A Quiet Place to Kill, Racecar Babe in Murder Plot

Here's a fun game to play. When you are in church or at a family gathering, write down the five people there that have a motive to murder you. Oh...and those of you that don't think your spouse has a motive for your demise...please! Don't be alarmed...then write the five people you have a motive to murder. Think about it, Look at the list of the people who could potentially slaughter you...are you sure they're completely sane? Yep, today we have a film where everyone has a motive for murder. From Italy, Umberto Lenzi's 1970's "A Quiet Place to Kill."

Helen (Carroll Baker) is a sultry blonde racecar driver. She makes Danica Patrick look like Julia Child. Helen is a grouchy sort, like Patrick, but looks a lot better in a bikini or in a gratuitous shower scene. Where were we? Oh yes! Helen is seriously injured in a racecar crash...drives like Patrick, too. She believes her hunk ex-husband, Maurice (Jean Sorel), has invited her to his vacation villa to recuperate. Because he's such a hunk, she accepts the weird invite. Uh oh...he did not send the invite. Nope, it was sent by his new wife, Constance (Anna Proclemer). But why? Constance and Maurice have a great time spying on Helen as she takes a shower. Both try to seduce her...Maurice succeeds. Here's the rub...Constance wants Helen's help to murder Maurice. In it for Helen is a small fortune.

The two wives become close and start their fiendish plot. Like any amateur criminal, things never go the way they are drawn up on paper. Uh oh...there may be more murder plots hatching at this trendy villa by the sea. Helen will do a lot of traipsing around in a bikini and take more showers. A spear gun will be introduced to the plot as will Constance's sultry college age daughter (Marina Coffa). The bloodshed commences but who dies and who murders is not immediately apparent. Missing bodies, tampered evidence, and forbidden sex rule the plot in this twisted and deviant murder mystery.

Does murdering Maurice enable Constance to move in on Helen? Did Constance's daughter return to the villa from college to visit her mom or to...well...you'll see. Did the reckless driving habits on the racetrack of Helen inspire Danica Patrick to become a racecar driver? This is an erotic thriller where everyone in it has a good motive to kill anyone else in this film...just like your family gatherings. Who will die and who does the killing will be a neat twist at the end. For a good murder mystery that we may consider Giallo, see "A Quiet Place to Kill."