The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1971)

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.

Director:

Sergio Martino

Writers:

Eduardo Manzanos (original story) (as Eduardo M. Brochero), Eduardo Manzanos (screenplay) (as Eduardo M. Brochero)

Stars:

George Hilton, Edwige Fenech, Conchita Airoldi

Cast

Complete credited cast:
George Hilton	...	George Corro
Edwige Fenech	...	Julie Wardh
Conchita Airoldi	...	Carol Brandt (as Cristina Airoldi)
Manuel Gil	...	Dr. Arbe (as Manuel Gill)
Carlo Alighiero	...	Commissioner
Ivan Rassimov	...	Jean
Alberto de Mendoza	...	Neil Wardh
Bruno Corazzari	...	Killer
Marella Corbi	...	Victim who escapes from the killer
Miguel del Castillo	...	Spanish Doctor
Luis de Tejada	...	The inspector
Brizio Montinaro	...	Ospite Al party
Pouchi	...	Victim in the shower (as Pouchie)
Mira Vidotto	...	Cameriera Della Wardh

Storyline

Mrs. Julie Wardh returns to Vienna with her husband Neil Wardh, who is an investor in Wall Street. Julie and Neil have been married for one year but they do not love each other. Julie has a trauma from her former boyfriend Jean, who was a sadistic man. While Neil has meetings in Austria, Julie spends the vacation with her friend Carol Brandt. They go to a party where Carol introduces her handsome cousin George Corro, who has just inherited a fortune with her. When Julie sees Jean in the party, she decides to leave the place. Soon Julie, who is neglected by Neil, has a love affair with George. Meanwhile a serial-killer that kills women with a razor blade is terrifying Vienna and the inspector has no lead to follow. When Julie is blackmailed because of her love affair with George, she suspects Jean might be the blackmailer. Carol decides to go to the meeting with the blackmailer and is killed. Julie believes that Jean might be the wanted killer and decides to leave Vienna and Neil to go...

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Plot Keywords:

giallo | two on a motorcycle | black gloves | female friendship | black gloved killer | 

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Taglines:

Did you read about what happened to the poor girl in the shower?...

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Genres:

Crime | Horror | Mystery | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film was refused a UK cinema certificate in 1971 and passed uncut for DVD in 2011.

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Goofs

When Julie hears the bellboy knock at the apartment door, she puts on a blue bathrobe without a belt. When she looks through the peephole to see who it is, she is wearing the same bathrobe, but as soon as she opens the door the robe has suddenly acquired a belt.

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Quotes

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

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Crazy Credits

"The very fact that the commandment says "do not kill" makes us aware and convinced that we are descended from an unbroken chain of generations of assassins, for whom the love of murder was in their blood, as it is perhaps in ours." - Sigmund Freud

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Alternate Versions

This was released at least twice on VHS in the United States. The version called Next Victim (box claims it runs 87 minutes) is quite different than the version released as Blade of The Ripper (box claims it runs 83 minutes). The film was shot in widescreen 2:35 and neither is letterboxed. The version released as Next Victim has had all of the nudity edited out of it. Blade of the Ripper has had the opening titles and several other sequences removed entirely, which accounts for the short running time.

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Connections

Featured in Trailer Trauma Part 4: Television Trauma (2017)

User Reviews

Excellent Italian giallo!

A black gloved sex killer is on the loose,slaughtering women in Vienna.The American ambassador's wife(Edwige Fenech)begins to believe that he's targeting her when she receives a blackmail call and two of her friends get slashed."Lo Strano Vizio della Signora Wardh" aka "Blade of the Ripper" is an interesting Italian giallo with plenty of suspense and some gruesome killings.The score by Nora Orlandi is truly beautiful and there are some interesting visuals.There is also plenty of sleaze and nudity to satisfy fans of Italian cult cinema.Check it out.My rating:8 out of 10.

Details

Country:

Italy Spain Austria

Language:

Italian Spanish

Release Date:

13 August 1971 (USA)

Also Known As:

Next Victim

Filming Locations:

Semmering, Lower Austria, Austria

Company Credits

Production Co:

Devon Film, Copercines, Cooperativa Cinematográfica

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1