Inside the locket, they find the folded note, but before they can read it, the killer shuts the crypt door, locking Carlo inside and attacking Franco outside. They discover that Bianca was buried with the locket, so they go to her family crypt and search her coffin. That night, Carlo and Franco both avoid separate attempts to kill them.įranco tells Carlo that Bianca must have been killed because the killer suspected she had evidence, and, remembering Lori mentioning Bianca's locket, he speculates the evidence may be in the locket.
Casoni speculates that testing for XYY may become a method for crime prevention. Mombelli reveals that everyone at the Institute submitted blood samples to be tested for the XYY research, while Dr. Carlo speaks with other Institute doctors. The killer searches her but cannot find the note, which is hidden in the locket.Ĭarlo and Franco continue investigating, despite receiving a threatening note from the killer. Bianca returns to her apartment, where the killer, who has been following her, strangles her. That night, Bianca searches Calabresi's car and finds a note detailing the thief/killer's identity. They joke that the case is like a Cat o' nine tails, and resolve to follow each tail.Ĭarlo interviews Anna, who reveals that the Institute has been researching " XYY syndrome." Their study suggests that people with the XYY chromosome have a "criminal tendency." Meanwhile, Franco and Lori meet with Bianca, who provides no additional information, but Lori remarks to Franco that Bianca was nervously fingering a locket as she spoke. Discussing the case, they observe there are nine leads: the five remaining Institute scientists (Mombelli, Esson, Casoni, Braun, and director Terzi), Terzi's daughter Anna, Bianca (Calabresi's fiancée), the original break-in, and the missing photographs. The killer takes the photo and all the negatives before Carlo, Franco, and Lori arrive.Ĭarlo, impressed with Franco, lets him assist his investigation. However, after they ask the photographer to print the entire picture, someone strangles him to death. Franco has a hunch that the newspaper photo was cropped, and a call to the photographer confirms this. Franco "Cookie" Arnò, a middle-aged blind man who himself was once an ace reporter, and his niece Lori visit Carlo after reading the article. Reporter Carlo Giordani has been covering the break-in investigation and writes an article about Calabresi's death, including the photo. A paparazzi photographer captures Calabresi's fall, but not the killer, on film. He attempts to blackmail the individual, but the thief pushes him in front of an arriving train, killing him. Calabresi, one of the Institute doctors, confides to his fiancée, Bianca Merusi, that he knows who broke into the Institute and why. Īn unknown individual breaks into the Terzi Medical Institute but apparently takes nothing. Argento admitted in the book Broken Mirrors, Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento that he was less than pleased with the film, and has repeatedly cited it as his least favorite of all of his films. Though unsuccessful in Europe, it was acclaimed in the United States. Īlthough it is the middle entry in Argento's so-called "Animal Trilogy" (along with The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and Four Flies on Grey Velvet), the "cat o' nine tails" does not directly refer to a literal cat, nor to a literal multi-tailed whip rather, it refers to the number of leads that the protagonists follow in the attempt to solve a murder. It stars Karl Malden, James Franciscus, and Catherine Spaak. The Cat o' Nine Tails ( Italian: Il gatto a nove code) is a 1971 giallo film written and directed by Dario Argento, adapted from a story by Dardano Sacchetti, Luigi Cozzi, and an uncredited Bryan Edgar Wallace.
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