Death Laid an Egg

Death Laid an Egg (1968) is written and directed by Giulio Questi. Best described as a “surreal, avant-garde giallo”, it is certainly an odd one amongst its contemporaries. Questi is new to me, although the actors need no introduction.

Screen legend Gina Lollobrigida and Ewa Aulin, of Candy fame, are cousins sharing the same man, Marco, played by Jean-Louis Trintignant. Gina is married to him; Ewa is the cousin having an affair with him and conspiring to run away together.

This is all set around a factory farm working on an industrial scale to produce boneless chickens. Double crossings and acts of murder in a hotel room, which might or might not be real, keep you guessing where it will end up.

The soundtrack by Bruno Maderna is pure art house and sets the nerves on edge. By rights it should have been titled Don’t Torture a Caged Hen. Certainly a strange one, and one that is often overlooked by giallo historians.

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Filed 29 October 2026 by Darren Evanson.