Don't Torture a Duckling

MOVIE #1,203 • 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿 • 10.22.23 50 MOVIES IN 32 DAYS! Our second giallo here on Giallo Saturday is definitely the most gialloest giallo of this “masters of the sub-genre” showcase: it’s the great Lucio Fulci’s Don’t Torture a Ducking. Right down to that title: an almost non-sequitur that actually refers to a Donald Duck toy that’s had its head removed by a mentally handicapped little girl which serves as a clue to uncovering the killer (having a wacky title that usually represents a small element of the plot mentioning an animal is something of a giallo staple — Argento was probably most famous for this, e.g., Four Flies on Grey Velvet and The Bird with the Crystal Plumage).

This is also notable as it’s Fulci’s first real foray into the genre and it utilizes more gore and blood which he would become famous for (and more indulgent with) as the decade continued. We also see some of the other, sometimes frustrating trademarks of the genre: a confusing narrative, countless red herrings, no clear/strong protagonist, etc. — all of which might be seen as a feature rather than a bug depending on the viewer.

I’ve become accustomed to the flood of too many characters in these movies and the go-nowhere threads, but easily the biggest flaw here is that final point: a lack of focus on a single perspective. The film migrates from following the detectives to the townspeople before landing on an investigative journalist and former hooker to uncover the mystery. This lack of a main character is disorienting and doesn’t do any favors to the already muddled narrative.

Still, the movie is a lot of fun and even closes with what might be my favorite Fulci calling card: totally fucking up a dummy/mannequin, as we see the priest/killer fall off a cliff and get totally wrecked on the way down…

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CHRONOLOGICALLY
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Don't Torture a Duckling (Italian: Non si sevizia un paperino) is a 1972 Italian giallo film directed by Lucio Fulci, starring Florinda Bolkan, Tomas Milian and Barbara Bouchet. The plot follows a detective investigating a series of child murders in an insular village in Southern Italy whose residents are riddled with superstition and mistrust. The film's score was composed by Riz Ortolani and features vocals by Ornella Vanoni. It was released on September 29, 1972.