Die Screaming Marianne

The title suggests a decent horror movie with tons of gore. With a title like 'Die Screaming, Marianne', I would have thought that as well, but that's not the case. Instead, this is more of a incestuous thriller than straight horror. The lady playing Marianne is Susan George, who starred in the original 'Straw Dogs'. Marianne is an exotic dancer who is wanted by some criminals. She escapes their capture, and takes refuge with a guy named Sebastian (Christopher Sanford) who is a little too nice for my comfort. Marianne figures out that Sebastian is not the guy he says he is after he suddenly proposed marriage to her, as he has partnered up with Mariannes father (Leo Genn), a corrupt authority figure who is after Marianne's fortune, a large wealth of money left to her by her mother, which she will inherit on her 21st birthday. And Marianne's father is not the only one after her fortune, as Marianne tries to avoid capture and being killed by family. This is one of those films that has a good plot, but was poorly executed. The script isn't that good, and each climactic moment utterly fails to bring any kind of resolution. It keeps a decent pace, but with its terrible dialogue and anticlimactic moments, it runs longer than it should. Susan George looks great in this film though, especially when she is almost *.

With having become keen in seeing more films by Pete Walker,thanks to his light hearted,sadly forgotten Sex Comedy Tiffany Jones,and also being very interested in catching a glimpse of Susan George for the very first time,I decided to go for a "2 for the price of 1" deal,by taking a look at a collaboration of their's,and finding out how Marianne is made to die screaming. The plot: Running away from her family villa in Portugal,due to gangster's being after her,who are desperate to get hold of bank account details that only she has been told about from her late mum,Marianne McDonald bumps into passing driver Sebastian Smith,who tells Marianne the he will make sure that she is safe,by taking McDonald to live with him in London. A few days/weeks later: Having spent a period of time attempting to build a connection between himself and Marianne,Sebastian gives McDonald the rather surprising news,that due to feeling a need of wanting to know that she will always be "safe",Smith has decided to arrange for both of them to get married to each other today!. Feeling anxious about Sebastian's "kind" offer,Marianne smartly uses the appearance of Smith's friend Eli Frome at the wedding as a way to ruin Sebastian's marriage plans,as McDonald begins to fear that the people who were set to do anything to get the bank account details out of her in Portugal are now getting closer to her than ever before. View on the film: For the first half an hour of the movie,screenwriter Murray Smith struggles to strike a cohesive balance with the (initially) underlying mystery-Thriller elements and the teen Drama-style sections of the movie,with the "wedding games" between Sebastian and Marianne feeling completely disconnected to the events that take place in the second half of the film. Happily,as Murray quickly makes a pretty thin excuse for the character's all to go to Portugal,the teen Drama elements are trimmed away, and replaced by the terrific mystery-Thriller section of the plot being wonderfully pushed right to the front,with Murray showing Marianne's terror to gradually increase,as McDonald begins to feel that she is getting pulled back into the web of death and double- crossing that Marianne desperately wants to escape from. Shooting the film in the stark Portugal sun light,director Pete Walker impressively uses the strongest parts in Murray Smith's likable screenplay to create the foundations for his future Horror work,with Walker showing a female character to be far deadlier and smarter than the male,and also uses the nickname of McDonal's dad ("The Judge") to show how members of the ruling elite want to use all of their powers to crush everyone underneath.Working closely with the fantastic editing of Tristam Cones,and a great,quick-thinking performance from the very pretty Susan George,Walker cleverly uses spilt-screens and whip pans to show the desperation of the character's to force out the bank account details from Marianne,and also does well in hiding the films low budget,by setting the ending around the ancient buildings of Portugal,that give the movie a tremendous,chilling atmosphere,as the dying screams of Marianne start to echo round the film.

It is hard to believe that 'Die Screaming, Marianne', a boring and uninspired 'shocker', was directed by British horror master Pete Walker, who would go on to make the wonderful 'Frightmare'. Admittedly this was his first film and he needed time to refine his art, but 'Marianne' has little if anything to recommend it. It is very like the Italian 'giallo' films which were popular back in the early seventies, and hardly deserves to be called a horror film. Susan George stars as Marianne McDonald/Evans and, to her credit, plays a strong and resourceful character. Her evil father, a corrupt judge played by Leo Genn, and her power-hungry and avaricious stepsister, are out to get their hands on Marianne's fortune - a hefty amount left to her by her rich mother - which she is to inherit on her twenty-first birthday. 'Die Screaming, Marianne' belongs to the family of horror films whose titles promise much and then do not deliver the titular carnage. Such films as 'Driller Killer' and 'The Texas Chain Saw Massacre'. 'Driller Killer' is an interesting psychological horror film which owes much to 'Repulsion' and it certainly has its merits, but its reputation as a notorious video nasty is just silly considering the very tame gore in the film. And 'Texas' is a horror masterpiece but it definitely does not offer up a constant stream of blood and severed limbs as its title suggests. Susan George completists will want to see 'Die Screaming, Marianne' but anyone else will find the proceedings tedious and instantly forgettable. There is a good title song which has a nice melancholy feel to it, and there is a cool opening credits sequence which sees George go-go dancing in a black bikini. But the rest of the film - apart from the rather attractive scenery in the scenes shot in Portugal - is almost excruciatingly dull and pointless. Do yourself a favour, and catch Susan in the horror film 'Fright' instead. So much better.

That summary may sound a little harsh, but it's not far off in describing Pete Walker's "Die Screaming, Marianne". The biggest problem is that for a supposed psychological "thriller", this comes up awfully short on *thrills*. It works as an amusing, soap opera style melodrama, but is much too leisurely for its own good. And, to be perfectly frank, it's not terribly well written. The absolutely stunning Susan George plays Marianne, a poor little rich girl on the run who is practically forced into marriage by a stranger named Sebastian (Christopher Sandford). However, his plan goes awry when the name of his friend Eli (Barry Evans) mistakenly ends up on the marriage certificate. Sebastian drops out of the picture, if only for a bit, while Eli eventually has to be told the truth about his new bride: she's due to inherit a sizable sum upon her 21st birthday, which is imminent, and there are those in her family who want either revenge or to get their hands on the money and / or incriminating documents. Said relatives include a father (Leo Genn) who was a crooked judge, and a venal and nasty half sister (Judy Huxtable). "Die Screaming, Marianne" doesn't offer more than moderate entertainment. It does feature some impressive location work and scenery, and fine supporting performances by all, but its main drawing card - which is good enough of a hook - is its showcasing of the luscious young George in the leading role. She's often dressed quite provocatively and, in fact, Marianne likes to dance in a bikini. Ms. George makes this whole thing worth sitting through, and Evans is very likable as the true innocent of the piece. One can't help but feel some disdain towards the character of Marianne for being too cagey and not telling Eli the whole story when it would have helped him more; besides, she was doing nobody any favours by delaying the inevitable set of confrontations. The movie really could have used *some* more action, and only starts to get good near the end. It makes the mistake that a fair amount of movies make by being too talky and stretching out things too much. It's a pity - this easily could have been more fun. But Walker would only get better as he went along, creating such fine entries in the British New Wave of horror as "The Flesh and Blood Show", "Frightmare", and "House of Whipcord". Five out of 10.

Go-go dancer Marianne is fleeing her father 'The Judge' and lethal step-sister from their Portugal seaside mansion, as when she turns 21 she'll inherited from her deceased mother a fortune in cash, and some discriminating evidence which could put away her father. Wanting this evidence he tracks her down, but her stepsister has her eyes on the money. After constantly being on the run, she decides to head back home. After reading all the middling things to below-par opinions about this Pete Walker film, I just couldn't help myself and that dazzling figure of the skilfully talented actress Susan George was the main reason for taking the dip. I didn't care. I'm new to Walker's work, and maybe this psycho-thriller wasn't a good choice for my second film (the first being "The Comeback"), but it was an okay time-waster. I use okay lightly though, because even with the lovely Susan George and her always wilful and compassionate portrayals. No she just wasn't a sexpot. Still there are gaping problems. She does look quite lost in the picture, but the support roles of the delightful Barry Evans and sly Christopher Sandford seemed even more dazed. Hell everyone should be! What got here was a salty, and for most part lifelessly talky lets chuck everything, but the kitchen sink psychological melodrama of greed and family betrayal. Walker's direction is quite forward, but rough around the edges. After letting the film really kick off, he seems to lose out to the film's sluggish and lounging pace where the characters really don't get up too much and take their sweet time to execute their obscure plans. The choppy, and flabby mid-section really spells out the screenplay's intentions, and elaborate twists. Gladly we have George to watch, because it does become a maze of incoherent sub-plots. Eventually the shifty air, is broken up at a last ditch attempt (and not terribly successful) of heart-racing, and random thrills. Nonetheless Walker gets across one or two effective, suspenseful set-pieces, despite not sustaining it for long periods. Cyril Ornadel's strikingly haunting, uncanny score swings with the era, and Norman Langley's finely featured cinematography stands out with its kinetic flourishes and beautiful scope of the Portugal locations. Lending to film's greatly hypnotic edge was Leo Genn's fascinatingly humid and perverted performance as 'The Judge' and Judy Huxtable's seductively titular psychotic half-sister Hildegarde. Kenneth Hendel's subtle, moody support part is well delivered. Walker shows pockets of promise and the cast complement with solid acting, but Murray Smith's confusingly messy and languid screenplay brings it down with a thud.

Strange behavior is on the menu for this frustratingly slow-moving "thriller" about a Swiss bank account everyone needs the numbers to so that what's inside can be retrieved. Marianne(Susan George, dressed evocatively in skimpy outfits the entire film)is only one of two people who know it..the other, her mother, is dead. Marianne's father, The Judge(Leo Genn)needs notes that are scathing enough to possibly send him to jail. The film offers a distinct possibility of The Judge being the very one who murdered Marianne's mother. Hildegarde(Judy Huxtable)is slowly going mad and wants the cash within that bank account. It's her inner hatred for Marianne(she's papa's little girl)that drives her to find some way of getting those numbers to open it. Sebastian(Christopher Sandford)gets in the mix as he started a relationship(that didn't last because he bored Marianne)with Marianne..but we come to find out he had already been involved with Hildegarde once before. He will make a deal with the devil, Hildegarde, to bring Marianne, who had ran away from home out of fear for her life, back to The Judge so that brute force might extract those numbers from her mouth. The unfortunate victim in all this isn't Marianne as much as her lover, Eli(Barry Evans)who comes with her only to face possible danger not just from Hildegarde, but even from his own friend Sebastian. The obsession for the money is at the heart of the film which takes way too long to get going. What made me restless was the way the characters just didn't get on with it. We spend so much time watching them skirting the issue of THE important confrontation to get those numbers from Marianne's brain. I think Pete Walker wants to try and evade as much suspense as possible which hurts this film because I, for one, just didn't care for any of them enough. I think it comes down to George in the lead. She spends most of this film simply blank without a hint of expression. I wanted to beat out her thoughts into words myself so she can just say what she damn well feels. Hildegarde wants the money so bad enough it takes her damn well a long time to do anything. She tries manipulation using Sebastian as a means to snuff out the numbers, but shouldn't she know after such a length of Marianne's absence that wouldn't work? The film limply moves along at a turtle's pace and by the time any real action occurs I was so uninvolved to care.

Pretty much everything I want to say about this movie has already been stated in other reviews. I want to reiterate several points in the hopes of preventing others from making the same mistake as those of us who spent time on this one. I watched this right to the end, so I won't say that it is entirely boring--it had me wanting to know how it would resolve. However, every plot point was absolutely wasted--everything that happens to each character is anti-climactic. More than anything else, it is poorly written. Yes, Susan George is nice to watch, but that is about it. It is falsely marketed as horror, and I blame IMDb for allowing it to be categorized as such. It is almost entirely drama, although it aspires to be a thriller. I don't think it could have been less effective at building tension if it was a Disney Channel original. It's just not a good story. There are moments when they could have had the characters do something much more nasty, but I just thought their choices were lame. To give you an idea of where I'm coming from, I like a lot of low-budget, obscure, and independent productions. I enjoy bad movies when they are entertaining. I saw the low rating and thought that's what this movie is, but if you read through the comments, you'll see most of us thought it was just boring.

Saucy free-spirited tart Marianne (a sweetly disarming performance by the delectable Susan George) will inherit a sizable sum of money from her wealthy, but severely dysfunctional family on her 21st birthday. Susan will also acquire several documents about the illegal activities of her crooked judge father (well played by Leo Genn). Pretty soon Marianne finds herself in substantial danger. Director Pete ("Frightmare") Walker crucially fails to wring much tension or momentum from the standard woman-in-peril thriller potboiler premise. Moreover, Walker lets the pace crawl along at a sluggish rate, thereby ensuring that a dull quality hangs heavy throughout most of the movie. Norman Langley's pretty, picturesque cinematography makes cool use of fades, dissolves and split screen. Cyril Ornadel's lush, elegant score, the scenic Portugal locations and the haunting melancholy theme song are all likewise solid and effective. Nice supporting turns by Barry Evans as loyal boyfriend Eli, the lovely Judy Huxtable as bitchy half-sister Hildegarde, and Christopher Sandford as bitter ex-suitor Sebastian. Susan George's deliciously considerable pulchritudinous presence keeps the picture watchable: Susan does a memorably sexy go-go dance during the groovy opening credits sequence and looks absolutely smashing in a skimpy black bikini. Unfortunately, Murray Smith's tediously talky script, an off-putting glum tone and the slow-going, largely uneventful plot make this feature a really draggy chore to endure. A merely decent timewaster.

Not particularly gripping tale of a 'free spirited' Susan George becoming embroiled in a seedy crime racket, led by a 'defrocked' Judge. Not just *a* Judge, but 'The Judge' - Leo Genn's character who is continually accorded the definite article by sundry friends and enemies - who are largely interchangeable. This melodrama, with a heavy accent on the corrupt authority figures, bears some resemblance to Pete Walker's later baroque horrors. But the formula isn't developed as of yet - and he had yet to work with the waggish scriptwriter David McGillivray. Walker followed this film with the relatively interesting curio, "The Flesh and Blood Show" - collaborating with the talented veteran Alfred Shaughnessy of "Upstairs, Downstairs" fame - and then his fecund period began with "The House of Whipcord" in 1974. Susan George and Judy Huxtable are done a great disservice by Walker and scriptwriter Murray Smith here with their reductive portrayal of female characters. Such as shame for George in particular, subject of much brutality in Peckinpah's "Straw Dogs" the following year, but also Huxtable, who was the evocative beauty at the heart of the whimsical "Les Bicylettes de Belsize" two years earlier. There is always some degree of objectification of women in Walker's films, but what is lacking here is the suspenseful, charged context of his later films. "Frightmare" and "House of Mortal Sin" have something of the Hitchcockian about them: Hitchcock-meets-the Grimm Brothers-meets-British exploitation cinema of the 70s. This is a rather more humdrum affair, with even the exotic locations eliciting no more than a Gallic shrug in this viewer.

I foolishly bought the DVD of this without checking out the reviews first ...won't do that again! One thing that surprises me is that while many IMDb reviewers mention that Die Screaming, Marianne is a waste of Susan George's talents, nobody has commented on the fact that the former Oscar nominee Leo Genn had been reduced to appearing in this tawdry, inept trash. In fact, poor Leo ended up doing uncredited bit parts in a couple of films after this (though neither was actually as bad as Marianne). I remember as a kid, when this film played for three mights at my local fleapit as the bottom half a double bill, the it was incorrectly titled "Ice Cream and Marianne" in the local paper! Still makes me chuckle ...