The Suspicious Death of a Minor

The Suspicious Death of a Minor (Italian: Morte sospetta di una minorenne), also known as Too Young to Die,^[2] is a 1975 Italian giallo film directed by Sergio Martino.^[3][4][5]

The Suspicious Death of a Minor
Directed by	Sergio Martino
Screenplay by	Ernesto Gastaldi Sergio Martino[1]
Story by	Ernesto Gastaldi[1]
Produced by	Luciano Martino[1]
Starring	Claudio Cassinelli Mel Ferrer Jenny Tamburi Massimo Girotti
Cinematography	Giancarlo Ferrando[1]
Edited by	Raimondo Crociani[1]
Music by	Luciano Michelini[1]
Production company	Dania Film[1]
Distributed by	Titanus
Release date	12 August 1975 (1975-08-12) (Italy)
Running time	100 minutes[1]
Country	Italy[1]
Box office	₤507.396 million

Plot summary

Undercover cop Paolo Germi and the mysterious Marisa meet each other at a dance hall. Germi is unaware of the secret Marisa carries with her; conditions in her life have forced her into underage prostitution. After she is brutally murdered, he decides to go after her killers. However, a killer-for-hire ensures that Germi's investigation will not be easy, while continuing to kill.

Cast

• Claudio Cassinelli as Paolo Germi
• Mel Ferrer as Police Superintendent
• Lia Tanzi as Carmela
• Gianfranco Barra as Teti
• Patrizia Castaldi as Marisa
• Adolfo Caruso as Giannino
• Jenny Tamburi as Gloria
• Massimo Girotti as Gaudenzio Pesce
• Carlo Alighiero as Chief of S.M.C.D. Office
• Franco Alpestre as Il Menga
• Fiammetta Baralla as Landlady
• Barbara Magnolfi as Floriana
• Aldo Massasso as Listri
• Roberto Posse as Killer
• Carlotta Wittig as Director of S.M.C.D.

Production

The Suspicious Death of a Minor was developed under the title Milano Violenta (transl. Violent Milan), a title later used for Mario Caiano's film Bloody Payroll.^[6] The film was a hybrid of a crime film and a giallo.^[6] The screenwriter, Ernesto Gastaldi, later spoke about the film stating "In my opinion, it's a minor film [...] the usually very good Martino didn't manage to give the film a decisive shot-in-the-arm."^[6]

Release

The Suspicious Death of a Minor was distributed theatrically by Titanus in Italy on 12 August 1975.^[1] The film grossed a total of 507,396,250 Italian lire on its domestic release.^[1] The film is also known as Too Young to Die.^[7]