The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1971)

October 2, 2024 8:39 AM

[TRAILER] Sultry Julie (Edwige Fenech) marries diplomat Neil (Alberto de Mendoza) to distance herself from her sadistic lover Jean (Ivan Rassimov). But when they move to Vienna on a new assignment, Julie begins a new affair with George (George Hilton) and also finds herself stalked by the city's razor-wielding serial killer. Italian title: Lo strano vizio della Signora Wardh.

Also starring Conchita Airoldi, Manuel Gil Carlo Alighiero.

Directed by Sergio Martino. Screenplay by Eduardo Manzanos Brochero, Ernesto Gastaldi, Vittorio Caronia. Story by Eduardo Manzanos Brochero. Produced by Luciano Martino, Antonio Crescenzi for Devon Film/Copercines Cooperativa Cinematográfica. Cinematography by Emilio Foriscot. Edited by Eugenio Alabiso. Music by Nora Orlandi.

Currently streaming in the US on Shudder and Tubi. Also uploaded to YouTube. JustWatch listing.

posted by DirtyOldTown (5 comments total)

Another giallo by Sergio Martino (Torso), another wild mix of a perfunctory plot, male psychosexual dysfunction, notable directorial style, charismatic actors, and lurid sex and violence.
posted by DirtyOldTown at 8:41 AM on October 2 [1 favorite]

Edwige Fenech (though it takes her 30 minutes before she appears) & George Hilton elevate this one though I think and to the film's credit the plot actually makes some sense. It is Fenech's first collaboration with Martino and the first of 3 giallos she did with him before doing interminable Italian sex comedies. I like all 3 but I think this is likely the best made of the three.
posted by Ashwagandha at 11:01 AM on October 2 [1 favorite]

I would take 'Your Vice is a Locked Room...' and especially 'All the Colours of the Dark' over this one but it's very enjoyable and Nora Orlandi's soundtrack is truly fabulous.
posted by remembrancer at 2:57 PM on October 2

Of the three All the Colours of the Dark is my favourite but I think on a technical level this is the best made. Doesn't make it the most enjoyable for me though as I prefer an incoherent plot in my giallo.
posted by Ashwagandha at 6:36 AM on October 3

I was a little shocked by the coherence of this plot. It all felt a little ho-hum right up until the last act, and then all the pieces fell into place, which is not what I generally expect from a giallo. I also like how this lampshades the "which one of these utterly repulsive men should our heroine wind up with" giallo dynamic.
posted by whir at 8:23 PM on October 3