FIVE
DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON (1970)Director: Mario Bava
Image Entertainment
FIVE
DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON (1970)Italian horror maestro Mario Bava was essentially a director for hire on this giallo re-working of Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians" (which he reportedly abhorred). Bava didn't want to make the picture, but he couldn't refuse the money that he would be given to do it. Making several changes in the conventional storyline and editing a film for the first time, Bava attempted to make the best out of something that his heart was obviously not into.
The plot brings together a bunch of swinging characters on a secluded island retreat owned by a wealthy industrialist. Among the guests is Gerry Farrell (William Berger) an exhausted inventor who has discovered a new brand of industrial resin. The men try to persuade Farrell to sell them the precious formula, as a few checks made out for $1 million get tossed around left and right. Farrell strongly resists all offers, but the greedy folks keep on persevering.
Since a number of alluring girlfriends and wives are along for the ride, there's much sexual tension and cheating going on, as all the relationships are unsteady and shallow. One woman is having an affair with the houseboy, and he's the first to get it (his body is discovered on the beach full of sand crabs). Not surprisingly, there is no way for the island-goers to make contact with the mainland, so the houseboy's corpse is wrapped in plastic and hung in the freezer next to other big slabs of meat. After much booze-soaked hostility, more murders occur, producing additional bodies to toss into the freezer. When the houseguests are narrowed down to a handful, they try and outwit each other and deduce which one is the culprit.
Sandwiched in between the landmark BLOOD AND BLACK LACE and TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE, which instrumentally set the stage for the sex and violence thrillers of the 70s, FIVE DOLLS compares unfavorably to those classics. It's one of the few Bava films that's not distinctive of his trademark strokes of genius, and therefore looks like it could've been directed by anybody. Granted, there are a number of worthy camera shots and keen ideas at play, but gone are the gothic shocks and multi-colored light schemes that make his films so fascinating.
Set amongst a futuristic, James Bond-type abode complete with electronically rotating beds and mod "art deco" decor, Bava does his best with the claustrophobic surroundings and beautiful beach-side property. For the most part, the cast is uninteresting, but the ladies are beautiful. Especially stunning is Edwige Fenech who looks great shaking her fanny at a party or modeling various two-piece garments (Edwige would soon go on to become a giallo queen, appearing in a number of films for Sergio Martino). Bava chose not to show the murders occurring on screen, but instead he reveals static outcome shots of the various victims. Piero Umiliani's upbeat jazz/rock/classical score underlies the murders in a more merry light than you'd expect. Even though this fails to inject any horror into these scenes, the music manages to succeed, especially with Bava's more restrained approach. It's basically a decent murder mystery that's more a slice of stylish, mod-era Euro pop than anything else. Don't expect the thrills of the extremely excessive TWITCH here, but FIVE DOLLS will probably grow on Bava fans and retro addicts in the years to come.
Image Entertainment has released FIVE DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON as part of their "Mario Bava Collection," and they have done a splendid job with it. The film was never released legitimately on video in the U.S. (and never released theatrically as well), so Image makes up for years of stateside neglect with this vibrant-colored, beautiful transfer. The picture has been letterboxed at 1.85:1, and the source print is in quite pristine condition. There are three audio tracks; the English track (the language that matches most of the lip movements), the Italian track, and lastly, the sound effects and Piero Umiliani's instantly likable music isolated on a third track. Other supplements include liner notes by Tim Lucas (accented by great quotes from participants), a photo gallery, trailers for other Bava titles in the Image series, and filmographies on Bava, Umiliani, Fenech and Berger. (George R. Reis)