
Don't Torture a Duckling (1972) on Netflix
NR19721h 42mHorrorMysteryThriller
In Accendura, three boys taunt Giuseppe Barra, the local simpleton, while Maciara, a recluse, works black magic in the hills. When Bruno vanishes, the journalist Andrea Martelli arrives.
- Netflix2.9/5
- IMDb7.0/1012,917 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes88%
Trailer
Plot summary
Accendura is a small village in Basilicata, where three boys, Bruno, Michele and Tonino, get into mischief, taunting Giuseppe Barra, the local simpleton, as he spies on two locals with visiting prostitutes. Up in the hills, the Gypsy Maciara performs black magic ceremonies. When Bruno goes missing, reporters from across the country arrive in the village. Among them is Andrea Martelli, a journalist from Rome, who meets Patrizia, a former reporter from Milan hiding at her father's house after a drug scandal, and Don Alberto Avallone, the priest who runs the church's boys' group.
Cast
Florinda Bolkanas Maciara
Barbara Bouchetas Patrizia
Tomas Milianas Andrea Martelli
Irene Papasas Dona Aurelia Avallone
Marc Porelas Don Alberto Avallone
Georges Wilsonas Francesco (as George Wilson)
Antonello Campodifiorias Lieutenant
Ugo D'Alessioas Captain Modesti
- Virgilio Gazzoloas Police Commissioner (as Virginio Gazzolo)
Vito Passerias Barra
Rosalia Maggioas Mrs. Spriano - Michele's Mother
Andrea Aurelias Mr. Lo Cascio - Bruno's Father
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Don't Torture a Duckling (1972)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- During the shooting of Don't Torture a Duckling's climactic fight scene, actors Tomas Milian and Marc Porel turned it into a genuine fistfight, and footage of that real brawl ended up in the finished film.
- Fernando Rey and Massimo Ranieri were originally cast as Francesco and Don Alberto in Lucio Fulci's Don't Torture a Duckling.
- The gore effects in Don't Torture a Duckling marked a turning point for director Lucio Fulci: it is one of the earliest of his films to use them, and he went on using gore in his later work.
- The first draft of the script for Don't Torture a Duckling was set in Turin, but director Lucio Fulci moved the story to the region of Basilicata because he wanted a more unique setting.
- Don't Torture a Duckling was given only a limited release in Europe at first because of its themes, which included criticism of the Roman Catholic Church.


























