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Die Screaming Marianne
[Shriek Show]
1970; color
Directed by Pete Walker
Starring: Susan George, Barry Evans, Christopher Sandford, Judy Huxtable, Kenneth Hendel, Paul Stassino, Alan Curtis, Anthony Sharp & Leo Genn
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Die Screaming Marianne revolves around a cute young British lass who's only a few weeks shy of her 21st birthday. When we meet Marianne she's on the run from the long arm of her controlling father, "The Judge," whose reputation as a ruthless SOB carries over to his private life, as evidenced by the way he treats everyone around him whether they be in his employ or a family relation. The reason she's run away from home is, on the day she turns 21 she'll have access to a Swiss bank account containing not only has a bunch of cash but incriminating documents about daddy dearest, as well as other politicians and important folk. The Judge - who was disgraced for corruption and other un-judge-ly activities and removed from the bench some time ago - wants to make sure the contents of the account are never publicly revealed so he conspires with his apparently evil and somewhat sadistic stepdaughter (Hildegarde) and a male friend of hers (Sebastian) to get the contents of said account from Marianne by just about any means necessary. Somehow Sebastian gets a tip to Marianne's whereabouts, picks her up by the side of the road and, since this is, after all, the '70s, they shack up. He convinces her to marry him after only two weeks, but she pulls a switcheroo and gets herself married to his best pal, Eli. (The execution of this maneuver is still highly confusing to me and I watched the scene three times!) Then she actually moves in with Eli even though she's not interested in him. Yet. Sebastian is naturally pissed and goes off to a villa in Portugal, which turns out to be the home of The Judge; at which point we find out he's been working for him all along. Once he learns of his daughter's marriage, he invites the newlyweds to spend a few days (including her birthday) at the villa. They accept, and everything seems almost okey-dokey at first. But, as will happen in these films, everything begins to disintegrate at a rapid pace as The Judge, Hildegarde and Sebastian all make a play for Marianne's birthday gift. In the process, Eli gets killed by Sebastian (off screen), The Judge dies in a car wreck (set up by Sebastian and actually meant for Eli), and Hildegarde gets stabbed by the Judge's loyal manservant, who's apparently been sympathetic to Marianne all along. What we end up with at the very end is Marianne not dying, not screaming, but sitting in silence on a big couch, alone, and filled with despair as an absolutely horrible song about how she'll never find love blares over the credits. (This thoroughly awful tune plays a few times in the movie, each coinciding with Marianne being thrust out on her own... alone... yet again...) I'm not sure if I'll re-watch this but if you're a fan of Pete Walker or marginally slipshod Eurotrash cinema of the early '70s, this one's for you.
—the Kommandant
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