Paranoia (1969)

A rich and lonely American widow befriends two young people whose motives become suspect.

Director:

Umberto Lenzi

Writers:

Umberto Lenzi (story), Umberto Lenzi

Stars:

Carroll Baker, Lou Castel, Colette Descombes

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Carroll Baker	...	Kathryn
Lou Castel	...	Peter
Colette Descombes	...	Eva / Peter's stepsister
Tino Carraro	...	Brian / lawyer
Lilla Brignone	...	Teresa / maid
Franco Pesce	...	Martino
Tina Lattanzi	...	Kathryn's Aunt
Jacques Stany	...	Police Inspector
Sara Simoni
Gaetano Imbró
Calisto Calisti
Alberto Corchi	...	(as Alberto Cocchi)
Maria Rosiello

Storyline

Kathryn, a glamorous American widow, arrives in Italy several weeks after the death of her older, extremely wealthy husband. With the help of Brian, her lawyer, she moves into a luxurious villa and proceeds to lead a lonely, uneventful existence until one day, a handsome young man, Peter shows up at the front gate, looking for tools so he can fix his sports car. She lets him stay the night, and the next thing she knows, she's madly making love to him in the shower. He eventually moves in, and is soon joined by a free spirit he introduces as Eva, his sister. She enjoys their company and partying with them - until she begins to suspect that they aren't what they seem to be.

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Plot Keywords:

female full rear nudity | french giallo | sleazy giallo | widow | shower | 

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Taglines:

PARANOIA sucks you into a whirlpool of erotic love!

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Certificate:

X

Did You Know?

Trivia

First part of a trilogy also including So Sweet... So Perverse (1969) and A Quiet Place to Kill (1970).

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Goofs

The two times Eva plays the Wess & The Airedales "Just Tell Me", they are different records with very different labels.

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Alternate Versions

Original Italian version titled "Orgasmo" runs 88 minutes; American release is cut to 77 min. and retitled "Paranoia".

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Connections

Edited into Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 10 (2007)

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Soundtracks

Just Tell Me
Written by Douglas Fowlkes and Piero Umiliani (as M. Zalla-Johnson)
Performed by Wesley Johnson (as Wess and The Airedales)
Published by Sonorfilm

User Reviews

the music begins to drive us mad

Just a little bit one note, this is such a good performance from Carroll Baker that it deserves a look. Baker is to inherit and there are of course many who wish to interfere, not least two youngsters who invade her mansion. At first they seduce her with sex and psychedelia and then move on to torturing her with much the same to drive her crazy and eventually they hope to suicide. Some of the music begins to drive us mad but the visuals are usually inventive and colourful partially distracting us from very much a two against one struggle. There are a few surprises and from comments made it is clear there is an Italian and American ending, guess which is the more cynical?

Details

Country:

Italy France

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

7 February 1969 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Paranoia

Filming Locations:

Elios Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Société Nouvelle de Cinématographie (SNC), Titanus, Tritone Cinematografica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min (director's cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1