The Killer Wore Gloves (1974) User Reviews

Pretty standard Giallo fare, but still a decent watch

[The_Void · 6/10 · 5 August 2007]

Spanish Giallo's don't tend to be as good as the bona fide Italian ones, and this film supports that fact. The top of the range Spanish Giallo's include the likes of A Dragonfly for Each Corpse and Seven Murders for Scotland Yard (both starring prolific Spanish horror star Paul Naschy), but The Killer Wore Gloves is pretty much your standard Giallo fare, and was obviously made to cash on the popular style of the day. However, in its own right - The Killer Wore Gloves is not an especially bad film, though the plot isn't exactly original and it could have been carried better. The film begins with a man getting his throat slashed by an unseen assailant with a razor blade. His girlfriend, Peggy Foster, later learns of his disappearance and is drawn to an old abandoned airport, where she is shot at but manages to get away unscathed. Things take a turn for the more mysterious when the lodger she took in turns up dead - and also happens to be an impostor when the real lodger turns up!

The fact that the plot is complicated isn't a problem at all if you ask me (quite the opposite in fact) as I love a good complicated Giallo - but despite it's complexity, the plot here isn't all that interesting. This is unfortunately matched by some lacklustre cinematography, which is a real shame as this is one of the things that makes the Giallo genre as a whole stand out, but it's not capitalised on here. The acting is typically standard stuff, but Gillian Hills (who was a part of the influential 'Blow-Up') at least makes for an engaging lead. The film takes place in London, and unlike a lot of Giallo's that take place outside of their native country - this one is actually shot on location, which is nice. The plot moves steadily throughout and at just eighty five minutes, The Killer Wore Gloves doesn't really have time to get boring. It all boils down to an interesting conclusion that just about justifies the film that came before it and almost wraps everything up. Overall, I can't say that this is a must see Giallo, but it's not terrible and Giallo fans are likely to get something out of it.

The viewer wore socks.

[BA_Harrison · 4/10 · 8 January 2022]

The killer wore gloves: of course he did... this is a giallo, after all. He also packs a cut-throat razor, with which he kills his first victim, but switches to a curved sickle gardening tool for subsequent murders. All par for the course.

The killer, who also wears a leather jacket, is searching for a missing $1million in cash, half of which falls into the lap of pretty artist Peggy Foster (Gillian Hills), meaning that she is in constant peril throughout the film. Peggy knows nothing of the origin of the money, but thinks that it has something to do with her reporter boyfriend Michael, who is currently on assignment in Vietnam - or is he?

I admit that following obscure Spanish giallo The Killer Wears Gloves was a bit of a struggle for me, not because it is a particularly complex movie, but because it failed to hold my attention, being far from compelling or original. There's very little here to excite avid fans of the genre - no dazzling visuals, no amazingly choreographed death sequences, and no clever revelations - just some nudity (star Hills is very attractive and takes a shower) and a bit of nice travelogue footage of 70s London, where the film is set (although the car chase finalé was very clearly shot in Spain).

4.5/10, rounded up to 5 for Peggy's groovy apartment, complete with giant egg-shaped lamp/ornament, but rounded down to 4 for Peggy having a handy revolver - in the UK?!?!.

effortlessly batting aside stupid dialogue

[christopher-underwood · 6/10 · 21 April 2014]

Not a very imaginative title for this largely Spanish take on the giallo and director, Juan Bosch does not turn out a very inspired movie. His main asset seems to be a pretty, Gillian Hills, born in Cairo but presumably of British parents. She did a fair bit including small parts in Blow Up and Clockwork Orange, presumably exploiting her looks and also the sublime, Demons of the Mind, though I don't recall how well she did in that what with the antics of Robert Hardy and Patrick Magee. Anyway, in this she is good, effortlessly batting aside stupid dialogue, idiotic assumptions and general lack of coherent plot development. Apart from the pleasure of Gillian there are the many shots, mainly night time ones, of 70s London although there is one delicious scene where we are driving out of London and find ourselves in the back streets of some Spanish village before the continuity team restore order. Its pleasant and diverting enough but not worth going out of ones way for.

Mildly diverting giallo-by-the-numbers

[lazarillo · 9 July 2006]

I wasn't expecting too much from this minor giallo. The Spanish director, Juan Bosch, was responsible for what was probably Paul Naschy's worst movie, "Exorcismo" (the one that ends with the Spanish horror star battling a possessed German shepherd). And the lead, English actress Gillian Hills, is most well-known for a couple of famous three-way sex scenes--with Jane Birkin and David Hemmings in "Blow Up" and with Malcolm McDowell and some other girl in "A Clockwork Orange". She had a slightly meatier role in the Hammer film "Demons of the Mind", but nothing to indicate she could carry a movie by herself.

Hills plays a young woman whose boyfriend disappears (we apparently see him killed in the opening scene). She has to rent out a room in her flat to a creepy tenant. She then gets a call from her missing boyfriend luring her to an abandoned airport hanger where she is nearly shot. She returns to find the creepy tenant has apparently committed suicide. But then she finds out he was an impostor when the real tenant shows up. And what's up with her boyfriend? Is he alive or dead? This is a pretty average giallo, but that means if you like gialli in general you'll probably like it. It seems relatively big-budgeted, being shot largely on location in London, but the visual style is not terribly interesting (with the exception of Hills' extended nude scene --it's pretty hard to make that uninteresting). I'd recommend it to gialli fans for sure (even though you really won't see anything you haven't seen before), and for everyone else, well, it's at least worth watching if you stumble across it I guess.

Mediocre Production Values

[Lechuguilla · 5/10 · 17 May 2017]

This is one of those films where it's hard to know what to make of the story until right at the end. The back-story is well hidden, with only occasional dialogue references to a Vietnam photojournalist named "Michael", and the visual of a mysterious black briefcase that comes into the possession of Michael's girlfriend in London. The plot takes place almost entirely in London and is focused on the girlfriend. Along the way, at least one person is murdered. A couple of characters function as red herrings. And that's about it, until the end.

There are a couple of spooky segments; one takes place in a deserted old airplane hanger, accompanied by semi-noir lighting and the shadow of someone holding a gun. The killer tools around on a motorcycle, dressed entirely in black leather. I correctly figured out the killer's identity, but I missed the motive.

The story is fairly simple and is explained quickly. But viewers expect that a high-quality giallo will have striking visuals, spine-tingling suspense, and a surprise ending. "The Killer Wore Gloves" spends so much plot time on the girlfriend, the killer and this person's movements are not accentuated, which detracts from suspense. The ending I had figured out about two-thirds of the way through.

Visuals at best are mediocre for the giallo genre. They're not bad. But the lighting could have been spookier in combination with more scenes devoted to the killer. Sound quality is muffled, especially near the beginning. Even at the end, poor sound quality covers up part of the killer's explanation. Intermittent background music is frantic and annoying. Casting is acceptable, but Gillian Hills is not a very good actress in the role of the girlfriend.

This Euro-cinema whodunit is worth a one time watch for viewers who appreciate the giallo genre. But a general audience will probably not be impressed, as production values trend somewhat low and acting quality is not especially good.

Peggy's not good with men

[Bezenby · 7/10 · 28 February 2018]

The film opens with some guy getting his throat cut in an airport toilet by a mystery figure, then switches to focus on Peggy, girlfriend of Michael, a photo-journalist who has been in Vietnam for some time and isn't showing any interest in coming home. Peggy therefore lives alone in her London apartment, with the usual variety of creepy/weird neighbours/housekeepers living around her, what with this being a giallo and what not.

Peggy is an artist and just about everyone she knows is a complete areshole, from the lecherous guy whom she submits her art too (who keeps putting the moves on her), to Michael's ex-girlfriend Jackie (who is a total b**ch) to her upstairs, bass playing, cat loving neighbour upstairs (who looks like a time travelling, elderly Nick Cave). Peggy needs cash and as Michael off in the 'Nam she figures she might as well rent his apartment out, because that always works out well in this kind of film.

Her new tenant turns out to Bruno Corazzari, and he seems kind of okay as he's not putting the moves on her quite as much as any other man in her life. Then again, he's wearing creepy mirrored glasses and starts rifling around in Michael's room the moment Peggy leaves. Lo and behold, the next thing that happen is that Michael is on the phone, he's back in Blighty, and wants to meet Peggy at an abandoned hangar. Or was that bit after the bit where Corazzari takes a dive off the building, leaving a corpse with a smashed up face? I can't remember. By the way, corpses with smashed up faces aren't good news in gialli, unlike in real life.

Also, later that day, Peggy's new tenant turns up as a different guy, confusing her. What's going? What's happening? Who's that in there? This being a standard giallo, various murders start taking place, except for one character who falls in front of a subway train rather stupidly. There are many red herrings but it was easy to guess the killer. In saying that, it didn't stop me enjoying the film. You've got your usual giallo traits (boobs) and a smattering of gore (smattering not being a word you use in say, McDonalds: "I'll have a Big Mac and a smattering of chips."), and the soundtrack was nice and funky.

Oh that titl

[BandSAboutMovies · 7/10 · 18 February 2020]

I am consumed by near-constant nerves and worries, pains that can only be assuaged by late-night viewings of only the rarest and most deranged examples of film. So when I see a movie with the titles of Hot Lips the Killer, Le Calde Labbra del Carnefice (The Hot Lips of the Executioner), La Muerte Llama a las 10 (Death Calls at 10) and The Killer Wore Gloves - because it's a giallo and dammit the killer better wear gloves - then all my being up at 3:15 AM like the haunted son of Ronnie DeFeo all pays off.

Peggy (Gillian Hills, A Clockwork Orange, Blow-Up) is worried that she hasn't heard from her boyfriend Michael for months as he's been covering the dangerous war in Vietnam. She's also rented out the loft in her apartment to a friend of a friend of a friend named John Kirk Lawford, whose body shows up dead. And where's our heroine On the way to meet Michael at an abandoned airplane hangar when a gloved killer - the movie MUST live up to its title, right? - tries to kill her. And now, another man shows up with the name John Kirk Lawford and a whole bunch of money shows up in our heroine's apartment

Peggy wears the type of outfits - and lives in the type of bonkers apartment, complete with a fabric Frankenstein's monster hamper - that only exist in 1970's giallo. Let's face it. Our girl has a giant egg in the middle of her flat.

Poor Peggy. Every man in her life is absolutely horrible and despite people shooting at her and showing up dead all around the place, she never informs the police or seeks any help. Oh to be a giallo heroine, constantly having to wear leather mini-dresses and have all manner of skeevy men offering you money for sex, just plain sex or sex with lots of violent death as a side dish.

Director Juan Bosch also wrote Secta Siniestra, in which a woman pregnant with the Anti-Christ is menaced by Satanists - you'd think they'd want to make that pregnancy go a little simpler, am I right? - and directed Exorcismo, which stars our favorite Spanish actor Paul Naschy.

A Spanish movie imitating an Italian film based on German krimi movies taken from a British author starring an actress from the UK. If you ever wondered, "Why can't we all just get along?" then you haven't been watching much mid-70's giallo, hmm?

Really? Gloves, you say?? How extraordinary!

[Coventry · 6/10 · 28 June 2015]

Considering I'm a self-acclaimed giallo film aficionado, I simply must start this review with a pointless rant about how ludicrous and goddamn obvious the international English title is. "The Killer Wore Gloves"… Is that seriously the best title they could come up with? I've seen approximately 120 gialli so far, and in more than 75% of all titles the killer – or killers - always wears gloves. The black (leather) gloves of the killer are one of the main giallo trademarks, along with the convoluted plot-twists and the misogynic violence. There's something wrong with all titles of this particular giallo, in fact. The original Spanish title "La Muerta Llama a las 10" somewhat translates as "Death Calls at 10 O'Clock", which is admittedly a much cooler title but doesn't have any link with the events in the film. And the Italian release titles goes like "The Warm Lips of the Killer". Quite awesome too, but the killer doesn't do anything with his/her lips neither.

But anyways, enough about the title issues! "The Killer Wore Gloves" is a Spanish giallo, and they are usually not as well-known or popular as their colleagues from Italy. The fact that it is still extremely obscure and hard to find also means that it's not a fantastic overlooked treasure of 70s Euro-cinema. Still, I would definitely recommend checking out "The Killer Wore Gloves" to more experienced giallo fans because it contains a handful of suspenseful sequences, an exhilarating score, an incredibly beautiful lead actress and a fairly satisfying & ingenious twist ending. The film begins with the lovely Peggy Foster (Gillian Hills) spotting her boyfriend Michael in a car in the center of London, even though his supposed to be fighting in Vietnam. Shortly after Peggy welcomes the creepy new tenant John Kirk Lawford in the apartment above hers, but when she returns from a fruitless attempt to meet up with Michael, the tenant apparently committed suicide by jumping from the apartment balcony. Then, while she's being interrogated by the police, another man rings the doorbell and claims to be the new tenant named John Kirk Lawford. Oh and meanwhile there's a killer – with gloves – slicing up Peggy's acquaintances with a nasty type of sickle. In all honesty the story really isn't that interesting or compelling, but you keep watching (or at least I did) because Peggy is such a likable female lead and you don't want her to get hurt. Gillian Hills depicts her as the ideal damsel in distress and it probably also helps that she has a couple of extended topless sequences. The rather unknown but prolific Spanish director Juan Bosch makes the most out of the scenes where Peggy wanders around her flat all petrified, with loud penetrating music, assuming there is someone there who intends to hurt her. There's some nice London scenery to admire as well as a couple of pointless but entertaining supporting characters, like a naked Orchidea de Santis and a cat-worshiping gay neighbor.

Entertaining Gialli with a likable performance from the delicious Gillian Hills!

[Weirdling_Wolf · 8/10 · 23 January 2014]

'The Killer Wore Gloves' aka 'La muerte llama a las 10' (1974) is an entertaining, though unexceptional Gialli with a genuinely likable performance from the delicious Gillian Hills; who unwittingly lets out the flat above to a somewhat nefarious character which acts as the lurid catalyst for many bloody deaths and equally gaudy red herrings that predictably ensue. Outside of the grubby London exteriors what initially galvanized my interested about 'The Killer wore Gloves' was the fiery head-noddingly beatific, groove-laden, prog sounds of Marcello Giombini, his thunderous, Goblin-esque soundtrack must surely be ripe for a remastered release at some juncture? This rich, jazzy and eclectic soundtrack really lifts the admittedly prosaic plot into something rather special, well it certainly did something 'special' to me anyway! Even today, 'La muerte llama a las 10' remains somewhat of an obscure Giallo, no doubt due to the tangible lack of cinematic flair or invention from Herr Bosch; but the lividly luminous presence of Ms. Hills and the magnificent funky, joy-inducing jazz riffs of the maestro cine-groove Giombini really should make this funkily far-out Gialli one to track down; especially if your interests lie within the giddy realms of the mid-seventies Italian slasher. Right, time to peruse my collection to see what other gorgeous Giombini can be unearthed for my edification later on tonight!

Spanish/Italian Gallo set in London including lots of murders, chills, thrills and red herrings

[ma-cortes · 6/10 · 10 February 2021]

At the beginning a killing happens at an airport restroom , after that a beautiful girl called Peggy Foster : Gillian Hills residing in London city is really worried, that's why she has not heard from her sweetheart for long time, as he is a war correspondant in Vietnam. Meanwhile, she attempts to rent his loft to an alleged tenant called John Lawford who suddenly commits suicide. Then , things go wrong when at her flat appears the true tenant John Lawford : Angel Del Pozo . Subsequently, a series of mysterious murders happen in London. Along the way a Police Inspector : Manuel Gas starts investigating the bloody crimes . It is diabolical! It is daring! It is stalking, it cuts, it rips!

Spanish Giallo in medium budget packing suspense, tense, whodunit , thrills, plot twists , nudism and lots of blood and gore. A B-entertainment with a fairly suspenseful and frightening story in which a serial murderer on the loose undertaking a criminal spree by means of slitting, decapitation and other grisly executions. The tale about an ominous killer begins well and grows more and more until the twisted final including a pursuit in which we figure out the guilty. Interesting and entertaining story based on a novel by Luisa Maria Linares and script with plenty of twists and turns from Renato Izzo and Juan Bosch himself. Stars the gorgeous British girl Gillian Hills who acted in Clockwork Orange and Blow Out , she gives a mediocre, though passable acting . Being a Spain/Italy coproduction , there shows up some Spanish actors : Angel Del Pozo, Silvia Solar , Carlos Otero, Goyo Lebrero, Manuel Gas and Italian ones : Stelio Candelli, Bruno Corazazzi, Orchidea De Santis , Raf Baldassarre's cameo , among others.

It displays atmospheric cinematography by Julio Perez Rozas, though an alright remastering being really necessary . Suspenseful and funky/jazz musical score with a catching , groovy leitmotif by Marcello Giombini . Shot on location in London, Barcelona and Elios studios , Rome. The picture was professionally directed by Juan Bosch, containing some flaws, failures and gaps. Bosch was a Spanish artisan who wrote and directed films of all kinds of genres such as Spaghetti Western : "Dallas", "God in heaven Arizona on Earth", "And the crows will dig your grave" , "My horse my gun your widow", "Ciudad Maldita", "Stagecoach of the condemned", "They believed he was no Saint" . Comedy : " Mauricio mon amour" , "40 años sin sexo", "Caray con el divorcio", "Rolls para Hipolito" . Terror : " Secta Siniestra" and Giallo : "The killer with a thousand eyes", "The killer wore gloves" . Rating 5.5/10. Only for Giallo and slasher aficionados.

A decent enough Spanish giallo

[Red-Barracuda · 6/10 · 25 January 2016]

The Killer Wore Gloves is one of the specific subset of giallo films that are of Spanish origin. Despite this one being a Spanish-Italian co-production, it's certainly fair to say that it's primarily an Iberian film. Like other examples of this type, it's of a bit lower quality than its average Italian counterpart, while still essentially being decent overall. As is so often the way in this particular sub-genre, it sports a plot-line that is somewhat convoluted. Set in London, events kick off with the murder of a man in an airport restroom for possession of an enigmatic briefcase. At the same time, a young woman thinks she has spotted her boyfriend driving around in the city, a man who has hitherto gone missing. The girl also has taken in a new tenant to share her home with, a very odd man who wears shades indoors at all times. He soon turns up dead after an apparent suicide. Making matters even worse, an attempt is made on the girl's life by an unknown assassin and this is followed by a bunch of other inter-related murders.

It's a fairly complicated story full of the usual gaggle of red herrings and oddball side characters that typify films from this genre. The murder set-pieces themselves involve a variety of weaponry and there is a modicum of suspense generated. The on location London settings were fine, while Gillian Hills made for a good enough heroine. It is, however, not an especially stylish effort by this genre's usual standards and it's really a fairly middling example of this type of movie on the whole. But, that said, if you are a fan of the genre I know that one thing is for sure and that is that more of the same is never exactly a bad thing. And this entry, while basically unremarkable, still has the good sense to deliver the bread and butter elements of the genre. At the end of the day though, for giallo connoisseurs, I think that overall the most interesting feature in this one is its Spanish origins.