The Suspicious Death of a Minor

The Suspicious Death of a Minor, also known as Too Young to Die, is a 1975 Italian giallo film directed by Sergio Martino.

Plot summary

Undercover cop Paolo Germi and the mysterious Marisa meet each other at a dance hall. Germi is unaware of the secret Marisa carries with her; conditions in her life have forced her into underage prostitution. After she is brutally murdered, he decides to go after her killers. However, a killer-for-hire ensures that Germi's investigation will not be easy, while continuing to kill.

Cast

Claudio Cassinelli as Paolo Germi
Mel Ferrer as Police Superintendent
Lia Tanzi as Carmela
Gianfranco Barra as Teti
Patrizia Castaldi as Marisa
Adolfo Caruso as Giannino
Jenny Tamburi as Gloria
Massimo Girotti as Gaudenzio Pesce
Carlo Alighiero as Chief of S.M.C.D. Office
Franco Alpestre as Il Menga
Fiammetta Baralla as Landlady
Barbara Magnolfi as Floriana
Aldo Massasso as Listri
Roberto Posse as Killer
Carlotta Wittig as Director of S.M.C.D.

Production

The Suspicious Death of a Minor was developed under the title Milano Violenta, a title later used for Mario Caiano's film Bloody Payroll. The film was a hybrid of a crime film and a giallo. The screenwriter, Ernesto Gastaldi, later spoke about the film stating "In my opinion, it's a minor film the usually very good Martino didn't manage to give the film a decisive shot-in-the-arm."

Release

The Suspicious Death of a Minor was distributed theatrically by Titanus in Italy on 12 August 1975. The film grossed a total of 507,396,250 Italian lire on its domestic release.