Uccello dalle Piume di Cristallo, L' (1970, ITA/GER) C-98m. SCOPE **½ D: Dario Argento. Starring Tony Musante, Suzy Kendall, Enrico Maria Salerno, Eva Renzi, Werner Peters, Mario Adorf, Umberto Raho, Renato Romano, Reggie Nalder. Dario Argento's first feature film as a director is a mystery in the giallo-tradition about an American writer (Musante) who starts investigating a murder series in Rome after he witnesses the killer's attempt to murder the beautiful wife (Renzi) of a gallery owner. Not so much on target and not as unrelentingly sinister as the director's later films, but well-directed, suspenseful and quite appealing if the unmotivated, second-rate script (by Argento himself) is tolerated. Unusual, very good score by Ennio Morricone. Based on the novel The Screaming Mimi by Fredric Brown. Alternative titles: THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE, and PHANTOM OF TERROR. The German version, titled DAS GEHEIMNIS DER SCHWARZEN HANDSCHUHE, is cut by seven minutes.