The Bird with the Crystal Plumage

An American writer living in Rome, Sam Dalmas, is on the verge of returning home when he passes an illuminated modern art gallery and sees a struggle inside: a figure in dark clothing attacking a woman with a knife. A glass wall keeps him from intervening, and the attacker escapes. The woman survives, but the police treat Sam as a possible suspect and hold his passport. Learning that a series of knife killings has already struck the city, he postpones his departure and begins investigating on his own, which puts him and his girlfriend Julia in the killer's path.

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is the first film directed by Dario Argento, who also wrote the screenplay; among the seventeen features listed for him in chronological order, it is followed by Four Flies on Grey Velvet. Tony Musante plays Sam, with Suzy Kendall as Julia, Enrico Maria Salerno as Inspector Morosini, and Eva Renzi and Umberto Raho as Monica and Alberto Ranieri. It was produced by Artur Brauner and Salvatore Argento for Seda Spettacoli and CCC Filmkunst, and runs 96 minutes.

Released in early 1970, the film holds a 7.1 rating on IMDb from around 27,000 votes and a matching 7.1 on TMDB from roughly 857 votes, while a critics' rating stands at 7.8 from 39 reviews, higher than the audience scores.