Softwing Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.

Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Nigel P This Italian giallo film contains a tremendous musical score: that is the first thing I noticed. Luciano Michelini's funky, jaunty soundtrack permeates throughout, bringing to life scenes of police procedure and making the action sequences even better. There are even moments of comedy in here. Are they successful? Not in the slightest, in my view, although other opinions are equally justified. To me they undermine the atmosphere without adding anything extra that is successful.Where Sergio Martino's direction really shines, however, is in the chase and shooting set-pieces, the best being a tremendous shoot-out on a roller-coaster ride. The fusion of calamity and the rattling soundtrack guarantees enjoyment. A shame that such urgency isn't injected into more of the 100 minutes, or that some pruning couldn't have been done. For however energetic certain moments are, the film is a little too long and could have done with perhaps losing 15 minutes.Is Martino's mixture of styles a success? Partially, I'd say. But ultimately, I prefer my giallo more consistently dark and without the flights of comedy. It is good, but not great. Whilst it is pleasing to see the director experiment with an established style, his crowning achievement remains 1971's untouchable 'Strange Case of Mrs Wardh.'

MARIO GAUCI I had never heard of this before its Sazuma "Special Edition" DVD came along (though I actually acquired it recently from ulterior sources); consequently, I took the film to be a very minor Martino effort – so that I went into it without much expectations. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how enjoyable it all turned out to be – more so, in fact, than some of the director's more popular titles…though I can see how anyone hoping for a typical giallo will be confused and disappointed by its overriding poliziottesco elements, and even more so the sometimes daft comedy touches (on which I'll elaborate later on). Thematically, SUSPECTED DEATH OF A MINOR is an unofficial companion to the Massimo Dallamano trilogy of gialli revolving around teenage prostitution rackets – WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO SOLANGE? (1972), WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOUR DAUGHTERS? (1974) and RINGS OF FEAR (1978; completed by Alberto Negrin after the film-maker's tragic demise in a road accident); in that regard, it's hardly original, but Martino (whose last genre outing this proved to be) lends it his customary flair – aided a great deal by a splendid Goblinesque score courtesy of the obscure Luciano Michelini. Casting is another asset, led by Claudio Cassinelli – who would himself suffer an untimely death 10 years later in a helicopter crash while filming another Martino film! – as the unconventional hero (forever breaking his spectacles, he starts off as mystery-man and rogue but is eventually revealed to be a special undercover cop), Mel Ferrer as his long-suffering superior, and Massimo Girotti as the obligatory would-be respectable but all-powerful businessman pulling the strings. While there are obviously a number of female figures here (though, uncharacteristically, little nudity), none really emerges to take center-stage – including late starlet Jenny Tamburi who, despite a severely underwritten role, is still given an unwarranted cruel fate! The film comes to life principally in a handful of well-staged set-pieces, which take the form of chases rather than murders – an assassination attempt aboard a roller-coaster ride, a cliff-hanging sequence involving the opening roof of a cinema (which, according to an online review, is showing Martino's own YOUR VICE IS A LOCKED ROOM AND ONLY I HAVE THE KEY [1972]!), and the climactic across-the-water showdown between Cassinelli and Girotti. However, the most memorable (because it is so unexpected) certainly emerges the comical one in which the hero and his petty-thief pal take the Police on a wild ride – driving a rickety machine whose doors are constantly getting dislodged, Cassinelli asks his companion to throw them at their pursuers…but there's also a bit where a man riding a bike is left with a mere tricycle following a brush with the speeding vehicles and another which, hilariously, has a hit-and-run victim literally land and roll (repeatedly) on his head!

Witchfinder General 666 As many of my fellow Italian Horror fans probably do, I consider Sergio Martino one of my favorite directors. The man has delivered great films in a variety of genres, but he is doubtlessly (and rightly) most famous for his Gialli. Before seeing this film, I had already seen his five other contributions to the Giallo-genre, "The Strange Vice Of Mrs Wardh" (1971), "The Scorpion's Tail" (1971), "Your Vice Is A Locked Room And Only I Have The Key" (1972), "All Colors Of The Dark" (1972), and "Torso" (1973), all of which are nothing short of brilliance. I've seen all these films multiple times, and while they all had the typical great Martino-style, each one of these films has something very particular. Especially the ingenious Poe-inspired "Your Vice Is A Locked Room And Only I Have The Key" is a personal favorite of mine that easily ranks among the greatest Gialli ever brought to screen. This "La Morte Sospetta Di Una Minorenne" (aka. "Suspected Death Of A Minor") of 1975 is doubtlessly also a very memorable film, and while I did not quite like it as much as Martino's other five Gialli, one cannot deny that it has its very particular qualities. This is doubtlessly Martino's oddest Giallo, as it is not a typical specimen of the genre, but a weird and highly unconventional mixture of Giallo, Crime flick, and, in many parts, Comedy that even includes Slapstick-elements.I do not want to give away too much of the plot, since it is, in many ways, unpredictable, and bears many unexpected twists. The mid 70s were already the end of the most successful heyday of the Italian Giallo, whilst the heyday of Italian Crime flicks was beginning around the time. Several Gialli from the time, therefore used elements that are mainly attributed to the Poliziottesco, such as drugs, underage prostitution, corruption etc. The most famous example for that may be Massimo Dallamano's "La Polizia Chiede Ajuto" (aka. "What Have They Done To Your Daughters?" of 1974, and it is also the case with this film. The overload of slapstick elements here is quite unique, though, which is not necessarily a good thing. True, even the most famous Giallo of all-time (and also one of the greatest), Dario Argento's masterpiece "Profondo Rosso" from the same year, has several comical moments. Not to the same extent, though, as these moments are just occasionally in "Profondo Rosso", where they actually greatly create more closeness to the characters. In "Suspected Death Of A Minor" these elements are not quite as funny, but therefore including more slapstick, omnipresent and used to a sometimes annoying extent. Even so, the idea of a Giallo with slapstick-elements is original, to say at least, and the film does not loose its compelling Mystery/Thriller parts. Leading man Claudio Casellini starred in a variety of Italian Exploitation and Horror productions, including "Flavia The Heretic", "Murder At The Etruscan Cemetery" and director Martino's very own "Mountain Of The Cannibal God". The role which Casellini is probably best known for is that of the investigating detective in "What Have They Done To Your Daughters", a film that bears many resemblances to this one (even though "What Have They Done To Your Daughters" is more serious, and a lot better). The film is superbly shot, and the score by Luciano Michelini is brilliant and contributes a lot to the atmosphere and suspense. Overall. "Suspected Death Of A Minor" is a highly recommendable film for all my fellow Giallo-enthusiasts and Sergio Martino fans. I would nonetheless recommend to see Martino's brilliant other Gialli first. Especially "Your Vice Is A Locked Room And Only I Have The Key" (which, by the way, is funnily referenced to in this film) comes with my highest possible recommendations, and films like "Torso" and "The Strange Vice Of Mrs. Wardh" are also essential for genre-fans. My opinion on "Suspected Death Of A Minor": 7/10

Rapeman Sergio Martino's name is pretty well known amongst Giallo and Italian exploitation fans - he's directed such classic Gialli as Torso, The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh, Case of the Scorpion's Tail and All the Colors of the Dark. He's also made some first-rate trash, namely Mountain of the Cannibal God, 2019: After the Fall of New York, Atomic Cyborg and The Great Alligator. Suspected Death of a Minor is one of Martino's less recognized films as it has never, until now, received a widespread release. Sazuma Productions present here an uncut and restored version of this long-lost piece of Italian genre cinema.When a prostitute is found brutally murdered in a sleazy boarding house, renegade Inspector Paolo Germi (Claudio Cassinelli) teams up with petty thief and pickpocket Teti (Gianfranco Barra) to investigate. The trail leads them to discover a series of interlinking crimes including an underage prostitution racket, blackmail, kidnapping, incest and drugs. The plot is extremely convoluted, with many surprises along the way.This film is a unique blend of the Giallo and Poliziesco (police thriller) genres with the odd touch of bizarre comedy. There is your Giallo-style killer who wears mirrored sunglasses and slashes up women with a switchblade (although, overall there's very little blood in this flick) but he's only seen in a few scenes as the police investigations take center stage here. Although Germi doesn't go about police business the usual way, he's more like Dirty Harry or something, he shoots at civilians, sleeps with hookers, and even leads members of his own police force on a huge car-chase during which he tells his passenger to rip off the car doors (his car's a piece of sh!t) and throw them at the car behind him! There's also other comedic elements during this car chase - they smash into one dude on a bike and he's left riding a unicycle, another guy narrowly avoids getting hit by jumping out of the way and when he falls he spins on his head a coupla times like a break-dancer (?!).The film is extremely well shot with gorgeous cinematography by frequent Martino collaborator Giancarlo Ferrando, and an excellent Goblin-esquire score by Luciano Michelini.Italian exploit fans will recognize a few familiar faces here too: Claudio Cassinelli (Flavia the Heretic, Mountain of the Cannibal God, and Lucio Fulci's The New Gladiators and Murder Rock). Mel Ferrer (both Lenzi and Hooper's Eaten Alive films, Nightmare City, The Great Alligator). Jenny Tamburi (Murder to the Tune of the Seven Black Notes, The Sinful Nuns of Saint Valentine, Women in Cell Block 7). And the Assistant Director was Michele Massimo Tarantini (Massacre in Dinosaur Valley, Women in Fury).Overall, an OK film but probably more for fans of the Poliziesco genre than Giallo as its definitely more police / action orientated. 6/10