Thriller: A Cruel Picture (1973)

A young woman, muted after a sexual assault as a child, is trained to seek violent revenge on those who have wronged her after being kidnapped and forced to work as a prostitute.

Director:

Bo Arne Vibenius (as Alex Fridolinski)

Writers:

Bo Arne Vibenius (screenplay) (as Bo A Vibenius), Bo Arne Vibenius (an original story) (as Alex Fridolinski)

Stars:

Christina Lindberg, Heinz Hopf, Despina Tomazani

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Christina Lindberg	...	Madeline
Heinz Hopf	...	Tony / Pimp
Despina Tomazani	...	Lesbian sex buyer
Per-Axel Arosenius	...	Madeline's Father (as Per Axel Arosenius)
Solveig Andersson	...	Sally / Prostitute
Björn Kristiansson
Marie-Louise Mannervall	...	Woman in village
Hildur Lindberg	...	Woman in village
Stig Lokrantz
Olle Nordlander
Marshall McDough	...	(as Marshal Mc Donagh)
Gunnar Palm
Pamela Pethö-Galantai	...	Young Frigga
Lennart Robertsson
Hans-Eric Stenborg	...	Sex Buyer

Storyline

Rendered mute after a horrific assault in the park by a sadistic old paedophile, young Madeleine tries to escape the traumatic experience living in silence in her parents' farmhouse. However, things will take a turn for the worse, when an innocent offer for a lift by a handsome stranger in a flashy sports-car leads to a nightmarish life of prostitution, abuse, and drug addiction. But when Madeleine finds out her evil pimp's cruel scheme, an irrevocable course of sweet retribution and a deadly sawed-off double-barrelled shotgun will inevitably set the stage for a bloody roaring rampage of revenge. And then, no one will ever dare to harm her again. Never again.

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Plot Keywords:

rape | revenge | female vigilante | forced prostitution | sexual abuse | 

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Taglines:

THE MOVIE THAT HAS NO LIMITS OF EVIL! FIRST THEY TOOK HER SPEECH...THEN HER SIGHT...WHEN THEY WERE FINISHED SHE USED WHAT WAS LEFT OF HER FOR HER OWN FRIGHTENING KIND OF REVENGE! (original US poster and print ads-all caps)

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Christina Lindberg trained in martial arts for two months in order to play the lead role in this film.

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Goofs

When the police car runs over a piece of grass between two roads, you can clearly see tire tracks from earlier takes.

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Quotes

Tony: I like women who don't talk too much... but you set a new record!

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Alternate Versions

US version was heavily edited (ca. 20 min.) for a R rating. DVD release by Synapse is uncut.

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Connections

Spoofed in Sex, Lies and Video Violence (2000)

User Reviews

Funky like my grandmas trousers

I watched this movie yesterday and all i can say is...WOW!!! I could keep my eyes of the TV screen. Christina Lindberg is perfect. She goes from a shy girl to a tough woman, and looks extremely beautiful all the way through. I though the director, Bo Arne Vibenius, did a great job, and the cinematographer (i forgot the name) even better. For me, the movie wasn't slow at all, even though it doesn't have much dialogue and probably many will think it is rather slow. I absolutely love the score and all the freaky dubby effects and music. They where perfect, Its what a madman/woman would be hearing in his/her mind. The final fight scenes were enchanting. The super duper slow motion effects where a great touch. Its funny because if you keep your eyes at the guys mouth while hes getting beat up, you will see he's trying to hold the fake blood until finally he gets kicked in the head and all the blood spills out toward you( in super duper slow motion). And the ending was also perfect, paying homage to the spaghetti westerns. About the porn...its weird because it pops up out of nowhere, a extreme penetration close-up( obviously not her ) which is more funny than disturbing, but it shows to your face what is really going on and what the guy is actually putting this already disturbed girl through. Its the reason why she goes mad and gets her revenge. Like in many of the other movies made during this time, the chairs, sofas, lamps, rugs, curtains, and clothing were as funky as my grandmas trousers. I wish my house was decorated like that. The only thing I didn't like is that when she driving the car like crazy psycho on heroin, she's deliberately trying to get innocent drivers that had nothing to do with her problems to crash and die. She should have stuck to killing only those that did wrong. Or maybe she thinks they are part of a society that chose to close their eyes while innocent girls like her where being raped and hooked on heroin, making them part of the problem also. Overall, a fantastic movie with a heart. Watch it with friends. Watch it with the original Swedish audio with English subtitles since its 100% better than the crazy dubbed version.

Details

Country:

Sweden

Language:

Swedish

Release Date:

5 June 1974 (USA)

Also Known As:

They Call Her One Eye

Filming Locations:

Drottningholm, Stockholms län, Sweden

Company Credits

Production Co:

BAV Film, United Producers

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 80 min (heavily cut) 82 min (R-rated) 92 min (R-rated cut)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1