"Smile Before Death" (Italian: "Il sorriso della iena," which means "Smile of the Hyena") is a 1972 Italian giallo film. Silvio Amadio wrote and directed the movie. Rosalba Neri is the main actress in the film.
Plot
Marco, a nobleman who has lost all his money, is married unhappily to Dorothy Emerson, a wealthy woman. Dorothy's best friend, Gianna, is also Marco's lover. Marco kills his wife, making it appear that she committed suicide by cutting her throat with a piece of glass. He then becomes the manager of his wife's estate, with the condition that Nancy, Dorothy's daughter from a previous marriage, will take control of the estate when she turns twenty. Marco has moved to live with Gianna in a luxurious villa near a lake.
Nancy, Dorothy's daughter, contacts Marco to inform him that she will soon take control of her mother's estate. Nancy has lived at a boarding school for many years and had not seen her mother for a long time. Gianna encourages Marco to kill Nancy, as Marco's quality of life will decrease significantly once Nancy takes over the estate. However, Marco begins to fall in love with Nancy, which creates complications in the situation.
Cast
- Jenny Tamburi plays the role of Nancy Thompson
- Silvano Tranquilli plays the role of Marco
- Rosalba Neri plays the role of Gianna
- Dana Ghia plays the role of Magda
- Zora Gheorgieva plays the role of Dorothy Emerson
- Hiram Keller plays the role of Paolo /
Legacy
A musical piece from Roberto Pregadio's "Iena Sequence" soundtrack, which includes vocals by Edda Dell'Orso, was the first track on the 1996 compilation album Beat in Cinecitta. This song became well-known in the United States when it was used in a 2001 Honda Civic commercial titled "Cut It Out." In the ad, a teenage boy sits in the back seat between two girls and tries to sit with his legs spread apart. His older sister, who is driving, scolds him for his behavior.