AshUnow This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

Ariella Broughton It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Kaelan Mccaffrey Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

Deanna There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Bezenby Stop me if you've heard this one before (don't really though) - a black hatted, gloved killer is working his way through the models at a fashion house. Blind composer Anthony Steffan gets caught up in all this nonsense because the first victim is his girlfriend Paola, who about ten seconds previously, dumped the poor guy by letter. That's right - a blind guy, dumped by letter. Add to that the strange conversation Anthony overhears in his local bar. Someone seems to be blackmailing someone else to do something, but then an annoying hippy throws on a 'groovy' record to 'freak out' to, and Anthony only hears about half the conversation. The waiter describes a woman in a white cape to Anthony, but the other conversationalist must have slipped out a back door, because the waiter didn't seem them. Can I add here however that the record lasts about fifty seconds. Thank God it wasn't some prog or something.The next day Paola is found dead at the fashion house. It's a kind of locked room mystery, as no one else was there, she has a slight scratch on her face, and there's a yellow shawl lying nearby. Model Margot swears there was a basket in the room too, but that's disappeared. The annoying police, plus Anthony (with sidekick butler Umberto Raho in tow) get right on the case. There's plenty of suspects too, from hunky Giacomo Rossi-Stuart, second in command at the fashion house and a fanny rat to boot, then there's his missus, the boss of the place. There's also your usual lesbians involved, some gossips, slags, blackmailers. You know the drill by now. Anthony maybe be blind, but he's no fool. He's one step in front of the police, but one step behind the killer, and what's his dead girlfriend doing in supposed blackmail pictures with Giacomo Rossi-Struart? Someone else gets the old yellow shawl/scratch killing, and Giacomo gets closer to the killer, or at least the person being forced to set up these killings - using his sense of smell!Sure it's derivative of Mario Bava's Blood and Black Lace (the fashion house) and Argento's Bird With A Crystal Plumage (with the tape recorded clue, and Umberto Raho), there's still loads to enjoy here. There's a great colour scheme (mostly yellow of course!) and Anthony's character is composing the soundtrack to a giallo! When you see footage of it, you'll notice it's Lucio Fulci's Lizard In A Woman's Skin, and as an added bonus, it's the bit that reveals the killer. Good work there.There's the scene where a character leads Anthony to an glass recycling plant (I think...in 1972?) and leaves him to injure himself amongst all the glass and sudden drops, and a razor killing in a shower that takes the gore level way beyond anything else seen prior to it in the film. The Copenhagen setting is different from the norm too.

qmtv Not very original. But intelligent. Decent story for a giallo. Good Production – Cinematography, Acting, Music, etc.One of the best parts is when the cop visits the blind piano player and says "I hope you can set a light on it" – It's dialogue like this that adds to the intelligence of the story. It furthers the film.A few questions: 1) Who were the 3 people that helped the car victim? 2) What happened to the butler toward the end of the movie? 3) Why did the blind guy follow the husband to the abandoned factory? The shower scene at the end was a shocker. The victim was very helpful to the piano player and she doesn't survive.The ending reveal was just OK. Most reviewers state that this movie copies form other movies. This is true. I don't mind that too much.Professional production. Very good local scenes from the period. Main actor was very good, and the supporting actors were all decent. Cinematography was good. I didn't like the editing for the kills.Nothing very special here. But still the rating is a C, or 5 stars.I would rather see this film than the garbage made by Argento. I hate Suspiria, the most overrated, amateur pile of garbage ever released. Incredibly poor writing, acting, dialogue, scenes, God awful cartoon lighting, cinematography, disgusting, incomprehensible plot (cult witches in a German ballet school?!). Watch the scene again when the blind guy gets torn apart by his dog. Fake Dog! Watch the scene when the professor/expert reveals the witches to the main character. Suspiria is truly garbage movie. I tried to watch again and take notes on every scene, so I can write a true tear down of this trash. I only made it about 15 minutes. I recently watched Four Flies, another amateur, trash, garbage acting, and story. Plumage – trash. I just cannot understand the people who enjoy or elevate this trash to royalty. Argento is crap. Bava – maybe a bit better, but still garbage. The only reason to watch 5 Dolls for an August Moon is to see Edwige Fenech. I saw Blood and Black Lace last year. This was an OK movie. But I didn't think it was great. Here's another pile of garbage boring nonsense movie that somehow has a cult following: What Have You Done to Solange? So, the facts are opinions are like a..h…., everybody's got one. My opinion is if you venture to produce art, I require a professional product. The Crimes of the Black Cat is not the most original movie, but it is entertaining and it is professionally done. Argento and Bava – NOT. People who love these clowns dismiss and make excuses for their incompetence. Lack of story, bottom of the barrel acting, crappy editing. They dismiss all this and say, yeah but look at the scenes and the inventive kills and scenery. So, if you bought into the Argento and Bava superiority, you know who you are, then congratulations!

The_Void The Crimes of the Black Cat is a pretty typical Giallo, which takes influence from many of the more established genre classics. The central character is blind, which is an idea lifted from Argento's 'The Cat o'Nine Tails', and the style and plotting is clearly reminiscent of Argento's early work. The black cat is an animal often seen in horror films, and that's down to Edgar Allen Poe and his famous story about the ominous animal. The way that the cat is used in this film is good because it's instrumental to the plot (unlike other Giallo's which mention a cat in the title and barely even feature one), but it really has to be said that the modus operandi used by the murderer is completely ridiculous even for a Giallo. The plot focuses on Peter Oliver; a blind, yet rich man who finds himself at the centre of a murder investigation when his girlfriend is killed. It seems that someone has a grudge against some of the local fashion models, and all the murders have the common theme of a yellow shawl being found next to the dead victims. But how do you catch a murderer that you cannot see?Director Sergio Pastore, while taking many themes from across the Giallo genre, hasn't decided to make the film as bloody as some of its counterparts. The murder weapon doesn't allow for too much of the red stuff, but even so; it comes as a huge shock at the end when this placid film explodes with a Psycho-style shower sequence that features some of the most disgusting gore in the entire Giallo genre; and almost makes up for the lack of blood in the rest of the film. There is a lot of sleaze in the movie, however, and this is shown through ideas such as lesbianism and drug use; and that in turns blends well with the depressing urban climate in which the movie takes place. The acting is nothing special, but it's not bad in Giallo terms. Antonio De Teffè does well in the lead role and succeeds at convincing us he is actually blind. There are no real stars in the film beside him, and the lack of a heroine doesn't do the film too many favours either. Overall, this is a rather strange entry in the Giallo cycle as it has a number of good and inventive moments; but it's all encased around a lot of borrowing and tributes. Still, i wouldn't hesitate to rate this film as a success and it comes recommended to Giallo fans!

macabro357 (aka: THE CRIMES OF THE BLACK CAT)Filmed in Denmark with a largely Italian cast in a setting away from the usual Italian locations for this genre. So forget that these people are Danes speaking Italian. You can't be too specific with a film like this.OK so you've seen this before and if you've seen BLOOD AND BLACK LACE, then you'll know how it turns out. Even so, this really isn't bad watching and the story is constructed well despite a couple of suspense contrivances for the audience like footsteps approaching a door, expecting the viewer to believe it's the killer when it turns out to be the hotel bellboy delivering breakfast.Blind composer Peter Oliver (spaghetti western star, Anthony Steffen) helps sleuth the murders of fashion models in swanky Copenhagen after his close friend Paola is murdered. He suspects something is wrong when he overhears a conversation about a crime in a restaurant while waiting for Paola to show up. She never does. It turns out Paola is blackmailing Victor (Giacomo Rossi-Stuart), threatening to expose some incriminating photographs to his wife (Sylvia Koscina).Of course when it comes to this genre, the murders can't always be done in a straightforward way and one particular device is using a black cat who's hands are dipped in curare, scratching the victims and causing them to have heart attacks. Strange, yes, but that's typical of the genre so one has to suspend disbelief if you want to watch films like this.I won't reveal who the name of the killer is. You'll have to see that for yourself, but I will say that it ends in one of those typical freeze-frame endings that were popular in the 1970s.The DVD by Degored is of poor quality, taken from videotape source with dropouts appearing occasionally and muffled sound, although the subtitles in English look pretty accurate.There are worse out there.5 out of 10