Death Laid an Egg

Death Laid an Egg is a 1968 Italian-French crime thriller set on a fully automated chicken farm run by Anna and her husband Marco. Their marriage is strained, and Marco, who married Anna for her money, relieves his dissatisfaction by killing prostitutes. When Anna's young cousin Gabrielle moves in, she and Marco begin an affair and start plotting Anna's death. Around them, a slick advertising man, Mondaini, works with Marco on a campaign to sell the farm's eggs. The different accounts of the story agree on the farm, the affair and the murderous intentions, but they diverge on other details, so the film keeps its secrets.

Giulio Questi directed and co-wrote the screenplay with Franco Arcalli, and Franco Marras produced. The cast is led by Gina Lollobrigida as Anna, Jean-Louis Trintignant as Marco, Ewa Aulin as Gabrielle and Jean Sobieski as Mondaini, with Renato Romano and Giulio Donnini in supporting roles. Running 89 minutes, the film mixes crime, horror and thriller elements.

Its reception has been modest rather than enthusiastic. On IMDb it holds a rating of 5.8 from around 2,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 5.7 from a much smaller number of votes. The two audience scores are close to each other, suggesting a fairly consistent, middling response among viewers who have sought the film out.