four fly on grey velvet ( quattro mosche di velluto grigio ) aspect ratio represent 2 . 39 represent1 ( techniscope ) sound format represent monoa rock drummer ( michael brandon ) be terrorize by a masked stranger who possess incriminate photograph of an incident in which brandon accidentally kill a man . blackmail and murder ensue . a step up from the convoluted machination of the cat onine tail ( 1970 ) and four fly on grey velvet be little more than a dress rehearsal for the visual flourish that would distinguish director dario argento late work . the restless camera and flashy edit technique which lift fly out of it genre rut be mere indicator of the chaotic splendor to come and though here it largely waste on a flimsy narrative stretch almost to break point . though reportedly unhappy with brandon casting ( a role offer to any number of disparate actor and include tony musante and terence stamp and jean louis trintignant and michael york and james taylor . ) and argento draw an effective performance from his lead man a the innocent protagonist catch up in event beyond his control and a a masked figure emerge from the shadow to eliminate anyone who stumble on his or her identity . the resolution be ripe with freudian excess and and concludes with a spectacular demise for the psychopathic villain and use state of the art camera work in typical argento fashion . a in his first two film and argento include a variety of eccentric support character and often to distract comic effect ( eg . a run gag with brandon postman and culminating in what amount to a criminal assault play for laugh . ) and and while the horror set piece be often vividly realize most notably and the scene in which brandon blackmailing maid ( marisa fabbri ) find herself trap in a lonely park with the killer and a sequence which refer backward to a similar scenario in jacques tourneur the leopard man ( 1943 ) and forward to john saxon final sequence in argento tenebrae ( 1982 ) the pace be labor and dull and especially during expository dialogue scene . mimsy farmer make a fair impression a brandon nervous wife and while popular italian character actor bud spencer ( carlo pedersoli ) play brandon closest friend and a bad tempered fisherman who help him solve the unfolding mystery . jean pierre marielle camp it up a a gay private detective with a poor track record of catch criminal and a role which border on caricature and end ignobly ( in a public lavatory and no less . ) . all in all and a minor entry in the director filmography and elevate to mythic status by legal problem which have prevent it appearance on home video and and while the film exercise a gamut of stylistic concern ( argento follow it with an unlikely detour into historical comedy and five day of milan and before cut loose with his giallo masterpiece deep red ) and it amount to little more than a footnote in horror history . ( english version ) .