later, the killer walks into Enrico's apartment and takes the needle off of the record that is playing. Elizabeth is attacked and drowned in the bathtub while taking a bath. Outside, a bearded man sees the killer run away.Enrico is arrested for Elizabeth's murder, and Barth interrogates the other teachers at the school. At the police station, Barth receives the autopsy report that hair was found under Elizabeth's fingernails which turned out to be dead hair. The report also says that Elizabeth was not sexually assaulted and was in fact a virgin. The bearded man is brought in for questioning and later looks at a line-up of priests and says that the man he saw running away from the building had a beard. Barth is told that, because of the dead hair, it was probably a false beard.Barth tells Herta that Enrico did not kill anyone and that Elizabeth was a virgin, and the teacher seems happy. Enrico says he wants to find out who killed Elizabeth, and Herta offers to help. In Herta's class, Barth asks the girls if they know a bearded priest. Brenda says that Janet confessed to a priest with a beard at Hilda's funeral. Herta talks to the girls and learns of a secret society. She tells Enrico about the society and says that Hilda and Janet once dated university students, and she has a name.Enrico goes to see Phillip and asks him about Hilda and Janet; he talks about the girls hanging out with him and his friends. He says that, after a while, they no longer had sex with boys after what happened to Solange, a girl who used to go to the school and has suddenly disappeared.At the funeral for Elizabeth and Janet, a man hands something to Helen, who passes it on to Brenda. Enrico talks to the two girls and asks about Solange, whom they claim not to know. Bascome wants Enrico about "prying" with the girls.Herta calls some schools and learns about one Solange that did not return. Brenda leaves a note in Henry's mail. The next day, Herta goes to the school and Enrico goes to the address where Solange once lived' the woman who answers the front door says she did not know the previous owners. Enrico picks up his mail and drops Brenda's note. The killer calls and suggests he take a vacation or he will not see "her" again. Enrico calls the rental agents, but the offices are closed.Downstairs, Enrico is handed the fallen note, with the name Ruth Holden written on it. Enrico goes to her place and finds a dead dog, a bloody shovel, and Ruth dead with a sickle in her neck.Herta asks Helen and Brenda if they know Ruth, but they respond negatively. The inspector stops them and says that Brenda's mother told him Ruth was the girl's maid. Brenda says she forgot the woman's real name.Enrico, lying in the sun with Herta, says he thinks that the killer dressed as a priest and confessed the girls. A quiet girl stands near the couple and runs away and a woman calls after her: "Solange!"The killer calls Brenda and tells her to go somewhere, and the cops (listening in) set up a trap for the killer at a carnival. Brenda sees Solange on the merry-go-round and takes the quiet girl away. A cop dressed as a priest loses sight of the two girls, and they are seen being driven away by another priest. Bascombe comes into the station and says that his daughter, Solenge, is gone, and he shows a picture of her. The inspector tells an inquisitive Enrico that Solange is sick in the head and has experienced "infantile regression". Enrico, Barth, and Herta go to Bascombe's house and the inspector sees a green pin by a photograph of Solange. Solange is in the next room with a restrained Brenda, and the killer tells her to explain everything. Brenda recalls the girls going to see Ruth, and Elizabeth and Hilda trying to talk to Solange out of going in and letting "nature take its course". But the others lead her inside and hold her down as Ruth gets a needle and performs a painful abortion on the pregnant Solange.Enrico and Herta to go Janet's place, and Enrico looks for her Italian book. He returns to Bascomb's place with Barth and another officer. When the man does not respond, Enrico kicks the door open and shows a second form Italian book (Solange did not get that far in school). Solange is at the door, and Bascombe returns and hugs his daughter. The men talk to him, and Solange pulls Herta away and leads her to a priest's habit. Herta calls Barth, and he and the cops run into the corridor and find the still-living Brenda. In his office, Bascombe pulls out a gun and shoots himself. Barth tells of the girls society (signified by green pins), their sex parties, and Solange's traumatic abortion. Solange sees her dead father and cries.

Tags: pornographic, cruelty, murder, cult, horror, violence, insanity, suspenseful, sadist

Review:
Be it the convoluted plot, the ingenious camera work, the brilliant score by Maestro Ennio Morricone or the constant, tantalizing suspense - there is not a single aspect that is not brilliant about this stunning film, that I highly recommend to any suspense-lover in general.Henry Rossini (Fabio Testi), a married Italian teacher at a Catholic London private school for girls, has an affair with one of his students (Christina Galbó).
Great performances also come from the sexy female cast, most memorably from Camille Keaton, who is best known for the infamous Exploitation shocker "I Spit On Your Grave" of 1978.Like two other excellent Gialli (Argento's "Bird With The Crystal Plumage" and Lenzi's "Seven Blood-Stained Orchids") this was heavily cut and sold as an Edgar Wallace film in Germany.
But the direction is good and the music by Ennio Morricone is one of the best scores he has ever made.If you like the movies of Dario Argento, you'll love this one..
However, unlike many of the giallo thrillers that have managed to make it to the US (dozens and dozens were produced in Italy during the early 70s, only a fraction of which were distributed in the US one way or another), "Solange" is a film which can certainly be ranked on the same level as some of Argento's classics.
In a desperate attempt to clear his name, Enrico turns detective and eventually discovers the secret of a young woman named Solange (Camille Keaton), whose shocking past is linked to both the killer's choice of victims and the gruesome manner in which he dispatches them.
In London, the Italian gym teacher Enrico 'Henry' Rosseni (Fabio Testi) is having a love affair with his eighteen year-old student Elizabeth Seccles (Christine Galbo), who is the daughter of the owner of the Catholic School where he works and she studies.
A lot of Italian horror movies seem to fall down at the end as their conclusion doesn't make perfect sense, but that is not true of this movie; and that is a definite plus point.This movie is given another edge over a lot of other giallo thanks to a great score by the king of great scores, Ennio Morricone.
This movie isn't as heavy on style as other giallos; as previously mentioned there's no overly gory death sequences, but it more than makes up for this loss in style with an abundance of substance, and that is better for this kind of intricate mystery.Overall, What They Done to Solange?
While the less said about its twisty-turny story, the better, I can mention that the plot here concerns a string of brutal murders that have been plaguing an all-girls' Catholic school in London, and the hunky Italian gym teacher (well played by Fabio Testi) who is having an affair with one of the young women (the gorgeous Spanish actress Christine Galbo).
If you like the late 60s, early 70s "giallo" thrillers of the Italian cinema, than this movie is for you.Although the story can hardly be called original, a mad killer on the loose in an all girl school,the movie does manage to give the viewer a satisfactory explanation as to the killer´s identity and motivation.The sex and gore scenes are pretty tame by todays standards.Supposedly, this movie is based on a story by Edgar Wallace.Since it was co-produced by Germany it got released under the title: "Das Geheimniss der gruenen Stecknadel" albeit cut by approximately 8 minutes..
The murders were mostly brief and not as violent as they could've been, but still there was a somewhat original way they were carried out (I won't spoil it for anyone.) Really, I prefer Dario Argento and Mario Bava when it comes to giallo, but seriously, you have to be fair when judging this film and not compare this director to the greats, like Argento.
Fabio Testi is a young italian professor in a all-girls London High School, falling for a student who is able to see a murderer slashing several of her friends.
Though 'What Have They Done to Solange?' (1972) certainly has elements of this, it remains a success, regardless; mixing an interesting story that reveals itself gradually as the film progresses, whilst simultaneously establishing a largely satisfying approach to the depiction of the characters in which almost anyone could be a seen as potential victim, or indeed, a potential suspect.The atmosphere created in the film grabs our attention from the first scene on; juxtaposing the pastoral serenity of the uncharacteristically British locations - and the traditional, bourgeois even, middle-class environment of boarding schools and trendy London flats against which the story plays out - alongside a typically perverse sense of immorality, murder and worse.
The girls school setting is obviously used for the purposes of pure exploitation, as famed cinematographer turned film director Massimo Dallamano treats us to an early scene in the girls' changing room, as the young ladies wander around full frontal in an early precursor to Brian De Palma's much more iconic realisation of Stephen King's Carrie (1976), whilst the emphasis on young girls as the principal focus of the narrative allows the writers to engineer an illicit relationship between student and teacher in a way that is actually beneficial to the plot.If you can overlook the more exploitative, sensationalist moments of the film, which including the depictions of lesbianism, rape and implied vaginal impalement, then the stark theatrics of stalk-and-slash brutality and the Argento-like preoccupations with sight and perception make this a more than worthwhile experience, especially for those of us with a real taste for this particular style of film-making.
'What Have They Done to Solange?' might not be on a par with the work of Argento or Mario Bava, or indeed, a film like Torso - aka Bodies Bear Traces of Carnal Violence (1972) - however, it is definitely an entertaining and engaging work, and one that should be of interest to anyone with a predetermined fondness for the Giallo sub-genre of storytelling and the work of the filmmakers aforementioned..
We have a killer going to work on several girls in an Italian Catholic school, a teacher carrying on an affair with a student, a disgruntled wife, a long line of red herrings, all of which are tied together through a traumatized girl named Solange.
While reading up on the Gialli genre of Italian exploitation films, one title gets constantly mentioned as the best of the lot and that's "What Have You Done to Solange?".
With staple elements such as violence, gore, horror, gratuitous nudity, dubious dubbing (yes this got to me as I was trying to figure out the actual languages used) and an excellent, suspenseful score (thanks to the legendary Ennio Morricone), if anyone were to ask me whether this is worth the watch, the answer is a firm yes.It's not just because of the shock elements as described, but essentially this film had a better than expected storyline.
For its age (some 37 years old!), it certainly had enough legs to keep you engaged, and paced itself with enough twists and turns, that kept my interest piqued in trying to figure out the red herrings, and the tangential nature of its narrative.Starting off with an illicit affair between a married Italian language and gymnastics teacher Enrico (Fabio Testi) and beautiful student Elizabeth (another Gialli legend Cristina Galbo), their pleasure of the flesh session aboard a boat in an English river got interrupted when Elizabeth catches a glimpse of a murder in progress, witnessing a knife being plunged into the pubic regions of a semi-nude female (well, it's exploitation after all)While both are trying hard to keep their affair a secret, and no thanks to a couple of missteps, they had to come clean with fellow peers in the school, made worst when Enrico's wife Herta (Karin Baal) happens to be a colleague as well, and the murdered victim a student of their institution.
This is where the audience will probably get the most fun out of, trying to apply contemporary sensibilities to try and solve the mystery ahead of time, but failing to do so because of Massimo Dallamano's tight direction and constant keeping of an ace up his sleeve.The titular Solange doesn't appear until late in the movie, and from there you would have been rewarded with some clarity and semblance of the plot, which has so far been spread eagled with affairs of the heart and a whodunnit, where everything seems remotely related, and the connecting the dots is half the fun.
Morricone's score is not as memorable as his works on the Sergio Leone films, but it did maintain that sense of moody, mysterious atmosphere befitting of the genre.What Have You Done to Solange?
'What Have They Done To Solange?' can be seen sitting in the top ten list of many a giallo aficionado, and it's easy to see why: it offers fans of the genre almost everything they could possibly ask for, including, of course, the obligatory gloved killer, a ridiculously complex narrative with umpteen likely suspects, lovely cinematography and deft direction, plus a cool jazzy score (from the great Ennio Morricone).
In addition to these 'essentials', there's also one hell of an unexpected death that packs quite a punch, and the application of a particularly unpleasant modus-operandi by the murderer—one that you certainly won't forget in a hurry!Set in an exclusive London girls' college (where every student is gorgeous, of course), the film sees a homicidal lunatic working his way through a group of pretty young things, all of whom are harbouring a dark secret from the past.
As the police investigate the murders, student Elizabeth Seccles (Cristina Galbó)—who glimpsed the first murder whilst romping in a rowboat with handsome, married Italian professor Enrico Rosseni (Fabio Testi)—struggles to recall a vital visual clue that could help identify the maniac.Of course, this being a giallo, the plot doesn't always make perfect sense (it's a rare giallo that allows logic to get in the way of style) and the second half of the film definitely requires the suspension of disbelief: Enrico's estranged wife forgives her husband's affair on discovering that he hasn't made love to 18-year-old Elizabeth, and having reconciled their differences, the pair proceed to track down the killer.
I don't know what is harder to believe: the fact that she forgives Enrico his infidelity so quickly, or that the Italian lothario wasn't banging a beauty like Elizabeth 24/7.Fortunately, these lapses in reason do little to mar one's enjoyment of the film as a whole: director Massimo Dallamano provides just enough clues as the story unfolds to keep us guessing until the very last moment; the clever script ties up all the loose ends with a satisfyingly sick motive for the murderer; and those of us who like the sleazier aspects of the genre will get a kick out of the constant female nudity (including a totally unnecessary, but very welcome shower scene), and several shocking glimpses of the victims' mutilated bodies..
Hunky Italian star Fabio Testi stars as Enrico Rosseni, gym teacher at a Catholic girls school in London.
(The inspector on the case (Joachim Fuchsberger) DOES explain it all for us at the end, just in case we didn't completely understand.) The film is made in slick fashion (Joe D'Amato was in charge of the widescreen cinematography), yet we are never distracted from the story by the filmmaking technique, making this quite satisfying indeed.The tale being told does include some pretty sordid details, all given the proper punctuation by one of maestro Ennio Morricones' most haunting scores.
Like all good murder mysteries, it may make you think you've figured it out early on, but still manages to catch you off guard anyway.The performances from the international cast are extremely engaging, with American-born Camille Keaton as the traumatized title character.
The German variant wasn't nearly as explicit and rather amusingly childish, but also lacked the gialli's stylistic flourishes.Here we've got good old reliable Blacky Fuchsberger and the Italian stud Fabio Testi to find out who the brutal girls' killer is and the comparatively tame proceedings are quite entertaining in their stupid fashion.
Fabio Testi plays Enrico Rossini,a married professor who is having an affair with one of his students,lovely Elizabeth(Cristina Galbó).One afternoon on a boat she sees a woman on the shore running in fear.She subsequently witnesses the lady's murder,though Enrico doesn't believe her.When he hears the crime reported the next morning on the radio,he visits the scene.The police become suspicious and then more girls are killed.
After discovering a secret cabal among a group of girls,the professor and his spouse do some detecting of their own and discover the secret of Solange(Camille Keaton)and what it has to do with the series of crimes taking place.Beautifully shot and misanthropic Italian giallo with copious amounts of suggested sexual violence and female nudity.The performances are surprisingly good and Ennio Morricone's score is strikingly haunting.One of the best in its genre.9 out of 10..
It starts of fairly giallo like, with Italian teacher Enrico floating down the Thames on a boat with schoolgirl Elizabeth (Cristina Galbo, who hasn't aged a day since playing a schoolgirl in The House That Screamed three years earlier).
Enrico embarks on a journey where everyone around him is a suspect, from the priests as the girls school, to the janitor, and what has the mysterious girl Solange got to do with it all?This is the beginning of a giallo trilogy by Massimo Dallamano that continues with What Have You Done With Our Daughters and Rings of Terror (written by Dallamano, but filmed after his death).
is one of the masterworks of the giallo genre, a truly beautiful film that comes across as something of a masterpiece thanks to a strong and literate script, excellent cinematography and music, and a good cast being put through their paces.
The only thing I'm surprised about is that I haven't got around to seeing it before now, because this viewing was long overdue.The film is set in London and features Italian crime film regular Fabio Testi as an Italian teacher at a girl's school.
Apart from Giallos by such top class directors as Dario Argento, Mario Bava and Sergio Martino, "What have you done to Solange?" is a brilliant and sadly overlooked Giallo by Massimo Dallamano.A horny married P.E. instructor(our Hero folks!!), in Catholic Girls' School, Enrico is educating a hot girl, Elizabeth in the ways of love while they are in a boat.
Finally after all of these years watched the 70's horror film "What Have You Done to Solange" and I must say it entertains with interest and suspense as it's a drama film of blood mixed with an erotic feel of sex and secrets!A sexually sadistic killer starts to prey and kill young girls at a Catholic college and one of the killings has a witness only this stirs up drama and a cat and mouse search game by the police.Many of the scenes are erotic showing the breast of young girls and the killer has an MO of taping the victims mouth with white duct tape before the private part knife carving!
The knife to the private parts is a rather uneasy thing to see and director Massimo Dallamano certainly uses it to great effect.Another major plus that the film has going for it are the performances including Testi in the lead role.
The latter is one of the finest giallo I've seen, favouring tension and character above blood and boobs - although there's plenty of the red stuff too, and an admittedly unnecessary all-girls-school-shower scene.Enrico Rosseni (Fabio Testi) is a suave Italian teacher at a School for Girls in London.
With the police and his wife breathing down his neck, Enrico tries to divert suspicion without his secret getting out.Backed by a tremendous Ennio Morricone score (are there any movies he didn't provide the music for?) and gorgeous cinematography by Aristide Massaccesi (a.k.a. shlockmeister Joe D'Amato), Solange's great hook is its engaging plot.
The murderer is targeting students at a Catholic girls school, and one of the teachers, Rosseni (Fabio Testi), is a prime suspect, especially after a girl is killed in his hideaway apartment.
He has to find the killer, before he offs his favorite student, Elizabeth (Cristina Galbó).Police inspector Barth (Joachim Fuchsberger) is dogged in pursuit of the truth, and what he finds is shocking.Outstanding Giallo, and some really good acting..
Catholic School teacher Enrico Rosseni(the very cool Fabio Testi)and a student he's in love with are on the verge of having sex in a canoe when she partially sees the murder of a fellow classmate take place.
and Red Rings of Fear) in the trilogy involving pubescent female misbehaviour leading to murder in girls-only schools.Set in London (a fresh location change to begin with) an Italian teacher, named Enrico (played by cult favourite Fabio Testi, star of Contraband, Red Rings of Fear and Fulci's Four of the Apocalypse and many more).
The film stars Fabio Testi as Enrico Rosseni, a teacher at a Catholic girl's school.
The acting in the film is surprisingly good; Fabio Testi gives a solid performance as the hunky schoolteacher, while Camille Keaton (pre-"I Spit on Your Grave") is angelic, terrifying, and haunting in the title role.Overall, "What Have You Done to Solange?" is a remarkably creepy and intricately-mapped giallo thriller.
She was much much better in the Killer will Kill Again, a superior movie, not great, but a hell of lot more fun than this garbage.We have Fabio, Italian with a stupid accent, having an affair with an underage girl, then lying to the police.
They're assessment is that Solange is a great movie, a clean poignant giallo, with drama and mystery with well-drawn characters and thoughtful plotting, Wonderful thriller, beautifully realized.
Anyway - as to the film itself - just as I was recovering from "Night TRain Murders" my second genital mutilation thriller turns up in the same month - this time in (an Italian) UK nubile schoolgirls are being offed and Teacher Fabio Testi - (unhappily) married but nailing one of his students - becomes the main suspect.