The Bird with the Crystal Plumage

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage
Italian theatrical release poster
Directed by	Dario Argento
Produced by	Salvatore Argento
Written by	Dario Argento
Based on	The Screaming Mimi by Fredric Brown (uncredited)
Starring	Tony Musante Suzy Kendall Enrico Maria Salerno Eva Renzi
Music by	Ennio Morricone
Cinematography	Vittorio Storaro
Edited by	Franco Fraticelli
Production company	Central Cinema Company Film (CCC) Glazier Seda Spettacoli
Distributed by	Titanus (Italy) Universal Marion Corporation (US)
Release date	19 February 1970
Running time	96 minutes
Country	Italy
Language	Italian
Budget	$500,000 (estimated)
Box office	₤1,650,000,000 (Italy)

The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (Italian: L'uccello dalle piume di cristallo) is a 1970 Italian giallo film directed by Dario Argento, in his directorial debut. The film is considered a landmark in the Italian giallo genre. It is the first instalment in the Animal Trilogy, and was followed by The Cat o' Nine Tails (1971) and Four Flies on Grey Velvet (1972).

Written by Argento, the film is an uncredited adaptation of Fredric Brown's novel The Screaming Mimi, which had previously been made into a Hollywood film, Screaming Mimi (1958), directed by Gerd Oswald.

The film was nominated for an Edgar Allan Poe award for best motion picture in 1971. The film was originally cut by 20 seconds for its US release and received a 'GP' rating, though it was later re-classified as 'PG'. It has since been released in the US uncut. Upon its release the film was a huge box office hit, grossing 1,650,000,000 Italian lira (roughly about $1 million US), twice the production cost of $500,000. The film was also a success outside of Italy, gaining €1,366,884 admissions in Spain.

Sam Dalmas (Tony Musante) is an American writer living in Rome with his model girlfriend Giulia (Suzy Kendall). Suffering from writer's block, Sam is on the verge of returning to America, but witnesses the attack of a woman in an art gallery by a mysterious black-gloved assailant dressed in a raincoat.

Attempting to reach her, Sam is trapped between two mechanically-operated glass doors and can only watch as the villain makes his escape. The woman, Monica Ranieri (Eva Renzi), the wife of the gallery's owner, Alberto Ranieri (Umberto Raho), survives the attack and the local police confiscates Sam's passport to stop him from leaving the country; the assailant is believed to be a serial killer who is killing young women across the city, and Sam is an important witness.