Greta - Haus ohne Männer (1977)

User Rating:

3.6/10   

Director:

Jesus Franco

Writers:

Erwin C. Dietrich (writer)
Jesus Franco (writer)

Release Date:

February 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

That Infamous "Ilsa" Woman Is Back

Plot:

Ilsa, now a vicious warden, runs a mental-hospital for young women. A girl deliberately "checks" in...

Plot Keywords:

Attraction | Female Nudity | Sexual Humiliation | Lesbian Sex | Murder

Cast

Dyanne Thorne	...	Greta
Tania Busselier	...	Abbie Phillips
Eric Falk
Lina Romay	...	Juana
Esther Studer
Esther Moser
Peggy Markoff
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sandra L. Brennan
Alex Exler
Jesus Franco	...	Dr. Milton Arcos (as Jess Franco)
Howard Maurer
Angela Ritschard

Also Known As:

Greta the Torturer (Europe: English title) (informal alternative title)
Greta, the Mad Butcher (Europe: English title) (informal title)
Greta, the Sadist (Europe: English title) (informal alternative title)
Ilsa, the Wicked Warden (International: English title) (DVD title)
Ilsa: Absolute Power (International: English title) (new title)

Runtime:

Argentina:95 min | Germany:86 min | USA:90 min | UK:87 min

Country:

USA | Switzerland | West Germany

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:18 (2007) | Argentina:18 | West Germany:18 | USA:X (self applied) | Australia:(Banned) | UK:18

Company:

Elite Film

Trivia:

Uses same sets as Frauengefängnis (1975).

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Sorority Babes in the Slimeball Bowl-O-Rama (1988)

Ilsa, The Wicked Warden (1977) **1/2

Today, I watched another 2 Jess Franco titles from the Anchor Bay UK 8-Disc Set (which I rented from my local DVD outlet): ILSA, THE WICKED WARDEN (1977) and JACK THE RIPPER*** (1976).

Though I wouldn't say that ILSA is exactly a good film, I was still quite surprised by how it managed to hold my interest throughout. Not that it made particularly inspired use of the various subtexts suggested in the script (the snuff movie angle, for instance, is not dealt with in any depth) – apart from its over-the-top, and undeniably horrific, conclusion – but it was certainly above-average for an Erwin C. Dietrich production with adequate scenery, an evocative if repetitive score and competent performances. The dialogue of the German-language version, however, was pretty hilarious (the various odes to Greta/Ilsa recited by the inmates, the sanitation officials who arrive for a surprise inspection complaining that the rumors of the supposedly corrupt management inside the prison are unfounded – for obvious reasons, they may not have been taken to see the dungeons where the female convicts are tortured, but did they even question themselves why these were forbidden the use of underwear while serving their sentence?!); still, the English dubbing (heard during the interview section of the supplements) makes it sound even worse!

I haven't seen the 'original' Ilsa films but, while Dyanne Thorne seemed to be relatively at ease inhabiting the Jess Franco movieworld, I also feel that her character was pretty one-dimensional and not really the main focus of the film; Lina Romay, on the other hand, has a lot of fun with one of her better roles; even Tania Busselier (in her third and last film for Franco) seems to have matured somewhat and here makes for a creditable heroine (for whom Franco boldly reserves an unexpected tragic fate, though this was perhaps done so as not to involve her in the film's cannibalistic climax).

Unfortunately, this edition was cut by more than 2 minutes by the BBFC: the death-by-asphyxiation of Rosa Philips was evidently trimmed as it now occurs in a split-second; I may be wrong but I reckon that the remainder of the censored footage involved the lobotomy performed on the Tania Busselier character (did they even show this?) as her sudden appearance as a 'vegetable' is most jarring…

Anyway, I look forward now to renting and watching another of Franco's notorious 'Women-In-Prison' films for Dietrich, namely BARBED WIRE DOLLS (1975).