Venus in Furs (1969)

A musician finds the corpse of a beautiful woman on the beach. The woman returns from the dead to take revenge on the group of wealthy sadists responsible for her death.

Director:

Jesús Franco (as Jess Franco)

Writers:

Jesús Franco (screenplay), Malvin Wald (screenplay)

Stars:

James Darren, Barbara McNair, Maria Rohm

Cast

Cast overview:
James Darren	...	Jimmy Logan
Barbara McNair	...	Rita
Maria Rohm	...	Wanda Reed
Klaus Kinski	...	Ahmed Kortobawi
Dennis Price	...	Percival Kapp
Margaret Lee	...	Olga
Adolfo Lastretti	...	Insp. Kaplan (as Aldo Lastretti)

Storyline

In Istanbul, a jazz trumpeter pulls the murdered body of a young woman from the surf. He remembers her from the night before, when he saw her at a millionaire playboy's party and then later watched as she was assaulted by the party's host and two of his friends. In confusion, Jimmy, the musician, leaves for Rio where he finds the sympathetic ear of Rita, a singer who invites him to live with her and helps him recover his equilibrium and his musical ability. Then, into the room walks a woman who looks like Wanda, the murder victim. Jimmy pursues her, not caring if she's alive or dead. What's going on?

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Plot Keywords:

trumpeter | murder | wetness | garter | high heels | 

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Taglines:

The coat that covered paradise, uncovered hell!

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Genres:

Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

UK Italy West Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

19 August 1969 (Italy)

Also Known As:

Venus in Furs

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cinematografica Associati (CI.AS.), Terra-Filmkunst, Towers of London Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

86 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to Jess Franco, star James Darren actually did fall in love with co-star Maria Rohm during the production, though it is unknown whether the two actually developed a relationship.

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Quotes

Jimmy Logan: How can you run from a dead person unless you're dead yourself?

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Connections

Featured in Jesús in Furs (2005)

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Soundtracks

Theme for Love
Written by Stu Phillips
Performed by Stu Phillips

User Reviews

In Limbo

In Istanbul, the trumpet player Jimmy Logan (James Darren) is dazed and confused on the beach and finds his musical instrument buried in the sand. Then he sees a woman in the sea and he pulls her body from the surf. He recognizes her as Wanda Reed (Maria Rohm), a gorgeous woman that he saw in the party of the playboy Ahmed Kortobawi (Klaus Kinski). Then he saw her being whipped and raped by Ahmed and his friends Percival Kapp (Dennis Price) and Olga (Margaret Lee).

Jimmy travels to Rio de Janeiro and spends the Carnival playing with a jazz band and his girlfriend Rita (Barbara McNair) in the nightclub of Herman. One night, Wanda Reed comes to the club and Jimmy becomes obsessed on her. Sooner he leaves Rita and stays with Wanda. Meanwhile, she kills Percival, Olga and Ahmed dressed in furs. When the police seek out the woman, Jimmy discovers a secret about Wanda Reed and him.

"Venus in Furs" is a surrealistic film by Jess Franco with James Darren (from The Time Tunnel) and his muse Maria Rohm in the lead roles and Klaus Kinski in a minor role. James Darren's narrative is boring and the annoying music may please jazz fans only. A jazz band playing in a club in the Carnival of Rio is a joke from someone that does not even know the Carnival in Rio. The resolution of the plot is actually a senseless mess but the atmosphere is intriguing. My vote is five.

Title (Brazil): "Venus in Furs"