Dressed to Kill

Abstract

This chapter describes how the murderer in the film Blood and Black Lace (6 donne per l'assassino) became an icon through its clothing, which included a raincoat, hat, and black gloves. It explains how the outfit of the murderer in the film, like a haute couture model, will be copied over and over in forthcoming gialli. The chapter analyzes the multiple literary and filmic influences identified in Mario Bava's faceless murderer and Edgar Wallace's novel White Face to the German krimis. It mentions faceless figures that populate Man Ray's surrealist short film Les Mystères du château de Dé in 1929, which was considered the most outstanding and surprising predecessors on iconic images of murderers. It also analyzes how masked murderers in films are more than a gimmick to hide the identity but emphasizes an almost feral attribute due to its muteness.