Release CalendarTop 250 MoviesMost Popular MoviesBrowse Movies by GenreTop Box OfficeShowtimes & TicketsMovie NewsIndia Movie Spotlight
    What's on TV & StreamingTop 250 TV ShowsMost Popular TV ShowsBrowse TV Shows by GenreTV News
    What to WatchLatest TrailersIMDb OriginalsIMDb PicksIMDb SpotlightIMDb Podcasts
    OscarsCannes Film FestivalStar WarsAsian Pacific American Heritage MonthSummer Watch GuideSTARmeter AwardsAwards CentralFestival CentralAll Events
    Born TodayMost Popular CelebsCelebrity News
    Help CenterContributor ZonePolls
For Industry Professionals
  • Language
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Watchlist
Sign In
  • Fully supported
  • English (United States)
    Partially supported
  • Français (Canada)
  • Français (France)
  • Deutsch (Deutschland)
  • हिंदी (भारत)
  • Italiano (Italia)
  • Português (Brasil)
  • Español (España)
  • Español (México)
Use app
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
IMDbPro

The Killer Is on the Phone

Original title: L'assassino... è al telefono
  • 1972
  • R
  • 1h 32m
IMDb RATING
5.3/10
399
YOUR RATING
Telly Savalas and Anne Heywood in The Killer Is on the Phone (1972)
Slasher HorrorCrimeHorrorMysteryThriller

When a beautiful actress returns from a short trip to London, a mysterious man begins to stalk her. As she slowly turns the corner, she sees him and faints. Hours later she awakens, unable t... Read allWhen a beautiful actress returns from a short trip to London, a mysterious man begins to stalk her. As she slowly turns the corner, she sees him and faints. Hours later she awakens, unable to recognize her own husband and friends.When a beautiful actress returns from a short trip to London, a mysterious man begins to stalk her. As she slowly turns the corner, she sees him and faints. Hours later she awakens, unable to recognize her own husband and friends.

  • Director
    • Alberto De Martino
  • Writers
    • Adriano Bolzoni
    • Alberto De Martino
    • Renato Izzo
  • Stars
    • Telly Savalas
    • Anne Heywood
    • Osvaldo Ruggieri
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    5.3/10
    399
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Alberto De Martino
    • Writers
      • Adriano Bolzoni
      • Alberto De Martino
      • Renato Izzo
    • Stars
      • Telly Savalas
      • Anne Heywood
      • Osvaldo Ruggieri
    • 9User reviews
    • 10Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos26

    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    View Poster
    + 22
    View Poster

    Top cast17

    Edit
    Telly Savalas
    Telly Savalas
    • Ranko Drasovic
    Anne Heywood
    Anne Heywood
    • Eleanor Loraine
    Osvaldo Ruggieri
    Osvaldo Ruggieri
    • Thomas Brown
    Giorgio Piazza
    • George
    Willeke van Ammelrooy
    Willeke van Ammelrooy
    • Dorothy
    Rossella Falk
    Rossella Falk
    • Margaret Vervoort
    Antonio Guidi
    • Dr Chandler
    Roger Van Hool
    Roger Van Hool
    • Peter Vervoort
    Ada Pometti
    • Nurse
    Alessandro Perrella
    • Psychiatrist
    Marc Audier
    Piet Balfoort
    Georges Bossair
    Sandra L. Brennan
    Suzy Falk
    Leonardo Scavino
    • Killer
    Serge-Henri Valcke
    Serge-Henri Valcke
    • Director
      • Alberto De Martino
    • Writers
      • Adriano Bolzoni
      • Alberto De Martino
      • Renato Izzo
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    More like this

    Illustrious Corpses
    7.3
    Illustrious Corpses
    The Bloodstained Shadow
    6.3
    The Bloodstained Shadow
    7, Hyden Park - La casa maledetta
    5.6
    7, Hyden Park - La casa maledetta
    Death Carries a Cane
    5.7
    Death Carries a Cane
    The Two Faces of Fear
    5.6
    The Two Faces of Fear
    Five Women for the Killer
    5.6
    Five Women for the Killer
    Nightmare Castle
    5.7
    Nightmare Castle
    The Slasher ... Is the Sex Maniac!
    6.0
    The Slasher ... Is the Sex Maniac!
    Smile Before Death
    6.1
    Smile Before Death
    StageFright
    6.6
    StageFright
    Watch Me When I Kill
    5.9
    Watch Me When I Kill
    The Washing Machine
    5.3
    The Washing Machine

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      The tagline "TELLY SAVALAS on the other side of the law!" suggests this role is contrary to what audiences had come to expect of Savalas, as a cop champion for good, which would come to full fruition the following year, in his wildly successful "Kojak" television series.
    • Goofs
      The falling object (girder? light-box?) that knocks the piano that pins Ranko in reality would not have been heavy enough or properly positioned relative to the piano to have knocked it over.
    • Quotes

      Airline Ticket Clerk: OK, sir, KLM flight 102, tomorrow morning at 10:30. I see that it's finally been decided. Indecision is not just a woman's prerogative.

      Ranko Drasovic: Is that so funny to you?

      Airline Ticket Clerk: I wasn't laughing sir, just smiling.

      Ranko Drasovic: I don't like men who smile at me. I always think they're fags.

    • Connections
      Referenced in Black Christmas (1974)

    User reviews9

    Featured review
    5/10

    Ordinary and routine Italian Giallo with the usual ingredients and shot in Belgium

    Run-of-the mill Giallo with slashing , suspense , plot twists , intrigue , well staged crimes and unexpected finale. A woman : Anne Heywood is shocked when sees a man : Telly Savalas who results to be the killer who murdered her boyfriend some years before . But it happens she has amnesia and doesn't remenber the past happenings . Little by little she has got strange flashbacks about the fateful events previously committed by the sinister murderer.

    A regular but tense and mysterious Gialli with usual gloved killer carrying out a criminal spree . Customary Giallo in which thrilling events , intrigue , twists , turns and stabbing scenes show up lurking and threatening throughout buildings , streets , parks and other locations from Belgium . Stars the beautiful but mature Anne Heywood as a woman who is stalked by a contract killer, being shocked by a former murder , having amnesia, and doesn't remember anything about the earlier deeds . Anne Heywood had a long career and in her maturity she played exploitation movies with various lascivious and sordid characters , including nude scenes , such as : Good look Miss Wyckoff , The Lady of Monza , The Nun and the Devil, The first time on the Grass and Ring of Darkness . Along with Telly Savalas , the popular Kojak , here on the other side of the law as a hit man who attempts to eliminate a potential witness . They are well accompanied by a good but not very known support cast , such as : Ruggieri, Piazza, Willeke Van Ammelrooy and Rosella Falk .

    It displays an anticlimatic musical score by Stelvio Cipriani in his usual style with plenty of synthesizer music typical of the Seventies . Enjoyable and colorful cinematography by the famous Joe D'Amato or Aristide Massaccesi . Being shot on location in Gaasbek castle , Lennik , Theatre Royal Monnaie Brussels , Brugge West Vlaanderen, Ostend , Flanders , Bruges , Belgium . The motion picture was regularly directed by Alberto de Martino , as it has some shortcomings , flaws and gaps . Martino was an acceptable artisan who directed several films of all kinds of genres around the Italian B-series , as he made the following ones , Peplum : Medusa against the son of Hercules , Triumph of Hercules , The Invincibles , Seven Spartans , Rivolt of the Seven, Invincible Gladiator . Eurospy : Operation Lady Chaplin . Warfare : From Ardenne to Inferno . Terror : Hyden Park, Holocaust 2000 , Miami Golem, Horror , AntiChrist. Thrillers : Puma Man, Rome like Chicago , The man with Ice Eyes , The Consiliere . And Spaghetti Westerns : Django shoots first , One Hundred thousand Dollars for Ringo, The Seventh Cavalry , among others .
    • ma-cortes
    • Apr 9, 2021
    • Permalink

    Top picks

    Sign in to rate and Watchlist for personalized recommendations
    Sign in

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • July 1975 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • Italy
      • Belgium
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Scenes from a Murder
    • Filming locations
      • Gaasbeek Castle, Lennik, Belgium
    • Production companies
      • Belga Films
      • Difnei Cinematografico
      • SODEP
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 32 minutes
    • Sound mix
      • Mono
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

    Related news

    Contribute to this page

    Suggest an edit or add missing content
    Telly Savalas and Anne Heywood in The Killer Is on the Phone (1972)
    Top Gap
    By what name was The Killer Is on the Phone (1972) officially released in Canada in English?
    Answer
    • See more gaps
    • Learn more about contributing
    Edit page

    More to explore

    Recently viewed

    Please enable browser cookies to use this feature. Learn more.
    Get the IMDb app
    Sign in for more accessSign in for more access
    Follow IMDb on social
    Get the IMDb app
    For Android and iOS
    Get the IMDb app
    • Help
    • Site Index
    • IMDbPro
    • Box Office Mojo
    • License IMDb Data
    • Press Room
    • Advertising
    • Jobs
    • Conditions of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Your Ads Privacy Choices
    IMDb, an Amazon company

    © 1990-2025 by IMDb.com, Inc.