Mariani as Simeon, the butler Luciano Rossi as Franz, Greta's Brother Giacomo Rossi-Stuart as Dr. Herbert von Ravensbrück, Walter's Father Fernando Cerulli as Professor Kempte (as Franco Cerulli) Credited, but not in the picture: Carla Mancini Uncredited: Evelyn Melcherich as Gertrud, the Maid Pietro Torrisi as Dr. Sturges' Assistant Tony Askin as Reanimated Corpse Giorgio Dolfin as Maier Oscar Sciamanna as Party Guest Production Death Smiles on a Murderer was produced by Franco Gaudenzi, whom D'Amato had met through production manager Oscar Santaniello. Their first collaboration led to D'Amato directing Un Bounty Killer a Trinità, one of the several films directed by D'Amato with someone else taking credit. This was the first film D'Amato directed himself in which he used his real name in the credits: Aristide Massaccesi. He said in an interview, he signed his own name to the film because "I felt encouraged by the budget....and by the presence of two important actors like Ewa Aulin and Klaus Kinski, who were appearing at the time in several Italian films.....Kinski, in spite of everything, is an excellent professional actor." The film credits the script to D'Amato, Romano Scandariato and Claudio Bernabei; the latter was said to just be a typist by Scandariato. The story is credited to D'Amato, which Scandariato said was "more or less one page." Scandariato stated the film was originally written with more suspense and as more of a giallo, but this was changed out of necessity. D'Amato later claimed he wrote the screenplay entirely on his own, saying in an interview "I'm afraid it's a very imperfect film.....but this is due to the fact that I wrote the script on my own. When you don't work with someone else....it's much harder to come up with a good product.....and I really was inexperienced as far as screenwriting goes" The script takes several elements from works of Gothic fiction. Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's novella Carmilla similarly contains a carriage accident that introduces the female character to the household, and there is also a cat connection in that, similarly to Carmilla in Laura's nightmares, Greta either shapeshifts into or controls a cat. In Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Black Cat, a woman is walled in alive and a cat is found inside upon reopening, just like Greta is walled in by Eva and a cat emerges when Eva tears down the wall to check. In another one