Screaming Mimi (1958)

Exotic dancer Virginia Wilson sees a man get shot moments after he tries to knife her in a shower, so she goes to Dr. Greenwood a psychiatrist for therapy. He falls in love with her and ... See full summary »

Director:

Gerd Oswald

Writers:

Robert Blees (screenplay), Fredric Brown (novel)

Stars:

Anita Ekberg, Philip Carey, Gypsy Rose Lee

Cast

Cast overview:
Anita Ekberg	...	Virginia Wilson / Yolanda Lange
Philip Carey	...	Bill Sweeney
Gypsy Rose Lee	...	Joann 'Gypsy' Masters
Harry Townes	...	Dr. Greenwood / Bill Green
Linda Cherney	...	Ketti
Romney Brent	...	Charlie Weston
Red Norvo	...	Red Yost
Red Norvo Trio	...	Themselves
Alan Gifford	...	Capt. Bline
Oliver McGowan	...	Walter Krieg
Stephen Ellsworth	...	Dr. Joseph Robinson
Vaughn Taylor	...	Raoul Reynarde
Frank J. Scannell	...	Paul, the Bartender

Storyline

Exotic dancer Virginia Wilson sees a man get shot moments after he tries to knife her in a shower, so she goes to Dr. Greenwood a psychiatrist for therapy. He falls in love with her and takes over her life, although she insists on continuing her career at the El Madhouse nightclub. The club's tough owner is none other than Gypsy Rose Lee who plays 'Gypsy' and sings an incredibly bad song ("Put the Blame on Mame") when Virginia is late one night. The traumatized Virginia is suspected of a series of murders. Each victim had purchased a contorted sculpture of a woman called the Screaming Mimi, which was created by her step-brother Charlie who was also responsible for shooting her attacker. It's up to a handsome columnist Bill Sweeny to figure it all out.

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Plot Keywords:

psychiatrist | nightclub | shower | knife | exotic dancer | 

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Taglines:

The strip-tease murder case!

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Genres:

Drama | Film-Noir | Thriller

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

8 August 1958 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Die blonde Venus

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sage Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

79 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

In 1958, Columbia Pictures distributed this film on a double bill with This Angry Age.

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Quotes

Bill Sweeney: How tall are you, Yolanda?
Virginia Wilson aka Yolanda Lange: With heels or without?
Bill Sweeney: With anyone. Me, for instance.

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Connections

Version of The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (1970)

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Soundtracks

"Sweet Genevieve"
(uncredited)
Music by Henry Tucker
Lyrics by George Cooper

User Reviews

Hitchcock could have done it better.

This is a reasonably faithful adaptation of the 1949 novel by Fredric Brown. Reasonably, that is, by 1950s Hollywood standards -- all of the essential story elements are there, although most of the subtleties of the novel are missing. For instance, Sweeney the reporter (Philip Carey) spends most of the novel in a constant hangover, having just come off a drunken binge; and the true relationship between Yolanda (Anita Eckberg) and Greene (Harry Townes), made explicit in the film's opening scenes, isn't revealed until the end of the novel. This is largely because the film presents the story in a straightforward, linear fashion, whereas in the novel, such vital information comes out gradually, via Sweeney's investigations. The film also, understandably, tones down the more lewd elements of the novel: Yolanda's strip-tease becomes merely an exotic dance.

I can't help wondering what Alfred Hitchcock would have done with this story. Hitchcock was certainly familiar with Brown's work -- four of his stories were adapted for the TV series ALFRED HITCHCOCK PRESENTS ("The Cream of the Jest", "The Night the World Ended", "The Dangerous People", and "Human Interest Story"). If Hitchcock had directed THE SCREAMING MIMI, it would surely have become a classic on a par with PSYCHO.

As others have commented here, I strongly recommend reading Fredric Brown's original novel. (I re-read it recently, just before seeing the film for the first time.) Brown was a very prolific writer of mystery and science fiction from the 40s through the 60s. (He died in 1972.) He was a master of the short-short story, and of the surprise twist ending. Though most of his works are currently out of print, they can easily be found on eBay or abe.com.

A footnote: The book NIGHTMARE IN DARKNESS, a limited edition of previously uncollected Fredric Brown stories, includes the original, unpublished ending of the novel, in which Sweeney is actually killed by the Ripper.