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:

Heaven help whoever is... "NEXT!"

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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

Version of Thirsty for Love, Sex and Murder (1972)

User Reviews

A Very Fine Giallo...And Ooooh, That Edwige!

My old buddy Rob, who knows more about "psychotronic" movies than anybody I know, recently e-mailed me to rave about a film he'd just seen, "The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh" (1970). He urged me to put this Italian thriller, of the kind nowadays called "giallo," on my list of films to rent. Well, I'd never heard of this movie before, and my list of films to rent right now is pretty darn long, but, believing that there's always room for giallo (ouch!), I put it right at the top of my rental list, and boy, am I ever glad I did! "Mrs. Wardh" turns out to be a very suspenseful, stylish, sexy and violent thriller that really does keep you guessing. In it, Edwige Fenech plays the wife of a stockbroker, living in Austria, who becomes the target of a serial slasher (as has been pointed out elsewhere, those giallo killers really do seem to gravitate toward the ol' straight-edge razor, for some reason). I hadn't seen Ms. Fenech in anything before, but can understand now why she is such a beloved cult actress in Europe. She is remarkably attractive in this film, at 22 years of age, and a modern-day interview with the actress, included on this DVD from the fine folks at No Shame, reveals that she is, astonishingly, still quite beautiful today, 35 years later. Anyway, besides Fenech's exquisite presence, this film boasts gorgeous location shooting in Vienna and Sitges (near Barcelona), Spain, as well as trippy background music that will haunt your memory for days. The film is atmospheric as can be and has been directed with style to spare by Sergio Martino. I guarantee you won't foresee any of the twists and turns that this ingeniously plotted film dishes out. It's a real winner. Thanks, Rob!

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