Ms .45 (1981)

A timid and mute seamstress goes insane after being attacked and raped twice in one day, in which she takes to the streets of New York City after dark and randomly shoots men with a .45 caliber pistol.

Director:

Abel Ferrara

Writer:

Nicholas St. John (screenplay) (as N.G. St. John)

Stars:

Zoë Lund, Bogey, Albert Sinkys

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Zoë Lund	...	Thana (as Zoë Tamerlis)
Bogey	...	Phil
Albert Sinkys	...	Albert
Darlene Stuto	...	Laurie
Helen McGara	...	Carol
Nike Zachmanoglou	...	Pamela
Abel Ferrara	...	1st Rapist (as Jimmy Laine)
Peter Yellen	...	Burglar
Editta Sherman	...	Mrs. Nasone
Vincent Gruppi	...	Heckler on Corner
S. Edward Singer	...	Photographer
Stanley Timms	...	Pimp
Faith Peters	...	Prostitute
Lawrence Zavaglia	...	Arab
Alex Jachno	...	Chauffeur

Storyline

In Manhattan, Thana is a timid and mute woman that works as a seamstress in the fashion industry and spends most of her idle time at home. One night, she gets raped in an alley while going back home after hours and when she arrives at home, she gets raped again by another criminal. However, she reacts and bludgeons the assaulter to his death with a flatiron. The disturbed Thana loses her sanity and uses a .45 caliber pistol to shoot men on the streets of New York. She dresses suggestively and roams the dark streets alone, wreaking vengeance upon anyone who tries to take advantage of her. Eventually, her secret life overflows into her regular life in the fashion industry.

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Plot Keywords:

revenge | vigilante | misandry | shooting | nun with a gun | 

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Taglines:

She's number one... with a bullet. Know her name.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

24 April 1981 (USA)

Also Known As:

Angel of Vengeance

Filming Locations:

40 Pell Street, corner of Mott Street and Pell Street, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$62,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Navaron Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

80 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The name of Zoë Lund's character, Thana, is reminiscent of the Greek god of death, "Thanatos". Sigmund Freud used the word to refer to the "death drive", a subject's internal drive to return to an inorganic state.

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Goofs

One band member is playing the trumpet, but what you hear is obviously a saxophone. There is no trumpet sound in the song the band is playing.

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Quotes

Albert: Hello, Bobby.
Party Host: And Sister?
Albert: Thana.
Party Host: That's a charming name. Is that Greek?
Albert: It's Greek to you, Bobby.

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Alternate Versions

The British video release, on Warner's Maverick Director's label, was cut by 1m 42s by the BBFC. Early copies of this version, released in 1997, were accidentally mastered with the uncut version. These were quickly recalled and replaced with the BBFC approved version, but some uncut copies were sold - they can be identified by the code on the spine of the tape (082897). The cuts were made to the rape scenes and to a shot of Thana severing a dead man's arm with a bread knife. The use of a set of nunchakus was also removed.

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Connections

Referenced in Morvern Callar (2002)

User Reviews

Rape and Revenge

In Manhattaan, the mute seamstress Thana (Zoë Tamerlis) is a timid woman that works in the fashion industry and spends most of her idle time at home. One night, she is raped in an alley while going back home after hours and when she arrives at home, she is raped again by another criminal. However, she reacts and kills the assaulter with a flatiron. The disturbed Thana loses her sanity and uses the rapist pistol to kill men on the streets of New York.

"Angel of Vengeance" is a cult-movie by Abel Ferrara with elements of "Death Wish" when a simple woman goes insane after being raped twice in one day and she uses the criminal's gun to kill every man that makes a pass on her. I have just watched this film for the fourth or fifth time on VHS and it has not aged. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Sedução e Vingança" ("Seduction and Revenge")

Note: On 12 May 2017, I saw this film again.