The Strange Vengeance of Rosalie (1972)

Director:

Jack Starrett

Writers:

Anthony Greville-Bell (writer)
John Kohn (writer)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

First she loves, then she kills- Then she goes out and collects the next victim!

Plot:

A traveling salesman is lured by a precocious teenage girl to her shack in the desert for some sexual escapades. However, a scuzzy biker comes along and they both find themselves dominated and tormented by him. |

Plot Keywords:

Teenage Girl | Biker | Desert | Traveling Salesman | Rapist

Cast

Bonnie Bedelia	...	Rosalie
Ken Howard	...	Virgil
Anthony Zerbe	...	Fry

Runtime:

USA:107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Tabernas, Almería, Andalucía, Spain

Company:

Cinecrest

Surprise Ending Helps This MISERY Precursor.

7 out of 10

OK obscurity about a Indian girl whose grandfather has just died and in an attempt to stave off loneliness tricks a traveling businessman (Howard) into coming back to her ramshackled place. Once their she breaks his leg in order to trap him. She also hopes that in the time it takes to heal he will learn to love her.

Critic Leonard Maltin calls this film "farfetched" and going "way off base". Yet nothing could be further from the truth. If you accept the initial premise then the rest of the film is carried out in a very plausible and believable fashion.

The director certainly has a vision here. The remote desert like local is captured well and gives it a distinct feel. The premise is static, but the story keeps moving and new elements are added in nicely. The second hour does begin to meander, but it is finished off by a ending that comes out of nowhere and is completely unexpected. You have to watch it all the way through to really appreciate it yet it does help the film come together and even helps explain it's title.

The similarities between this and MISERY are quite evident. Yet in some ways this film wins out. It is not as slick or polished, but it is also not as formulated either. It is not the standard type of thriller like with MISERY. You have no idea where this thing is going. It runs the gamut between drama, adventure, and even human interest. There is also the added sexuality element and a genuine relationship between the two, which MISERY also did not have.

The best thing is the Rosalie character herself. She is young and beautiful. Her intentions and motivations are constantly surprising. In some ways she is like the Barbara Eden character in "I Dream of Jeannie". She is naive and trusting. Yet also headstrong, self sufficient and even cunning. Bedelia is perfect in the part.

Being made in the early 70's and at the height of political awareness there is some thought to their being meaning to the fact that she is Indian and Howard the typical white businessman. She is constantly trying to win approval of this white man who otherwise seems oblivious to her conditions or needs. He is also to self absorbed and too locked into his mindset of minorities being 'inferior' to realize how consistently she outsmarts him. Like with a lot of minorities there is a great deal of frustration with the attitudes of the establishment. Howard is just too stuck in to his preconceived notions to ever see her as a equal no matter how hard she tries.

Overall this is a pretty decent film especially when compared to other low budget, independent films of that same era. The twist ending helps, but you gotta stick with it.