IMDb RATING
6.1/10
1.1K
YOUR RATING
Two hippies find themselves on the run from the law and soon end up going undercover in a villa owned by a mysterious woman.Two hippies find themselves on the run from the law and soon end up going undercover in a villa owned by a mysterious woman.Two hippies find themselves on the run from the law and soon end up going undercover in a villa owned by a mysterious woman.
Ray Lovelock
- Dick Butler
- (as Raymond Lovelock)
Sal Borgese
- Agostino's Friend
- (as Salvatore Borgese)
Antonio Anelli
- Tennis Player
- (uncredited)
Tom Felleghy
- Col. Steve Slater
- (uncredited)
Gennarino Pappagalli
- Passerby
- (uncredited)
Franco Ressel
- Man That Buys Aural Porn
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaUmberto Lenzi wanted to make a hippie road movie in the vein of Easy Rider (1969), but producer Carlo Ponti insisted the film be a more typical "giallo", even suggesting the casting of Carroll Baker. Ponti forced Lenzi to change the main characters from drug dealers to pornographers.
- GoofsThe Italian headline of the newspaper article on Dick and Ingrid's escape translates as "Police Search for 2 Young Germans", but Dick has already been identified by the police as British in a previous scene.
- Quotes
Dick Butler: [to Barbara, throwing down the money she left him, assumedly as a gift for "services rendered" during illicit sex the night before] You petty little middle class bitch! Here, this belongs to you! At first I thought you'd taken me for a whore.
- Crazy creditsEnd titles contain a rare credit for a stand-in: Antonia Santilli for both principal females.
- ConnectionsReferenced in All Eyes on Lenzi: The Life and Times of the Italian Exploitation Titan (2018)
- SoundtracksHow Can You Live Your Life
Written by Enrico Riccardi (uncredited)
Performed by I Leoni and Lorenza Visconti
Featured review
Lenzi's "beautiful-lovers-on-the-run" thriller/giallo
In my personal quest to track down and watch every single Italian giallo ever made, I encountered Umberto Lenzi's "An Ideal Place to Kill" (a.k.a. "Oasis of Fear") many times already, but for some inexplicable reason I always deliberately postponed my viewing of this film. I don't know why, but it always felt to me as if this wasn't a 100% genuine and full-blooded giallo, or at least that Lenzi never intended for it to be one. Along with handful of other prolific Italian genre directors, Lenzi undoubtedly was one of the masters of the giallo-sub genre and he contributed some excellent titles ("Seven Blood-Stained Orchids", "Knife of Ice", "Spasmo"
) but I'm personally persuaded that he wanted to do something more and different with this film. Rather than a giallo, I'd say this is more of a "lovers-on-the-run" thriller inspired by the huge success of Arthur Penn's "Bonnie and Clyde"; yet predating several other tremendously popular films in this theme, like "Dirty Mary Crazy Larry", "Badlands" and "The Getaway". Also, this "An Ideal Place to Kill" is reminiscent to Lenzi's own previous "Orgasmo" although that latter one qualifies as giallo a lot more.
Well, I perhaps refer to the two protagonists as "lovers on the run" but admittedly they aren't dangerous criminals at all. The handsome Dick and the more than ravishing Ingrid form a wayward and indecent hippie couple from England that are traveling through prudish Italy. They try to make some extra money by selling nude pictures of the gorgeous Ingrid and committing a couple of other petty crimes, which naturally leads to a confrontation with the local police and the command to leave the country immediately. They ignore this mandate, head further south and stop at a secluded mansion to break into the garage and steal petrol. They are caught by the middle-aged lady of the house, but instead of informing the police the woman – Barbara – invites them to the house. She claims to be nervous because her husband didn't come home, but she also shows a love-interest for the much younger couple and arranges a wild night. The next morning, however, Dick and Ingrid begin to suspect that Barbara hides a few sinister secrets and that she might even try to frame them for something they haven't done. Lenzi's semi-giallo principally thrives on style, lurid atmosphere and the downright fantastic performances of the three lead players. You'd expect Caroll Baker in the role of the mysterious Barbara, but the slightly older Irene Papas does a terrific job as well. The casting of both Ray Lovelock and Ornella Muti was a great idea, since they are incredibly beautiful kids that live fast and careless and absolutely don't have any moral or traditional values. There are a few intense sequences, notably the one in the birdhouse, but the overall tone of the film is lush and free-spirited (also steered by the unusually joyous pop-soundtrack). The climax, on the other hand, is cynically harsh and relentless, and it once more states clear that the "love & peace" sixties are over and gone!
Well, I perhaps refer to the two protagonists as "lovers on the run" but admittedly they aren't dangerous criminals at all. The handsome Dick and the more than ravishing Ingrid form a wayward and indecent hippie couple from England that are traveling through prudish Italy. They try to make some extra money by selling nude pictures of the gorgeous Ingrid and committing a couple of other petty crimes, which naturally leads to a confrontation with the local police and the command to leave the country immediately. They ignore this mandate, head further south and stop at a secluded mansion to break into the garage and steal petrol. They are caught by the middle-aged lady of the house, but instead of informing the police the woman – Barbara – invites them to the house. She claims to be nervous because her husband didn't come home, but she also shows a love-interest for the much younger couple and arranges a wild night. The next morning, however, Dick and Ingrid begin to suspect that Barbara hides a few sinister secrets and that she might even try to frame them for something they haven't done. Lenzi's semi-giallo principally thrives on style, lurid atmosphere and the downright fantastic performances of the three lead players. You'd expect Caroll Baker in the role of the mysterious Barbara, but the slightly older Irene Papas does a terrific job as well. The casting of both Ray Lovelock and Ornella Muti was a great idea, since they are incredibly beautiful kids that live fast and careless and absolutely don't have any moral or traditional values. There are a few intense sequences, notably the one in the birdhouse, but the overall tone of the film is lush and free-spirited (also steered by the unusually joyous pop-soundtrack). The climax, on the other hand, is cynically harsh and relentless, and it once more states clear that the "love & peace" sixties are over and gone!
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- Coventry
- Nov 11, 2016
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