Sam Panico A man is stabbed on a train, leading the police to question Nicole (giallo queen Nieves Navarro) about diamonds that are missing. Her life turns upside down, as she begins to receive disguised phone calls asking about the diamonds and a blue-eyed masked man attacks her in her boudoir. She then remembers that her jealous lover Michel owns contact lenses in that color, so she runs away with an older eye surgeon to the coast of England. But Michel isn't far behind...The first of three giallo directed by Navarro's husband, Luciano Ercoli, this is what the genre should be: shocking, lurid, bloody and oh so fashionable. It also makes a deft turn from what we expect from the form into an actual mystery film.There's a plot twist here that honestly shocked me, so I won't spoil it. While the other two films in the Ercoli giallo trilogy - Death Walks at Midnight and The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion - are much better, this is still a quality film worthy of your time. Some critics decry them as Ercoli making movies just to feature his wife, but if you had a quality woman like Navarro in your life, I bet you'd do the same.

waldog2006 Death walks very slowly in high heels in this badly subtitled ("Have you got something on your head, Inspector?" for "What's on your mind..." etc)'gialli' which makes the odd decision to use heavily Italian-looking actors to play English characters. The music, and the on-location settings, are the most interesting things. Otherwise, this is a souped-up Agatha Christie-style whodunit with stolen jewels, the usual red herrings, a not-very-smart Inspector Plod with an even less smart PC Plod, and a supposedly sexy leading lady who blacks up for one of her stripteases. There is no sense of pacing or directorial flair. I thought it would never end. Plenty of bright red ketchup, though. Nice ice, too (if you make it that far). For die-hard 'gialli' fans only.

The_Void Luciano Ercoli is famous for making three Giallo films; two of which are among the best that the genre has to offer, and along with The Forbidden Photos of a Lady Above Suspicion, Death Walks on High Heels is among the best of the director's films. It would be fair to level criticism at this film, as it is slightly overlong and I guessed most of the major points before they happened; but that doesn't change the fact that this is a fun film and well worth seeing. One common element of the Giallo is a convoluted plot - and this film delights in featuring one of the most convoluted of the whole genre. The story takes in a number of characters, all fuelled by desires of lust, revenge and/or greed. The plot picks up after the attack on Nicole Rochard. The attack seems to have something to do with a stash of diamonds, but when questioned; she appears to know nothing about them. She decides to travel to England along with an eye doctor, and gets followed by her French boyfriend; a man that she believes may be the attacker. They move to a quaint English seaside village, where all appears to be safe...Luciano Ercoli does a good job of setting the scene for this film, and the English village at the centre of the story provides a nice tranquil location for a murder fuelled film like this one. The vast amount of characters involved do bring the film down a little bit, but they also ensure that there's always something going on; and most would agree that it's better to have an overcomplicated plot than an underdeveloped one. Unfortunately, however, there isn't a great deal of gore in the film. The ensemble cast do well, and once again Ercoli's then spouse Susan Scott heads the cast. Scott does well at delivering the seductive and sultry lead performance that we're used to from her; although it's unfortunate that she doesn't get a great deal of screen time. The rest of the cast is good also, with Ercoli's other frequent collaborator Simón Andreu giving the best performance of the support. It's fairly easy to get confused during this film, but unlike many other Giallo's, at least almost everything here makes sense by the end. Ercoli tops the film off with a strong ending that sees all the characters get their comeuppance, and overall; this is a strong film and comes highly recommended!

bensonmum2 A jewel thief is brutally murdered on a train by a masked assailant. But when the murderer is unable to locate any diamonds, the murderer immediately suspects that the thief's daughter, a Parisian stripper named Nicole (Nieves Navarro aka Susan Scott), may have the diamonds. Nicole, however, claims to know nothing of the diamonds. After a series of threats, both verbal and physical, Nicole decides to flee France with a man she hardly knows. The pair begin a seemingly ideal relationship in a secluded seaside village. But Nicole is unaware that the killer has followed her to England and will stop at nothing to get his hands on the diamonds.What a fun Giallo! Death Walks on High Heels has one of the most convoluted plots I've run into – even by Giallo standards. While the movie may lack the quantity of murder scenes found in other Gialli (although at least one murder scene is as violent as they come), Death Walks on High Heels makes up for this shortcoming with more plot twists than a mountain road and boatload of red herrings. It had me guessing (incorrectly, I might add) up to the very end. It's all about the mystery and director Luciano Ercoli skillfully casts the shadow of suspicion on just about everyone in the cast. Much of the movie is told quite nicely in flashbacks with bits and pieces of the story being revealed as each person confesses to what they may or may not have seen. There's even a pair of bumbling Scotland Yard detectives who are (surprise, surprise) actually funny. Overall, Death Walks on High Heels is very well done.The acting is a notch or two above what I've come to expect in a Giallo. The highlight, at least for me, is Nieves Navarro. She is amazing as Nicole. I didn't think I would ever say this, but I think she might have been capable of challenging Edwige Fenech in my mind as the Queen of the Giallo had she made a few more of these movies. I'm looking forward to checking out more of her work.As much as I enjoyed Death Walks on High Heels, it's not without its flaws. Chief among them, at least to me, is a "cheat" with respect to one of the murders. I don't want to give anything away, but there is one particularly nasty murder that the killer could not have committed given the circumstances immediately following the murder. Hopefully, with repeat viewings, I can reconcile this point in my mind and just enjoy the movie for what it is.Finally, and I'm really starting to sound like a shill, NoShame's new DVD is fantastic. I would have never dreamed that a movie like Death Walks on High Heels would look this good. Bravo NoShame!