TheSinfulDwarf

The Sinful Dwarf (1973)

This movie is about a Dwarf named Olaf and his mother. Together they run a seedy boarding house in the same building that contains the abandoned nightclub where his mother had her glory days. Since running a boarding house doesn’t really pay the bills Olaf and his mother also kidnap, drug, and then prostitute out innocent girls in the attic of the same building. See here is were the sinful part of the title comes from. When a young married couple, Mary and Peter, move in Olaf and his mother immediately see her potential. Their current girls are using too much heroin, which cuts into their profits, so they go about scheming a way to kidnap Mary for their operation. Do they get her or is she spared? Well this is an exploitation movie so you know some bad things will happen!

Wow this is such a strange little movie. The plot is very simple and I get the distinct impression that it exists only to have Olaf run around making creepy sounds and leering at the beautiful naked women. Really the movie spends most of the time either featuring a creepy looking Olaf or showing the audience nude women being abused. I’ve seen this kind of movie before, and most of the time they bore me to death after the first 20 minutes. But the Sinful Dwarf actually was sort of funny and interesting. Don’t get me wrong, because this is a terribly made, written, and acted film that has no business being as entertaining as it is. And that is the point for me because not once during the movie did I look at the clock. The movie held my attention as I watched the bizarre goings on, especially when Olaf was on the screen. He is, or actually was, a creepy little bastard. Again the performances are just awful, with the only memorable one being Torben Bille as Olaf the Dwarf, and it isn’t for good reasons.

The movie is shot on film and looks very gritty and dark. I don’t know if this was a conscious decision or just the result of poor equipment or film stock, but it works for the movie. The atmosphere that is created when watching a movie with imperfections like this really just adds to the experience. I’ve said it before and I still think it is true, some movies shouldn’t be perfect when you watch them. This is one of those movies. Now that said the movie does look good and it isn’t too dark to see what it going on. This is a testament to the fine folks at Severin films, who have dug up yet another sleazy little gem in the Sinful Dwarf.

I was trying to think of a good way to sum up my review here and then it hit me. This movie, both in tone and because of the Dwarf, really reminds me of Bloodsucking Freaks, minus the gore. Both movies are very strange and have the same vibe, at least to me. So if you dig movies like Bloodsucking Freaks then you might also get a kick out of The Sinful Dwarf. With that in mind I recommend this movie. For more information check out there website at http://www.severin-films.com/

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer