A case study in how to film a police procedural as a work of art, Pietro Germi’s Un maledetto imbroglio (US: The Facts of Murder) stars Germi himself as Police Commissioner Ingravallo who’s investigating the murder of Liliana Banducci (Eleonora Rossi Drago), which may be related to the theft of a neighbor’s valuable jewelry the day before. Suspects abound, including Liliana’s wealthy, mysterious husband Remo (Claudio Gora), her servant girl Assuntina (Claudia Cardinale), the family physician Valdarena (Franco Fabrizi), and handsome gigolo Diomede (Nino Castelnuevo), among others. A nearly two-hour symphony of human nature, Germi’s direction shifts between operatic and clinical, depending on the scene; while pacing is deftly sustained for a constant state of uneasiness, Germi chooses moments and scenes to ratchet up the tension to nearly unbearable levels, especially when Remo Banducci is on screen (the morgue, the interrogation). Visually, the film contrasts the Banduccis’ rarefied social circle (note, for example, the swirling wallpaper in Virginia’s bedroom) with the bland, dreary settings of the police precinct and Ingravallo’s dingy apartment with its cramped quarters, filthy sheets, and howling train outside. Rustichelli’s organ-dominant score crawls through scenes to haunting effect.