Die Screaming Marianne (1971)

Marianne is a free spirit who ran away from her father the Judge after being convinced that he and her half sister were trying to kill her.  But they continually send people off in pursuit of her because on the eve of her twenty first birthday she is going to inherit a great deal of money and some incriminating documents that could send her father to prison.  See her father is a disgraced judge who only avoided going to jail for taking bribes due to a lack of evidence.  Marianne’s mother stole the Judge’s money and the documents and locked them away in a bank account to protect Marianne from both he and her half sister, then mysteriously died.  Now Marianne has to figure out whom, if anyone that she can trust before it is too late. 

This is an interesting movie and the second Pete Walker movie that I’ve ever seen.  The story is confusing and at times makes very little sense.  Eventually things become clearer as the motivations of the different characters are exposed.  But this doesn’t happen until late in the movie, which makes for a movie that is difficult to follow and at times very boring.  Also a reoccurring theme in several of Walker’s film shows up here with a possible unnatural relationship between the Judge and one of his daughters that is hinted at.  As I mentioned above the movie does pick up steam and get pretty good towards the end, but then manages to screw up any momentum that it picked up with a terribly unsatisfying and vague ending. 

For the most part the cast is very good.  A young Susan George is stunningly beautiful as Marianne and does a decent acting job as well.  Also very good is Leo Genn as her father the Judge.  I expected him to be the stereotypical villain, but his performance is nuanced and shows a genuine affection towards his wayward daughter.  Unfortunately I found the performances of Christopher Sanford (Sebastian) and Judy Huxtable (Hidegarde, Marianne’s half sister) over the top and distracting. 

Technically there isn’t any thing spectacular about this film.  There are a couple of times where director Pete Walker tries to shoot some scenes in the style of a giallo, but he just doesn’t pull it off and it feels forced.  One shot in the movie that I did like is where he used a mirror to get two angles of the same scene on screen at the same time.  This was pretty nifty looking and creative.  But other than that this movie is far from Walker’s best work. 

This isn’t a terrible movie, but it is a mediocre one.  I can’t really recommend this one unless you are a Pete Walker enthusiast.  Still it is included in the Shriek show 4 pack of British horror films with three other Walker directed films that are worth the price of around $15.  But don’t go out and pick this one up by itself because it just isn’t worth it. 

2 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2008 John Shatzer