Massimo Dallamano

“La Polizia Chiede Aiuto”, whose literal translation is “The Police Ask For Help” is known in English-speaking territories as either “What Have They Done to Your Daughters?” or “The Coed Murders” and is a combination of giallo and poliziotteschi. The film is a suspenseful and intelligent thriller, based around the discovery of a teenage prostitution ring and corruption in the higher echelons of power. When a schoolgirl is found hanged in a locked attic room it looks like a clear-cut case of suicide. Inspector Silvestri (Claudio Cassinelli) and the assistant district attorney Vittoria Stori (Giovanna Ralli) begin to suspect that the death was murder and that there is more going on than they initially thought. When they uncover a taped conversation they realise they’ve stumbled onto a sordid conspiracy involving a teenage prostitute ring and a group of highly respected and influential establishment figures. With their investigation being blocked and interfered with at all levels Silvestri and Stori become increasingly frustrated, with that frustration becoming outright desperation when Stori finds herself becoming a target of a helmeted leather-clad, cleaver-brandishing killer.

The film is directed with great intelligence and plenty of style by Massimo Dallamano, a cinematographer turned director who until this point was probably best known as Sergio Leone’s cinematographer on “Per un Pugno di Dollari” (Fistful of Dollars, 1964). Dallamano handles the film with care and despite the opportunity for sleaze inherent in the general plotline, his approach is relatively restrained, with most of the violence taking place off-screen. He also places the focus of the film more on the poliziotteschi rather than the giallo elements, with significant sections taken up with police procedure and case building. It is interesting to note that the police are portrayed as honest, professional people doing a difficult job in trying circumstances rather than the bumbling buffoons portrayed in most gialli. Dallamano keeps the suspense ratcheted up tight from beginning to end and it’s never quite clear who is in the frame at any given point. The suspense is underpinned by a number of action sequences such as a cleverly shot car chase and gialloesque elements when the leather-clad killer stalks Stori through an underground car park. Both Giovanna Ralli and Claudio Cassinelli are excellent in the lead roles, with Ralli handling the gender politics of a woman in a “man’s world” with aplomb. Mario Adorf also appears in a minor, but important role as a policeman who discovers that his own teenage daughter is involved with the prostitution ring. The film is marvellously complemented by a superb score by Stelvio Cipriani, which does much to contribute to the overall feel and atmosphere of the film. “La Polizia Chiede Aiuto” is a clever amalgam of giallo and poliziotteschi – it is a gripping, gritty and serious-minded film about establishment corruption and stealing of innocence.… (más)