Der schöne Körper der Deborah

Considering the talent on display, it really has to be said that The Sweet Body of Deborah is something of a disappointment. The script is penned by Sergio Martino's long-time collaborator Ernesto Gastaldi (who put pen to paper on classics of the genre such as The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh and The Case of the Scorpion's Tail), the director is Romolo Guerrieri, who also made the highly rated 'The Double', and it stars a trio of Giallo regulars; Carroll Baker (Lenzi's Kiss Me, Kill Me), George Hilton (The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh) and Jean Sorel (Fulci's One on Top of the Other). There's also a producer's credit for Sergio Martino's brother and workmate, Luciano Martino. The Sweet Body of Deborah is a rather early Giallo as it was released prior to the boom of the subgenre in the early seventies, and so it's something of a front runner; which somewhat explains why the film doesn't stand up to best that the genre has to offer, although many directors; such as Mario Bava and Umberto Lenzi has already made successful films prior to the release of this one.

The plot is one of the film's strongpoint's, as a seemingly chance encounter between the central couple and a man who claims Jean Sorel murdered his girlfriend opens up into a twisted and complex tale of lust and greed. The major problem with the film stems from the handling, as although the twists and turns are well worked; there isn't a lot of suspense in the plot, and the film boils down to snail pace far too often. Furthermore, despite coming from soon to be esteemed Giallo cast members, the ensemble is rather flat and no one gives a particularly strong performance. The director does have an eye for detail, however, as the locations are stunning and Carroll Baker gets to don some of Giallo's most outrageous outfits. The film is typical of Ernesto Gastaldi in that there are a lot of twists and no one is ever quite what they seem. The climax is highly improbable and far too convoluted, but it's carried off well and director Guerrieri does a good job of presenting a number of twists in quick succession to ensure that the movie ends on a high. Overall, this isn't a classic of the genre; and Giallo fans can feel free to skip it, but I love a good twisted film and the ending really made it for me.

"The Sweet Body of Deborah" has a very slow start, but once it get's going, it's a decent mystery/crime movie which can entertain you during it's runtime. However, it should be noted that even though the movie has style and isn't amateurishly made or acted, it isn't anything special. There is also a scene where main characters play twister. That cringe has to be seen to be believed. All in all, I give the movie 6.5/10! It's an OK movie for genre fans, but isn't something everyone should see, unless you are largely attracted to Caroll Baker...

Carroll Baker made several excursions to Italy throughout the late 1960s and 1970s, notably a series of erotic gialli; this was the first of them and, though a rather inauspicious beginning, several that followed (even those made by other hands, such as Sergio Martino – actually serving on the film under review as Production Manager!) can be seen to have adhered pretty closely to the formula unveiled here. Though contributing to the low rating was the atrocious sound quality – which not only seemed to have inherent hiccups (whereby lines get repeated every so often) but the English dialogue track featured a few unaccountable 'intrusions' of Italian and French! – the movie itself is a mainly listless affair which contrives to wake up only during the last 20 minutes (with the expected bevy of improbable twists and turns)!! To be fair, I was drawn to this principally by the notable cast – which also includes Jean Sorel (who followed his career highpoint, Luis Bunuel's BELLE DE JOUR [1967], with a number of gialli: for the record, he and director Guerrieri would subsequently collaborate on the infinitely more rewarding THE DOUBLE [1971]) and, likewise all genre stalwarts, George Hilton (who eventually rose to protagonist status under Martino's guidance), Luigi Pistilli and Evelyn Stewart. To go back to the erotic theme at the core of these type of films (perhaps to make up for the frankly tedious plots), this first entry may have seemed pretty risqué at the time but certainly feels tame when compared to later examples (not necessarily those made by the group of people already mentioned).

Some may not love this but I had a difficult to find this with subtitles and do love it. Carroll Baker had a several of these giallo films with Umberto Lenzi with So Sweet...So Perverse and Orgasmo, both in 1969 and the first with Jean-Louis Trintignant and the other Lou Castel. In this film of Romolo Guerrieri though is made in 1968 and made The Double (1971) but never had much success as most. This lovely The Sweet Body of Deborah is as good as any might with Baker with Jean Sorel and Luici Pitilli (who was in the film with The Great Silence, I see last night) and if the story is a bit strange, the bonkers fashions and dancing (and a twister game!) there is always the wonderful Nora Orlandi score. Great fun.

Deborah and Marcel (Carroll Baker and Jean Sorel) are young and in love. We know this due to their shower scene, which may be the most awkward, passionless scene of its kind.

When Marcel learns of the tragic fate of his ex-mistress, Suzanne, we are treated to the "motorcycle / cow disaster" flashback sequence. Then, Marcel and Deborah hurry to Suzanne's decrepit villa, where Deborah receives a threatening phone call that couldn't possibly have been made.

THE SWEET BODY OF DEBORAH is a rather tame giallo. For her part, Ms. Baker is stunning, whether she's cutting a rug at the dance club in her green mini-skirt, or playing a game of lawn twister in one of her magnificent bodysuits!

Though it's drawn-out and convoluted, the wicked triple-twist finale makes it worth watching...