IMDb RATING
6.6/10
2.7K
YOUR RATING
An unscrupulous doctor is accused of killing his asthmatic wife as part of an insurance scam, despite discovering that she has a doppelgänger who works as a stripper and call girl.An unscrupulous doctor is accused of killing his asthmatic wife as part of an insurance scam, despite discovering that she has a doppelgänger who works as a stripper and call girl.An unscrupulous doctor is accused of killing his asthmatic wife as part of an insurance scam, despite discovering that she has a doppelgänger who works as a stripper and call girl.
Giuseppe Addobbati
- Brent
- (as John Douglas)
Félix Dafauce
- Royal Insurance Official
- (as Felix de Fauce)
Jesús Puente
- Sergeant Rodriguez
- (as Jesus Puente)
Jorge Rigaud
- Arthur Mitchell
- (as George Rigaud)
Jean Sobieski
- Larry
- (as Jean Sobiesky)
Janet Agren
- Girl looking for Neurosedyl
- (uncredited)
Adolfo Celi
- Mr. Bernard
- (archive footage)
- (uncredited)
Geoffrey Copleston
- District Attorney
- (uncredited)
Lucio Fulci
- Graphologist
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaLucio Fulci's intended title for the film was "Perversion Story". While the film was released under that title in France, producer Edmondo Amati elected to use the title for the Italian release of a Spanish film he co-produced, Murder by Music (1969), and retitle this film "Una sull'altra" (which had previously been used in press notices prior to the start of shooting), the translation of which, "One on Top of the Other", was used for its theatrical and VHS release in English-speaking countries. The "Perversion Story" title was later used for its DVD and Blu-ray releases.
- GoofsSan Luis Obispo is due south of San Francisco, but to get there from San Francisco George is seen driving over and past landmarks taking him east of his destination such as the San Mateo Bridge or north of his starting point such as the Golden Gate Bridge.
- Quotes
Monica Weston: [to George after having sex] You're quite, lover. You don't even say a word... well, I suppose it's better than the ones who talk all the time.
- Crazy creditsMarisa Mell and John Ireland, who are second- and fifth-billed on Italian prints, are top- and fourth-billed on English prints.
- Alternate versionsThe Severin DVD uses a French version of the film and runs about 97 minutes. The UK videotape version is about 11 minutes longer, at 108 minutes.
- ConnectionsEdited into The Green Fog (2017)
Featured review
Elegant and Fascinating Early Fulci With the Magnificent Marisa Mell
Lucio 'godfather of gore' Fulci may be best known for his ultra-gory Zombie films, but the majority of my fellow fans of Italian Genre-Cinema will probably agree that his Gialli from the early 70s, most notably his greatest masterpiece "Non Si Sevizia Un Paperino" aka. "Don't Torture A Duckling" (1972) are easily as noteworthy. The master's first Giallo, "Una Sull'Altra" aka. "Perversion Story"/"One on Top of the Other" pf 1969 is a very gore-less but utterly fascinating Thriller/Mystery which no Cult-fan should consider missing.
As some other early specimen for the genre, this isn't a typical example for the Italian Giallo, as it doesn't focus on a series of murders. The womanizing San Francisco Doctor George Dumurrier (Jean Sorel) is with his mistress, the erotic photographer Jane (Elsa Martinelli) when he hears that his wife, who suffered from grave asthma, has died. Soon thereafter, George makes the acquaintance of the sexy and mysterious stripper Monica Weston (Marisa Mell), who happens to be the spitting image of his wife. Shortly thereafter, it is revealed that his wife was poisoned...
I do not want to go into detail about the wonderfully convoluted storyline, but I can assure that "Una Sull'Altra" should satisfy any fan of suspenseful mysteries in general and Italian Cult cinema in particular. Italian cult-directors had a unique talent for combining sleaze and elegance; the late 60s in particular were a period when elegant films about sexual perversion (such as "Femina Ridens" or "La Malizie Di Venere") would lead from the restrictions of 60s cinema into the openly and explicitly sleazy 70s. "Una Sull'Altra" is from that period, and while the film is not yet quite as graphically explicit as many 70s Gialli, the focus on erotic elements is strong. Especially the gorgeous Austrian cult-beauty Marisa Mell ("Diabolik", "La Belva Col Mitra", "Milano Rovente"...) epitomizes eroticism as the femme-fatale stripper Monica. The film is full of tasteful female nudity, most notably by Mell. Elsa Matinelli makes another great, strong and sexy female as the sleaze-photographer Jane and Jean Sorel ("La Corta Notte Delle Bambole Di Vetro", "Una Lucertola Con La Pelle Di Donna", "Belle De Jour") makes a very good lead. The rest of the cast includes several other well-known cult-actors such as Alberto De Mendoza ("Lo Strano Vizio Della Signora Wardh", "La Coda Dello Scorpione"), John Ireland and Riccardo Cucciola, who is probably best known for his role in Mario Bava's 1974 masterpiece "Cani Arrabbiati".
As Fulci's later Gialli, "Una Sull'Altra" is elegantly shot. While the San Francisco setting differs from the typical Italian Giallo-Settings it has a great potential for atmospheric beauty which Fulci makes best use of. The psychedelic score by maestro Riz Ortolani is hypnotic and brilliant and one of the most mesmerizing atmospheric aspects of the film. While the film is almost completely gore-less, Fulci's talent for gore manifests in one sequence in a morgue. "Una Sull'Altra" is a suspenseful, atmospheric and highly interesting film that is worth watching for many reasons. The gorgeous Marisa Mell is only one of these many reasons, but she's undeniably the most obvious one. 8/10
As some other early specimen for the genre, this isn't a typical example for the Italian Giallo, as it doesn't focus on a series of murders. The womanizing San Francisco Doctor George Dumurrier (Jean Sorel) is with his mistress, the erotic photographer Jane (Elsa Martinelli) when he hears that his wife, who suffered from grave asthma, has died. Soon thereafter, George makes the acquaintance of the sexy and mysterious stripper Monica Weston (Marisa Mell), who happens to be the spitting image of his wife. Shortly thereafter, it is revealed that his wife was poisoned...
I do not want to go into detail about the wonderfully convoluted storyline, but I can assure that "Una Sull'Altra" should satisfy any fan of suspenseful mysteries in general and Italian Cult cinema in particular. Italian cult-directors had a unique talent for combining sleaze and elegance; the late 60s in particular were a period when elegant films about sexual perversion (such as "Femina Ridens" or "La Malizie Di Venere") would lead from the restrictions of 60s cinema into the openly and explicitly sleazy 70s. "Una Sull'Altra" is from that period, and while the film is not yet quite as graphically explicit as many 70s Gialli, the focus on erotic elements is strong. Especially the gorgeous Austrian cult-beauty Marisa Mell ("Diabolik", "La Belva Col Mitra", "Milano Rovente"...) epitomizes eroticism as the femme-fatale stripper Monica. The film is full of tasteful female nudity, most notably by Mell. Elsa Matinelli makes another great, strong and sexy female as the sleaze-photographer Jane and Jean Sorel ("La Corta Notte Delle Bambole Di Vetro", "Una Lucertola Con La Pelle Di Donna", "Belle De Jour") makes a very good lead. The rest of the cast includes several other well-known cult-actors such as Alberto De Mendoza ("Lo Strano Vizio Della Signora Wardh", "La Coda Dello Scorpione"), John Ireland and Riccardo Cucciola, who is probably best known for his role in Mario Bava's 1974 masterpiece "Cani Arrabbiati".
As Fulci's later Gialli, "Una Sull'Altra" is elegantly shot. While the San Francisco setting differs from the typical Italian Giallo-Settings it has a great potential for atmospheric beauty which Fulci makes best use of. The psychedelic score by maestro Riz Ortolani is hypnotic and brilliant and one of the most mesmerizing atmospheric aspects of the film. While the film is almost completely gore-less, Fulci's talent for gore manifests in one sequence in a morgue. "Una Sull'Altra" is a suspenseful, atmospheric and highly interesting film that is worth watching for many reasons. The gorgeous Marisa Mell is only one of these many reasons, but she's undeniably the most obvious one. 8/10
helpful•41
- Witchfinder-General-666
- Jan 3, 2011
- How long is One on Top of the Other?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Languages
- Also known as
- Perversion Story
- Filming locations
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- ITL 445,000,000 (estimated)
- Runtime1 hour 48 minutes
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
Top Gap
By what name was One on Top of the Other (1969) officially released in India in English?
Answer