Short Night of the Glass Dolls

Communist era Prague. A foreign journalist, Gregory Moore (Jean Sorel), awakens in a catatonic state. Unable to move or speak, he desperately tries to recall what happened before he undergoes an autopsy…

He remembers meeting his Czech girlfriend, Mira Svoboda (Barbara Bach) whom he planned to help leave the country… They went to a social function attended by many prominent party members, where he tried to network for Mira's being granted an exit visa…

Mira disappeared the next day… Was it the authorities? A body was found in the river, but it was that of another young woman…

Moore's old friend, Doctor Karting, visits the morgue and notices that something is amiss. The body shows no signs of rigor mortis and isn't cooling down as it should… perhaps all is not lost…

Gregory's investigations reveal a chain of similar disappearances… He arranges a meeting, but his contact is murdered before his eyes… On the dead man's body there is a card for the private Klub 99… Is the Klub simply an association of music lovers – all the missing girls gave recitals there – or a front for something far more sinister…

Can Gregory remember before he is vivisected?

Melding the structure of Point Blank with a satanic conspiracy straight out of Rosemary's Baby, Aldo Lado's debut feature stands out from the run of the mill post-Bird with the Crystal Plumage gialli by virtue of its very willingness to try something different.

Labyrinthine plotting, bizarre psychology and motivation and point of view shots from the perspective of an iconically gloved and trenchcoated killer are out, a (just about) credible, linear narrative told from the perspective of the protagonist is in.

Consequently, if there are fewer opportunities for directorial flashiness – not that Lado is a slouch here, with some effective rapid montages and set-pieces – there is more scope for Lado to showcase his talents as a writer. He draws the viewer deeper and deeper into sharing the nightmarish Kafka/Poe situation of the protagonist and drops understated remark into exchanges – "I'd better rescue Mira from the body snatchers." – that seems innocuous enough at first, then take on new significance as the narrative progresses or on repeat viewing. Likewise, the typical viewer isn't going to notice that "Mira Svobodo" translates as "Peace Freedom" in many Slavic languages.

This is not to say, however, that the film is totally sui generis. A throwaway experiment which demonstrates that tomatoes feel pain is as one with the weird science of the likes of Four Flies on Grey Velvet – although the fact that the scientist then ruthlessly crushes the tomato in his hand gives a clue to his nature and ultimate significance in the unfolding conspiracy – while Ennio Morricone contributes a moody, effective score as per usual.

Elsewhere, Lado's use of a satanic conspiracy would seem to have influenced later gialli such as All the Colours of the Dark somewhat. One also wonders whether Dario Argento ever saw the film given the close parallels between Short Night's coven and the activities of the Three Mothers of his more overtly fantastical, supernatural entries Suspiria and Inferno, with both sects devoted to maintaining their position regardless of others:

"We will hold the reins of power in the world… Our bitterest enemies are persons who love freedom… We need the young to keep us alive. They must become as us. They must think as we do. And those who rebel must be sacrificed."

Even if Short Night doesn't quite have the same classic status as Rosemary's Baby – the difference in level perhaps best exemplified by the way that Polanski left it up to the attentive viewer to notice that a cab driver could also be seen during the satanists orgy, whereas Lado cuts in a flashback between his occultist at work and play – it's still an enjoyably different take on the giallo that largely deserves the acclaim it has belatedly been given.

One question remains: Just how did Lado manage to convince the Czech communist authorities to let him shoot such a thinly veiled attack on the totalitarian mindset in their country so soon after the 1968 crackdown?

Anchor Bay's Region 1 DVD of Short Night of the Glass Dolls is available on its own or packaged with three other films, including the director's 1972 giallo Who Saw Her Die as part of 'The Giallo Collection'.

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 2.35:1 and enhanced for 16:9 televisions, the 30 year old film looks as good as many a contemporary release, with good definition, colour and black levels. The audio, is unspectacular, but warrants no complaints either.

As usual there's a spot of dodgy dubbing. Mario Adorf's voice modulates between what seem to be Russian and Irish accents. From the naming of his boozy journalist as Jack Macpherson, one assumes he's supposed to be the latter, though the character has also been given the French nomme Jacques Versain in some sources…

The centrepiece extra on the disc is a new 11 minute interview with Lado, "Strange Days of the Short Nights" produced by Blue Underground. Thoughtfully preceded by a spoiler warning, the director begins with some background to the film, with his main inspiration being the case of an Italian judge whose criticisms of the establishment led to his being reappointed to an out of the way backwater – and then takes us through some of the highlights of its casting, production – including the filming of the memorable orgy scene at an old folk's home where the residents got really into their roles and "kept licking and groping each other" – and title changes.

Lado preferred the title Malastrana, after the district in Prague where much of the action takes place, but was compelled to take the more commercially viable title Night of the Butterflies. Unfortunately, with animal titles being de rigeur for gialli at the time The Bloodstained Butterfly then came along, prompting a hasty retitling. It's a shame because the butterfly – beautiful yet delicate – is used throughout the film as a symbol for freedom.

A theatrical trailer and bog-standard filmography round off the package.