THE IGUANA WITH THE TONGUE OF FIRE (1971)

 

PHENOMENALITY: *uncanny*
MYTHICITY: *fair*
FRYEAN MYTHOS: *drama*
CAMPBELLIAN FUNCTION: *psychological*

IGUANA WITH THE TONGUE OF FIRE is a fun name for a giallo even though its "animal title" was created to play off Dario Argento's groundbreaking THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE. To those who would say the context of the fire-tongued reptile doesn't add up to much in the narrative, I'll note that the crystal-plumed bird is something of a "false clue" in Argento as well.

A mysterious killer starts off his spree in Dublin (IGUANA was actually filmed in Waterford, Ireland) by ringing a woman's doorbell and then both splashing her with acid and cutting her throat. He then loads her body in the trunk of a car belonging to Swiss ambassador Sobiesky (Anton Diffring). The police question the arrogant Sobieski and his family, though the only one who provides the film with a solid red herring is grown daughter Helen (Dagmar Lassander). However, the Dublin cops can only do so much since their main suspect-- who apparently had relations with the slain woman as his mistress-- is protected by diplomatic immunity.

So the local constables bring in a ringer to investigate the family, former cop Norton (Luigi Pistilli). It seems counter-intuitive to choose as your undercover guy a cop fired for having abused a suspect who then committed suicide in front of Norton's eyes. However, maybe the phlegmatic commissioner-- the one who coins the iguana metaphor for the killer-- is impressed by the fact that Norton's really, really bugged by his past mistake and seems to want absolution (assuming Norton's not the killer, since the script implies as much a few times). Of course Norton's undercover operation comes with fringe benefits, for it apparently hinges on his managing to chat up Helen and sleep with her while he's investigating.

Subsequent killings-- mostly with knives and acid, though one does involve a sabotaged bobsleb-- all involve people somehow tied to the Sobieski family. Viewers get to see a POV of the killer wearing dark glasses, so of course Helen and one or two other characters are also seen wearing dark glasses. There's an aimless subplot about blackmail and we also meet Norton's elderly mother and teenaged daughter, who live with the ex-cop. (One hears no more about the daughter's mother than about what Norton was doing to put food on the table before he got this undercover gig.) 

Director/co-scripter Riccardo Freda imitated the bloodiness of other giallo but none of Argento's stylish setups. Allegedly Freda used a pseudonym because of his dissatisfaction with the film, and because he wanted Roger Moore for Norton and couldn't get him. In truth, though the Norton character is nothing special, Pistilli imbues his role with a convincing nervous intensity, which is probably more than Moore could have accomplished. The other performances are just OK (including such figures as Valentina Cortese and Dominique Broschero), and the wrap-up is largely nonsensical. It hinges on the killer being a madman who just wanted everyone he knew to be unhappy, which may be the weakest giallo motive I've ever seen. (He also wears a disguise at one point, which is I assign the film my "outre outfits" trope.)

Oh, and the iguana metaphor? The commissioner compares the mystery killer to an iguana he (the commissioner) almost stepped on in Africa because the beast was so good at concealing itself. (Isn't it the chameleon who's a good hider?) Also, the killer's use of acid reminds the old cop of the fact that iguanas can spit a sort of venom, though he admits that the iguana is harmless to humans. (I looked it up: the iguana possesses atrophied venom glands, so his venom is weak.) The film IGUANA is somewhat atrophied in its power to entertain, but at least it has Luigi Pistilli and a few decent kill-scenes. Oh, and once or twice I got a feeling of that favorite Italian-movie theme, the corruption within the ruling class.