Six robbers… a lead safe requiring six keys… and an estate full of questionable geometric Art Deco architecture are all components of the admittedly convoluted A Hyena in the Safe, directed and co-written by the relatively obscure Cesare Canevari predating the standard giallo boom as we know it. This effectively melds styles that range from the aforementioned yellow novels, the German krimi of Edgar Wallace, and the more intimate British cozies of Agatha Christie as it introduces the viewer to six individuals involved in an unexplained vault break-in at the Bank of Amsterdam resulting in an unimaginable wealth of diamonds. During Carnival, the sextet meet at their now-dead partner Boris’ expansive villa to open the lead safe enclosed underneath a water bath, bringing with them their individual keys all needed to remove the lid; and throughout the ensuing days, it becomes clear they have a murderer on their hands willing to kill the others in order to secure a better share of the take. As with many of these proto-gialli, Canevari dotes on the anxiety of the situation, bringing in multiple external characters in order to veil the killer until the very conclusion – and offers a few tricks as well.
The film starts out rather slow, taking some time to vaguely introduce its large cast without diving too much into their backstory. Initially the matter is complicated by Albert (Sandro Pizzochero) bringing his girlfriend Jeanine (Cristina Gaioni, probably the only remotely recognizable name in the cast) to the meetup, which already presents the other guests with misgivings about Albert’s intent; and later, it’s revealed that not only is he a drug addict, he’s also either lost his key or pretending to do so to get at the jewels himself. This sets in motion a very similar premise to And Then There Were None, where the thieves are forced to stay at the villa searching for the hidden key while each of them are, in increasingly more elaborate fashion, knocked off.
While Canevari’s premise is intriguing and undeniably complicated by its cast of characters – each willing to backstab the others – there is a sense that A Hyena in the Safe is ultimately biding its time until the finale. In attempts to set the story in the present, there aren’t any flashbacks to the diamond heist of the past, which tends to leave the film occasionally stagnant as the characters continue to argue their cases but get little actually done. Even so, the movie is peppered with beautiful scenery – both exterior shots of the mansion grounds and interior sequences that show the elaborate nature of the villa. And Canevari’s cinematography helps to heighten the tension, utilizing a lot of closeup shots and the usual tropes of shifty eyes to give the impression of suspicion. In truth, while the movie works in a number of double-crossings and multiple murderers, the final reveal probably won’t surprise most viewers; but the multiple fake endings add a comical tongue-in-cheek humor that reminds of the best Tales from the Crypt morality stories or even the aforementioned Christie tea cozies, ending with a surprise reveal of a Poirot-esque insurance investigator to summarize the loose details of the case.
A Hyena in the Safe is arguably a minor work in the sub-genre, but still an entertaining movie in its own right thanks to its then-futuristic technology and the intimate proceedings of its plot, all set against revelers having a lot more fun at Carnival than our anti-heroes looking to make a quick buck. If viewers can get through the languidly-moving first and second acts, they’ll find a truly zany Bond-like series of traps and murders during the movie’s conclusion when Canevari finally feels fit to release the laughing hyena and truly lean into the black comedy its theme music suggests.
Blu-ray
Celluloid Dreams has added to their collection of gialli releases on physical media by presenting A Hyena in the Safe on Blu-ray with a new high definition studio-provided master. Those details – or lack thereof – tell the story of why this release was not a UHD like the rest of Celluloid Dreams’ line, having no control over the original scan which was done by Cinelab Services, Rome from the original camera negative and likely not a 4K scan. With that said, this transfer still looks quite good, with a fairly medium-bodied grain scale in 1.33:1 aspect ratio that generally resolves nicely. The aforementioned closeup shots feature excellent facial texture, as do the various pieces of clothing and set design. The black levels are probably where this film could have done very well with HDR inclusion, since there are a couple of scenes that feature very dark shots – still, there’s really not much to complain about even during these brief moments. There are a couple instances of notable gate wobble, particularly toward the end of the film. Aside from that, A Hyena in the Safe looks quite good and color grading all looks very consistent – and stay for the end credits, with a trippy kaleidoscopic parade of stills.
For audio, we get a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono Italian audio track; this is automatically subtitled, and does include some German and Spanish translation as well. The audio sounds very good, emphasizing the bombastic nature of the film’s relatively elusive score (used at the beginning and the end of the movie) while the rest features voluminous dialogue and conversation. The subtitles are very well done, utilizing a bold typeface for characters speaking on-screen and italics for interjections from off-screen.
Celluloid Dreams provides a number of extra features on this US-premiere Blu-ray release. The first and foremost is a new audio commentary with film critic Guido Henkel, who admits early on that there is not too much known about the genesis of the film; however, throughout this commentary he pinpoints themes and critical analysis of the screenplay, some information about the unknown players, and some much-needed context about Italian culture like Carnival. It’s an excellently crafted accomplice to the film. A new visual essay from Andy Marshall-Roberts called “Schrodinger’s Diamonds” runs about 35 minutes long and again attempts to take a look at the background of the production, the film’s themes and its cinematography, and breaking own the character points for each of the thieves. A new location featurette visiting the grounds of Villa Toeplitz is provides a look at the expansive grounds accompanied by Francesco Pollanetti providing background about the movie.
“7 Guests for a Massacre” is also included, a previously released 51-minute featurette that interviews various cast and crew from the film including director Canevari; it provides a bit more information on the creation of the movie, including its early start as a novella before morphing into a screenplay, as well as the unknown actors getting their first – some their only – roles. While Canevari is primarily interviewed for the first half, it also includes interviews with journalists, critics, and location footage of the villa. An image gallery and Italian trailer round out the supplemental extras.
For packaging, Celluloid Dreams includes a slipcover painted by Thu Lieu Pham as well as reversible cover artwork that allows for either English or Italian title. An insert in the packaging gives additional information about the video transfer. Finally, if ordered from Celluloid Dreams, the limited edition comes with eight reprinted fotobuste!
Extra Features
- NEW high-definition, restored transfer from studio provided master
- Original Italian Language
- NEW Commentary Track by film critic Guido Henkel
- “7 Guests for a Massacre” Interview Featurette with Cesare Canevari, Sandro Pizzochero, Ninì Della Misericordia, Adriana Morlacchi and Diego Pisati (1080p; 51:10)
- NEW “Schrödinger’s Diamonds: The Duplicitous Mystery of Hyena in the Safe” video essay by Andy Marshall-Roberts (1080p; 36:04)
- NEW “The Mysteries of Villa Toeplitz” featurette (1080p; 7:52)
- Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 4:10)
- Image Gallery (chapter breaks; 0:30)
- NEW original cover art painted by Thu Lieu Pham
- NEW an exclusive set of eight beautifully restored 12″x8.25″ color reproductions of the original Italian fotobuste (lobby cards)
- NEW reversible cover artwork
Verdict
A Hyena in the Safe is an overlooked proto-giallo once lost to relative obscurity, but now available for cult fan appreciation thanks to Celluloid Dreams’ excellent Blu-ray release. Fans of giallo, krimi, and tea cozies will find a lot to like here, and it’s a perfect time for this type of ’60s psychedelia.
