Five Dolls for an August Moon

source: Five Dolls for an August Moon

A small group of hip and debauched rich swingers are invited to a remote island for some rest and relaxation by wealthy industrialist George Stark (a perfectly smarmy Teodoro Corra). Honest Professor Fritz Farrell (nicely played by William Berger) has a formula that everyone wants exclusive dibs on. Pretty soon people start getting bumped off by a vicious killer. Director Mario Bava, working from a rather flimsy script by Mario de Nardo, injects a wickedly warped sense of black humor into the standard plot (the corpses are all hung up on hooks in a meat freezer!) and further jazz things up with his trademark dazzling visual pizazz (the wacky occasional use of zoom-in close-ups is especially hysterical). Moreover, we've got a bevy of beautiful ladies on abundant display throughout; the insanely gorgeous Edwige Fenech in particular positively ignites the screen with her smoldering hot presence and spends the bulk of her screen time clad in revealing outfits that show off her fabulously full figure. Better still, the victims are an unlikable bunch of selfish and greedy upper-class jerks who wholly deserve their brutal fates, thereby making this picture work as a kind of dark and nasty satire on the blithely decadent vices of the privileged social elite. Piero Umiliani's bubbly, groovy lounge score, the sharp, sarcastic dialogue, Antonio Rinaldi's bright, glossy, wildly stylized cinematography, the outrageously tacky clothes, the sublimely ridiculous surprise twist conclusion, and the incredibly funky garage rock ending credits theme song all add immensely to the overall infectiously kitschy fun.

Being a fan of Bava's flicks and after hearing quite a few bad and average reviews about this one. I decided to keep my expectations low check this one out. What I found out is that I actually liked it. While not up to the standards of Black Sabbath, Black Sunday, Twitch of the Death Nevrve, or Kill, Baby, Kill you can still tell this was done by Bava and that is what I think I liked about it. Bava's visuals and camera work are awesome even if the story is not. The story concerns a bunch of unscrupulous wealthy investors, at one's their summer home, trying to get a professor to sell his groundbreaking new formula by any means necessary. Then someone starts bumping them off one by one. If anyone looking for a great story from a Bava film is missing the point. The story is really secondary to Bava's visuals, weirdness, and black as night humor(in full swing here). The only complaints I can come up with is that the last section of the movie kind of drags and some of the characters are interchangeable. Some others might complain that there really is not any gore and they are right, but that did not bother me. So, in closing if you are a Bava fan see this one, but if you are not skip it or see the other ones' mentioned above.

Here's a "5 Dolls" movie-quote that I think sums up my opinion of director Mario Bava in a nutshell - "I can't figure out if you're dangerous, or just stupid!".... Yep. That about says it all! From where I was sitting, "5 Dolls" (from 1970) was one of those moronic movies that contains more "WTF!?" moments in it than you can count on your (and your friends') fingers & toes. This film tried its damnedest to be so cool, so hip, and so sexy. And yet through all of its wasted effort it inevitably defeated itself on these all-important points and, as a result, nearly choked on its own spittle. Even though the 10 actors featured in this lame, Italian, Murder/Mystery were, on the whole, a pretty good-looking bunch, their overall performances were astoundingly flat and painfully self-conscious. And the gauntlet of emotions that they attempted to emote were hollow beyond any reasonable tolerance. Besides all of that, these actors (for the most part) always looked so ridiculously posed. There was nothing natural about their behaviour. For most of the time it seemed so annoyingly forced. And it was because of this "pain-in-the-neck" business that I couldn't have cared less about what happened to any of the characters in this picture. In fact - When, one-by-one, they were being murdered by a mysterious psycho, I got nothing but joy to see each and every one of them get offed. With all of that said - Let's face it, this film's failures were all director Mario Bava's own damn fault. I mean, Bava was such a clueless, "doofus-of-a-film-maker" that he had absolutely no talent for creating genuine horror or sustaining (in the truest sense of the word) even the slightest bit of suspense. On top of all of this, I think "5 Dolls" musical score sucked to the 10th power. From start to finish it was an irksome, grate-on-your-nerves mess of whiny organ music that didn't fit the situation or set the mood for a tale whose focus was supposed to be on the horror of multiple murders.

One of maestro Bava's least known films may actually be his best: A scientist invites several of his friends and business associates to his villa somewhere on a remote island. Once there they try to buy an important formula from him; when they are killed off one by one, everyone suspects everyone else of being the killer. Superbly stylish sets, photography and direction in Bava's quint-essential interpretation of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians; he turns it into a corny slasher movie. Bava also edited the picture. Wonderful 70s soundtrack by Piero Umiliani. Cinematography by Antonio Rinaldi, who did more films with Bava. English title: FIVE DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON. Bava followed this with the more violent, similarly plotted ANTEFATTO.

Mario Bava is a great horror film director, but this is not one of his best works. The plot of this movie is along similar lines to that of one of his masterpiece's, "Bay of Blood", in that it revolves around money and a murderer. It follows the story of a wealthy industrialist that invites some of his friends to his remote Mediterranean island for a weekend of relaxation. It later transpires that one of the friends has a formula that has the potential to make a lot of money. What follows is a crescendo of murders as one by one the friends start turning up dead and the remaining survivors then don't know who amongst is the killer and therefore who to trust. Unlike a lot of Bava's other work; this film features little in the way of suspense or atmosphere, and the music isn't always as good as Bava's fans have come to expect. It also doesn't have a lot in the way of ideas; Mario Bava is known for being creative, his movies usually bear this trademark and he is responsible for influencing many great horror movies, but this one doesn't cut it in that respect. The only really creepy part that this movie does have, in fact, is the spectacle of seeing the film's characters strung up in a meant freezer, but other than that it's pretty routine. By the time the film reaches it's climax, it doesn't really matter who the murderer is, as the intent is obvious from the start and the characters are largely samey and therefore uninteresting, and that's not a good way for a movie to keep the viewer's interest. This film isn't especially bad, but it's very average and doesn't meet the high standards that Bava has set for himself with his earlier (and later) works. A year later, Bava would create Bay of Blood; I recommend seeing that instead if you're not a Bava fan, this one is for completists.

5 Dolls for an August Moon (1971) ** (out of 4) Mario Bava's twist on the "Ten Little Indians" story has a group of people being invited to an isolated island where one by one they're murdered. 5 DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON isn't considered one of the director's best films and it's easy to see why as it's lacking the flair and style of his earlier giallos but it's also quite tame when compared to what the director would do a year later with TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE. This film here pretty much falls well below what one would come to expect from the director, although there are a few good moments scattered throughout. One such moment happens to be the twist that happens towards the end of the picture but after the twist the events that play out really aren't all that special. I'm going to place the majority of the blame on the screenplay because it's simply never all that exciting and there's really no one you like or care about. It takes quite a while for everything to get going and once it does you realize that the characters are rather bland and it also appears that the director isn't all that interested in anything going on. That typical Bava style is missing throughout the picture and this is certainly true during the murder scenes. The majority of them happens off camera and we're slowly let in on them in ways that are just rather dull and lifeless as the bodies themselves. Even the sexuality in the film is pretty tame to the point where it really does seem like Bava isn't interested in anything that's happening. Of course, this tame sexuality and violence might be why he went full steam ahead the next year with TWITCH OF THE DEATH NERVE. Cult favorites William Berger and Edwige Fenech are on hand but neither add enough to save the film.

Plot: (from IMDb) George Stark is a wealthy industrialist who invites five business friends of his to his remote Mediterranean island for a weekend of relaxation and business when he introduces them to Professor Farrell, a brilliant chemist who gives investment ideas to the group. But against Farrell's wishes, the group goes behind each other's back to obtain information on Farrell's chemistry ideas and soon the guests and residents start turning up dead one by one as Stark and Farrell must rally the group together to determine the identity of the killer (or killers) despite nobody trusting anyone. Most people I know would list Five Dolls for an August Moon as among their least favorite film that Mario Bava made. Bava himself considered it his worst (I guess Bava never had the misfortune of watching his movie Dr. Goldfoot and the Girl Bombs). I, however, do not agree. It has a funky, late 60s/early 70s feel to it that I just love. Everything about the movie is the absolute height of fashion from that period. The clothes, the people, the house, the music, the attitudes, etc. can best be described as "groovy". Those who like a lot of gore with their killings may be disappointed by all of the off-screen murders. The aftermath of a couple, however, are fairly gruesome. But those with a morbid sense of humor will get a kick out of watching the bodies pile-up in the freezer. Just imagine the sight of five or six bodies wrapped in plastic being placed on meat hooks one at a time in a freezer while accompanied by some less than appropriate music. I just love it. Another plus for Five Dolls for an August Moon is the presence of Edwige Fenech. Similar to what I stated when writing about The Case of the Bloody Iris, Edwige makes any movie a better movie. While this movie may not be for everyone, if you're a fan of Bava, Edwige, or funky 70s movies, you might find something here to enjoy.

Essentially the same movie as Reazione a Catena, without that film's energetic use of explicit sex and gore, this is instead a glacially slow movie wherein a great deal of uninvolving acts of violence perpetrated on uninvolving characters pile up before an uninvolving (and predictable) conclusion. Since all of the bodies are found after the fact, there are no suspense scenes to speak of. Inappropriate music pops up every now and again, but Bava's directing talent only surfaces periodically...for most of the duration, this could have been directed by anybody. No interesting psychological angles, just formulaic dismissal of the cast. For completists only.

An industrialist invites some of his friends to his island retreat in order to persuade a chemist (William Berger better known as Django}to sell them his new secret formula for an industrial resin. Of course he doesn't want to sell at any price and this leads to resentment and veiled threats which leads to all on the island being killed off one by one, in this "Ten little Indians" type thriller and of course there is a storm brewing and the phones are down, I think you get the picture….Now how do I review a Bava film without mentioning "Stylish" or "Superb use of Colour"…. I don't think I can really,but I will try…..This films theme is reminiscent of Bava's more famous work Bay of Blood, with its high body count….it has a funky little score too, very 60's…..the film at times tends towards black comedy with the body bags swinging in the freezer, I have to say it made me laugh and as with all Bava films the women are quite nice to look at…in particular Edwige Fenech a lady I have heard a lot about and I can see why….all in all an enjoyable little thriller, not Bava's best work but certainly worth a look