DIE
SCREAMING MARIANNE (1970)Director: Pete Walker
Image Entertainment
DIE
SCREAMING MARIANNE (1970)Despite the title and the fact that it's often referred to as "Pete Walker's first horror film," this is basically the director's attempt at a Hitchcock-like thriller. Walker was inspired by the 1946 classic GILDA with Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford, but later stated that the envisioned characters and events created on paper did not translate properly to the screen, and he ultimately was not happy with the casting. In the leads are pouty-faced blond cutie Susan George and Barry Evans (Walker would have preferred Ian McShane but he was "too expensive").
After the "shagadelic" opening featuring George go-going about in front of a crimson backdrop, we are introduced to her character, dancer Marianne MacDonald, a promiscuous and free-spirited bird. Marianne is being chased by some thugs in Portugal, so she hitches a ride with Sebastian Smith (Christopher Sanford) who takes her to his home in London and convinces her to marry him. Marianne reluctantly agrees, but she sabotages the ceremony by writing the name of the best man, Eli Frome (Evans), on the wedding certificate.
It is discovered that Marianne's father (played by British character actor Leo Genn, who also worked for Jess Franco and Lucio Fulci) is a corrupt judge trying to get a hold of a huge sum of money and incriminating documents which Marianne's mother secreted in a Swiss bank before her death. Marianne is the only one who knows the number of the account, and she's still in London becoming very attached to her "husband" Eli. Her would-be groom Sebastian was actually hired by the judge to bring Marianne back to Portugal, and after a botched assassination attempt on Eli, the happy couple is escorted back to pop and his entourage of unethical cronies who are intent on snuffing them out.
With enough shifty characters and crafty scenario-switching between scenic Portugal and mod London, DIE SCREAMING MARIANNE will satisfy some with a taste for kitsch British films of the late 60s and early 70s. Others will be displeased with its deceiving plot build-ups that fall flat and don't pay off. Most of the acting is lifeless, except for a delightfully wicked turn by Judy Huxtable (SCREAM AND SCREAM AGAIN) as Marianne's half-sister, but fans of Susan George will want to embrace this early starring role regardless.
Although I hated the film when I first saw it many years ago on video through the old Unicorn label, I now can better appreciate it, even with its many flaws. Image's disc restores about 15 minutes of footage not present on the Unicorn release, and have given it an attractive new transfer. Although the source material shows wear in the form of scratches, cuts and lines, the image is very sharp and the colors are wonderful. The mono sound is fine with only minor hiss and pops present. The image is full frame, allowing for a lot of extra space on the top and the bottom of the screen. This is evident in a scene in which the top George's bra is in frame while she's taking a bubble bath!
There are no extras, but I might add that the packaging is supplemented with a lot of nice pin-up shots of Susan George. (George R. Reis)