Strano vizio della Signora Wardh, Lo (1971)

Director:

Sergio Martino

Writers:

Vittorio Caronia (screenplay)
Ernesto Gastaldi (screenplay)

Release Date:

15 January 1971 (Italy)

Genre:

Thriller | Horror

Plot:

An ambassador's wife discovers that one of the men in her life - either her husband, an ex-lover or her current lover - may be a vicious serial killer.

Plot Keywords:

Italian Horror | Female Nudity | Beautiful Woman | Nudity | Cult Favorite

Cast

George Hilton	...	George Corro
Edwige Fenech	...	Julie Wardh
Conchita Airoldi	...	Carol Brandt (as Cristina Airoldi)
Manuel Gil
Carlo Alighiero	...	Commissioner
Ivan Rassimov	...	Jean
Alberto de Mendoza	...	Neil Wardh
Bruno Corazzari	...	Killer
Marella Corbi
Miguel Del Castillo
Luis de Tejada
Brizio Montinaro
Pouchi
Mira Vidotto

Also Known As:

Blade of the Ripper (USA)
Next!
Perversa señora Ward, La (Spain)
The Next Victim!
The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh

Runtime:

Italy:98 min | Spain:92 min | USA:81 min

Country:

Italy | Spain

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Germany:16 (re-rating) (2005) | West Germany:18 (original rating) | Sweden:15 | USA:R

Company:

Copercines, Cooperativa Cinematográfica

Quotes:

George Corro: My specialty is courting ladies in the presence of their husbands.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)

Among the best in my opinion

Sergio Martino's "Lo Strano vizio della Signora Wardh" (1970) is a welcome addition to the list of giallos that had remained long unseen for me. Martino has done some of the most interesting of the 70's exploitation cinema (like "Torso" and "Mountain of the Cannibal God") and also an interesting spaghetti western "Mannaja." The giallo hasn't as hard-to-follow and confusing plot as it could have, there are not too many characters which makes their efforts and plot turns easy to follow. The story is simple and involves strange murders closely related to beautiful Wardh lady. There are some masterfully constructed mystery / giallo segments that look no less ambitious than those of Dario Argento. I mean mostly the garage scene and the "gas" scene near the end. These build the suspense well and involve the audience much better than some of the more gore-oriented works of the genre. Martino's film has also some stylish and violent murders but fortunately he didn't concentrate only on them. The locations are simply stunning, and the end twist is surprising and certainly original in my opinion. I think this is among the best of the giallo genre, on the same level with Mario Bava's "Blood and Black Lace", the films by Argento and Tonino Valerii's "My Dear Killer", for example, to name just a few.