The best thing that can be said about The Bird with the Crystal Plumage is that it’s identifiably “Dario Argento” despite being his debut. The gory murders still affect, his eye for framing and following a shot is already ace, and of course, it’s a murder-thriller. Hitchcockian in the best of ways. However, I find this mystery to be only adequately interesting. Sam and his girlfriend have no discernible personalities, and neither does the killer, really. It’s difficult to get into the narrative.