Blaubart

Forgive the 10 minutes or so of Richard Burton's (thankfully) sporadic organ playing. Instead, appreciate the plot (yes, this movie actually has one), dialog (especially the fast flying quips between the LUSCIOUS Joey Heatherton and Burton), acting (rather subdued for an Italian production), and production values of this rather well made film. There is no embarrassing zooming in and out with the camera, no corny sudden bursts of melodramatic music and barely any footage thst should have wound up on the cutting room floor. The women are portrayed across a broad spectrum: Strong willed, weak willed, not so bright and intelligent. Heatherton's attempt at analyzing Burton in order to stay alive is clever and well played out and the film has the usual ironic Italian ending.

This tale told largely in flashbacks is pretty bad, but there is some very funny black humor too ! Richard Burton in the title role literally walks through appearing anguished in 99% of his scenes. What the Burtons wouldn't take on during their marriage to keep the $$$ rolling in ! On his honeymoon night with latest wife Anne, played by Joey Heatherton, Burton's Baron von Sepper fails to rise to the occassion. In flashbacks, his tales of murderous endeavor with previous wives unfold. Most of the beautiful European actresses in this movie merely pose looking beautiful. One exception is Virna Lisi who can't stop singing, so the Baron must off her to keep his sanity. Raquel Welch is another wife, a former convent nun named Sister Magadalena who constantly modifies both her nun's habit and appearance during the weeks that the Baron is courting her. By the time that the Baron is ready to pop the question to her, her habit is low cut and thigh high! Magadalena begins to confess her past indiscretions 1 by 1. By the time she is on her 76th peccadillo, the Baron can take no more and entombs her alive ! Otherwise the film is both dull and has terrible dialogue. Heatherton mutters things like, " I spit on you my darling ". The continuity runs like a badly dubbed Mexican horror flick. It's no wonder that the careers of those involved stalled..........

Austrian aristocrat Kurt Von Sepper (Richard Burton) is a celebrated WWI pilot with a striking blue beard and connections to the fledgling neo-Nazis. He's a real ladykiller. He meets and marries American vaudeville performer Anne (Joey Heatherton). After moving into his castle, she makes disturbing discoveries including his seeming inability to consummate their marriage. He gives her the keys to the castle with a golden key which leads to a freezer filled with his murdered former wives. He recounts to her the story of each wive and their faults which led to him murdering them. Anne plots her escape as she listens to his tales of horror.

This is sold as an erotic thriller with an international cast of beauties such as Raquel Welch. Joey Heatherton has a sincere bouncy cuteness which fits the sincere vaudeville role. However, she is not the best of actresses. She has to be both inwardly horrified and outwardly placating the crazed killer. Her inconsistencies only add to the camp of this movie. Richard Burton is still a powerful actor but the material is strictly B-level. There are some very memorable kill scenes like the elephant tusk chandelier and the hawk. The erotic thrills are fleeting and the horror is old style weak. Most of it is in flashbacks which takes away any intensity. It is still a memorable camp classic.

It's almost impossible to find the words to describe exactly how bad this film is. Or to describe how much fun it was to watch. Bluebeard is the story of a German Baron (Richard Burton) who has a, well, blue beard. When Joey Heatherington finds out that he has killed a series of wives and hidden the bodies she realizes that she is next. In attempt to delay the inevitable she gets the Baron to tell his story. What follows is a primer in how not to pick a girl.

The dialogue is phony, the accents are terrible but the women are all beautiful and (at least partially) disrobed. Maybe not the intent but this movie is a great example of a 1970's campy sex movie.

Sit back, relax and enjoy the ride.

Tis is a soporific remake titled ¨Bluebeard¨(1972) by Edward Dmytryck with the great star Richard Burton as a German Baron noted for his blue-toned beard . Big-budgeted as well as mediocre picture upon a known personage who knocks off series of beautiful women . A World War I pilot Kurt Von Sepper (Richard Burton) whom everybody envies as a "ladykiller" actually is one - after he beds the women he's after, he murders them . As he contacts European women , he seduces and eventually kills them in order to carry out his dark purports . His latest wife is an American beauty named Anne (Joey Heatherton) ; later on , Bluebeard explains to Anne that he found an easier alternative to divorce when he grew bored with his former spouses . Among those getting the ending curtain call from "bluebeard" (is a type of serial killer ; specifically, it is a man who murders his wives or lovers , this type is named after the fictional "Bluebeard") are Rachel Welch , Natahalie Delon , Virna Lisi , Karin Schubert and Agostina Belli .

This murder/drama is based on lady killer Henry-Denise Landru who seduced and murdered several women . The flick narrated by means of flashbacks , being realized in luxurious style ; it packs irony , drama , nudism , chills , suspense , kitsch situations and a lot of killings . Average acting by Richard Burton as an aristocrat who has a psychopatic urge to strangle gorgeous women . Exceptional group of European and American actresses , topbilled second after Richard Burton, Raquel Welch only has a little more than 8 minute screening time of this two hour long film . The speaking voices of almost all the European actresses in the film were re-voiced by Annie Ross . Enjoyable musical score by the great Ennio Morricone , including a sensitive and thrilling leitmotiv . Colorful as well as evocative Cinematography by Gabor Pogany . The motion picture was regularly directed by Edward Dmytryck and considered to be one of his worst movies . Filmmaker Edward , better known for overtly personal movies such as The Caine Mutiny was a craftsman whose career resulted to be interrupted by the activities of the House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC), a congressional committee that employed ruthless tactics aimed at rooting out and destroying what it saw as Communist influence in Hollywood . Dmytryk was one of the so-called "Hollywood Ten" who refused to cooperate with HUAC and had their careers disrupted or ruined as a result. The committee threw him in prison for refusing to cooperate, and after having spent several months behind bars , Dmytryk decided to cooperate . Dmytrick's biggest film was ¨The Caine Mutiny¨ , . Edward was an expert on warlike genre as ¨Back to Batan¨ , ¨Battle of Anzio¨ , ¨Young lions¨ and Western as ¨Broken lance¨ , ¨Alvarez Kelly¨ , ¨Warlock¨ among others.

Other films dealing with this known character , Henry ¨Bluebeard¨ Landru , -who was really father of various children, disposed and married 11 wives and killed them in order to feed his little family , being subsequently beheaded- , are the followings : ¨Bluebeard¨ (1901) by George Melies ; ¨Bluebeard¨ (1944) by Edgar G Ulmer with John Carradine , Jean Parker , Nils Asther ; ¨Monsieur Verdoux¨ (1947) with Charles Chaplin and Martha Ryer ; ¨Bluebeard's 10 honeymoon¨ by W.L. Wilder with George Sanders , Patricia Roc and Corinne Calvet ; ¨Bluebeard¨(1963) by Claude Chabrol with Charles Denner , Stephane Audran , Danielle Darrieux , Michele Morgan and Hildegarde Neff ; and ¨¨Bluebeard¨(2009) by Catherine Breillat with Dominique Thomas and Lola Creton .