February 17, 2022
Quartet Records Announces the Release Of Four Italian Giallo Horror Film Scores
Spain’s Quartet presents the worldwide premiere release of fan-favorite giallo score from Mario Bava’s cult movie LISA AND THE DEVIL (1974), with an iconic score by Carlo Savina. The film stars Telly Savalas along with Elke Sommer as the titular Lisa, who gets tangled in the web of a deranged family of noblemen who might be getting help from the devil himself. Bava’s movie actually exists in two versions: after completing his own cut, producer Alfredo Leone re-edited and re-entitled it as THE HOUSE OF EXORCISM (this was after the success of THE EXORCIST). The new version featured newly shot scenes with Sommer (the only original cast member to return) and Robert Alda playing the priest tasked with the exorcism. Bava’s movie was spliced into this story only as flashbacks. Long thought to be lost, Savina’s score is a wonderfully romantic work. The new CD features just the music written for LISA AND THE DEVIL, since THE HOUSE OF EXORCISM cut features all kinds of uncredited contributions that do not mesh well with Savina’s score.
The label also presents a remastered and expanded CD edition of Riz Ortolani’s erotic thriller score for Umberto Lenzi’s COSI DOLCE’… COSI’ PERVERSA. In 1969/1970, Lenzi helmed a trilogy of three giallo thrillers, all starring American-born actress Carroll Baker. The middle film of the trilogy, COSI DOLCE’… COSI’ PERVERSA (aka SO SWEET, SO PERVERSE) stars Jean-Louis Trintignant as a man who escapes his icy marriage with a mysterious blonde, played by Baker. Trying to help the woman out of an abusive relationship, our hero finds himself in a web of deceit that he is not prepared to handle… This film of the trilogy was scored by Riz Ortolani, whose score is anchored by the song “Why?” A lyrical theme also offers thrilling suspense cues and wild party music for some daring erotic escapades.
The third CD is the premiere CD edition of two classic Piero Umiliani scores for Lenzi’s double-bill ORGASMO and PARANOIA, which are the other two films in the director’s trio of giallo thrillers (with the previously mentioned COSI DOLCE’… COSI’ PERVERSA as the middle film. The first film is ORGASMO (titled PARANOIA in the USA), which stars Baker as a rich and lonely American widow who befriends two young people who realize her motives become suspect. The third film, entitled PARANOIA (thus being confused with the American title of ORGASMO; which is also known as A QUIET PLACE TO KILL), features Baker as a female race car driver who strikes up an unusual friendship with her ex-husband’s new wife, and it’s not long before their mutual dislike for the husband culminates into a plan to kill him. Besides Baker, these two films are connected by the music of Piero Umiliani, though contractual obligations led to him not receiving due credit on PARANOIA, which was credited to the Spanish composer Gregorio García Segura (who was not involved with the film at all).
For more details, see Quartet.
