Die Screaming Marianne

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Sexy Susan George (Straw Dogs) pouts and peers from wounded eyes like a B-movie Julie Christie as Marianne, a go-go-dancing free spirit on the run from her lordly father, a defrocked magistrate enigmatically called the Judge (Leo Genn), and her psychotic half-sister. It seems our shapely sweetheart has something everybody wants, namely incriminating files and a small fortune in ill-gotten gains left by her light-fingered mum in a Swiss bank to be handed over on her 21st birthday. A little conspiratorial conniving brings Marianne back to the Judge's seaside estate to await her inheritance, and the blood sport begins.

Handsomely shot in the lofts of swinging London and on the sunny coast of Portugal by future British goremeister Pete Walker, this is a competently made little thriller, familiar in parts and clumsily executed in moments--the flaming car wreck is particularly ragged--but engaging overall. There is no shortage of murder and mayhem, but despite its provocative title, Die Screaming, Marianne only hints at the sex and violence that later became the hallmark of Walker's savage productions Frightmare and House of Whipcord. His signature is found in the sheer desolation of the project. In a Pete Walker film, innocence is no guarantee of survival.

Image Entertainment's full-screen release marks the film's first uncut home-video release in the U.S. The print is worn in places and in parts resorts to less than stellar footage (ostensibly to reconstruct the full version), and the color is slightly subdued, but considering that this is a 1970 drive-in film it looks fine and is quite watchable. --Sean Axmaker

Description

Marianne, following the sudden death of her mother, stands to inherit the family fortune, along with several documents that could incriminate her corrupt judge of a father. Now, her sister and her father both want their hands on Marianne's inheritance and they'll stop at nothing, even murder, to get it!

Customer Reviews:

Slow, unappealing potboiler by Walker.......2003-07-11

A few weeks shy of turning twenty-one, Marianne McDonald is seen leaving a Spanish town, quickly packing her bags and fleeing from some men in a Mercedes. She gets a lift from a long-faced, long-haired, smarmy-looking Briton, Sebastian Smith, whom she follows back to England. He pushes her into a marriage for reasons she suspects aren't purely noble, but she turns the tables on him by marrying his best man Eli Frome, who isn't cocky and brusque but seems quite the gentleman. In fact he doesn't make a pass at Marianne for ten days and it is she who has to remark on that fact.

In order to set things straight, she and Eli go to a villa in Portugal, where her father, a former judge, and half-sister Hildegarde live. After her mother's death, Marianne had bad vibes of being marked for death--hence her flight at age sixteen. Hildegarde, a blonde with narrowed face and heavy lashes does not like her one bit. Things start happening after her and Eli's arrival, involving her inheriting a bank account whose contents compromise her father.

Susan George (Marianne) may have a nice body that could've sold Coppertone by the gallon, but she's nothing special to look at. Even the title sequence mimics that of a James Bond movie, with some woman getting her groove on. This movie seems to get its strength on having Susan in miniskirts, bathing suits, or in a bath towel, which doesn't quite cut it with me. Except for Eli, none of the characters elicit much sympathy, and the story is nothing to scream home about. Even the on-location shooting in the Algarve in Portugal don't help.

Anthony Sharp (the marriage registrar) may be a familiar face, as he played the Minister of the Interior in A Clockwork Orange. He later appeared in another Pete Walker film, The Confessional.

Despite being labeled as a horror film, slow-moving, unappealing potboiler is more appropriate. And Pete Walker has done better than this. Kathe Greene's string-accompanied title song is the only other good thing about this film. "Love is not for you, Marianne," she sings. As for the viewers, they may die screaming that this movie doesn't live up to expectations.

?.......2002-01-10

This was supposed to be Pete Walker's first horror film, it isn't. It's not a horror film at all, it's a movie with hardly any violence, gore or action, no sex, no nudity and no laughs. So what is it?. I guess it's a chase movie with a bit of family drama. I really don't know who this will appeal to. Looking at the title and the cover art you would think you're in for a sexy exploitation movie, but I can't really call it an exploitation movie because it doesn't exploit anything apart from a shocking haircut on one of the lead actors. I still thought it was alright though and watched it all the way through in one sitting, mainly waiting for Susan George to get her clothes off, but sadly it doesn't happen, though of course she has a lot to offer with her clothes on too and the acting is very good for this sort of film, actually it's good for any sort of film.

The DVD is the most basic release I have ever seen, not even having a main menu screen, just a scene selection screen. The print is worn, but it's still reasonably sharp and is certainly watchable.

Amazon.com

Description

In notorious British goremaster Pete Walker's first horror film, the beautiful Susan George (Straw Dogs) stars as Marianne, a nightclub dancer desperately running for her life. Marianne is about to turn 21 and inherit the contents of a sizeable Swiss bank account, which includes certain incriminating documents. Trickery, betrayal and death are around every corner in this pulse-pounding, suspense-filled horror thriller.

Customer Reviews:

Slow, unappealing potboiler by Walker.......2003-07-11

Anthony Sharp (the marriage registrar) may be a familiar face, as he played the Minister of the Interior in A Clockwork Orange. He later appeared in another Pete Walker film, The Confessional.

?.......2002-01-10

The DVD is the most basic release I have ever seen, not even having a main menu screen, just a scene selection screen. The print is worn, but it's still reasonably sharp and is certainly watchable.

If you've seen the movie and liked it then you may want the DVD, but if you haven't seen it it's not something I'd recommend purchasing.

DVD:

DVD

DVD