La encadenada

A young female thief (played by Euro-beauty Marisa Mell) trying to escape from her former life and her thuggish, pimp-like ex-boyfriend takes a job as a nurse for the mute, disturbed son of a cold-hearted industrialist. Both the father and son quickly fall in love with her, not surprising since she looks exactly like the father's first dead wife who he hated but his son adored. Then she finds the deceased women's diary and gets an idea how she can turn the situation to her advantage through murder. But things go very awry when the man's other illegitimate son and her old boyfriend show up. . .

Only the Americans or the British would take a Spanish-Italian co-production innocuously title "La Ecadenada" and change the title to "Diary of Erotic Murderess" while at the same time cutting all the sex and nudity out! (To be fair though, the snipping could have been done by the old Franco regime who were even more prudish than the Brits and Yanks combined). What is left is not quite a giallo. It's one of Italian co-productions like "Top Sensation" or "So Young, So Lovely, So Vicious" that has suspense elements but lacks the combination of heady stylization, lurid content, and over-the-top hysteria to really make it as a giallo. The beginning is unforgivably slow--the "erotic" is non-existent, the "murders" don't occur until an hour in, so what you have left is a lot of shots of Mell reading from the "diary" in voice-over, which naturally does not good cinema make. The second half of the movie is much better and it ends with a pleasantly nasty surprise (which also, however, makes the English title a cheat in more ways than one).

Marisa Mell is very good in supporting roles in movies like "Diabolik" and "One on Top of the Other", but she's a little at sea here in a role that requires her to be alternatively evil and sympathetic. Mell just LOOKS too much like a voracious maneater to play sympathetic (you might as well ask the shark in "Jaws" to be sympathetic). She handles evil a lot better, but I couldn't help but wonder what a stronger actress like Rosalba Neri or Erika Blanc could have done with this role. Still it is not a BAD movie. Maybe if it ever appears on DVD unedited and in better condition, it will be appreciated more.

When I discovered there was a film called Diary of an Erotic Murderess starring the ludicrously gorgeous Marisa Mell I was obviously going to be interested. Having seen it, it would only be fair to say that it does not live up to the promise of its title plus its star. But hey ho, it still has its moments and is a decent enough Spanish psychological thriller. In it, Gina - played by Marisa Mell - is a con artist who is hired by a millionaire to work as a nanny looking after his deranged son. She soon realises that her considerable charms are a route to the old man's money, so she concocts a plan to get her hands on it. This involves the finding of a secret diary written by the millionaire's late wife; a journal that tells tales of her husband's abuse and her plans to murder him. But like most films of this type, events do not go entirely to plan.

Well, despite the title, this one isn't really too erotic unfortunately. Its chief selling point is Marisa Mell though. She was something of a cult actress who starred in a number of interesting Euro flicks, most notably Mario Bava's Danger: Diabolik. This one, along with the superior The Great Swindle, is a Spanish thriller where she was given the lead role. But even though she is a compelling presence, this movie never amounts to as much as its potential suggests it might. It's a fairly standard unremarkable psychological thriller overall, although it does have some bizarre aspects that admittedly don't really go anywhere. For instance Gina is researching the subject of Galician witches and in doing so discovers that the Holy Grail is present somewhere in the mansion she now lives. This incredible plot development is covered in a bizarrely understated manner but it doesn't really lead to anything much ultimately. Overall the mood is quite laid-back, partially because of Carlo Savina's lush score. But despite all this it does end on a commendably disturbing note. This one is probably best left to fans of Ms Mell; otherwise it's not overly memorable.

The plot of "Diary of an Erotic Murderess" is quite simple:an attractive woman(Marisa Mell)accepts a job watching a wealthy man's mentally retarded and violent son.She plans to murder the patriarch and marry the son to inherit his mansion."Diary of an Erotic Murderess" by Manuel Mur Oti plays like Spanish giallo/mystery.Unfortunately the version distributed by Something Weird Video is heavily cut.Apparently nearly 10 minutes of sex and sleaze were completely removed.There are some mildly surprising plot twists and the conclusion is quite disturbing.Marisa Mell is very sexy in the main role.Still the lack of exploitative moments was disappointing.7 cuts out of 10.

Decent thriller dealing with a gorgeous young woman : Marisa Mell who sets her sights on an elderly wealthy man : Richard Conte . She seduces him with darks purports and moves into his luxurious house with him . But her aims go wrong when the beautiful young is aware to have a son : Juan Ribo , who goes after her . At the same time she discovers a sinister past and some letters that reveal sleaze issues . When you plan a murder don't write it down...your victim might read it !

A passable and attractive drama thriller with a surprising premise , plot twists , being competently paced and made in Gialloesque style . Stars Marisa Mell who is really gorgeous as the suspect young who seduces an old man and subsequently attempts to get rid of him . The veteran Richard Conte is nice as the aging man betrayed by his young lover , while Juan Ribo plays the mute son with strange wishes . They are well accompanied by a fine support cast giving brief but enjoyable acting as the notorious Spaghetti Western antihero : Anthony Steffen , Lili Murati , Carla Calo , Beni Deus and even Carmen Maura .The twisted and surpring screenplay with full of turns and twists from Emilio Martínez Lazaro , Rafael Moreno Alba and Manuel Mur Oti himself.

It displays an atmospheric musical score in very Seventies style by Carlo Savina . As well as evocative cinematography by the prestigious cameraman Jose Luis Alcaine , Pedro Almodovar's regular, though a perfect remastering being really necessary . Being shot on lication in the Spain northwest region of Galicia. The motion picture was professionally directed by Manuel Mut Oti. He was a multifaceted man , as he was a writer , producer and director , as he started writing scripts for filmmaker Antonio Del Amo , being his film debut "Un Hombre Va Por El Camino" 1949 , he went on directing a few films as "Cielo Negro" 1951 , "Orgullo" 1955 , " El Batallón De Las Sombras" , "El Escuadrón Del Pánico" . Then, he shot comedies as "Guera Empieza En Cuba" , " Una Chica De Chicago" and " Pescando Millones" . And even Religious genre as "Milagro a Los Cobardes" with the American star Ruth Roman . His greatest success was "Fedra the devil's daughter" , and directing two films with international cast as "Morir Dormir Tal Vez Soñar" with Jane Seymour and this " La Encadenada" . Rating : 6/10 . Decent drama thriller that will appeal to Giallo and suspense enthusiasts .

A millionaire named Alexander (Richard Conte) hires a psychiatrist named Gina (Marisa Mell) to help his mentally ill son, Mark (Juan Ribo). Gina sets out almost immediately to "reach" Mark in her own special way. Let's just say that her methods push the ethical boundaries of psychiatry!

When Gina discovers the diary of Alexander's late wife, she finds out all about him, and his wife's true feelings toward her husband. She also learns of the wife's plan to take care of things, once and for all.

Will Gina finish what the wife couldn't?

A DIARY OF A MURDERESS is a wicked thriller filled with lust, manipulation, betrayal, and murder. Ms. Mell is tremendous, playing one of the most memorable characters in any giallo. There are several twists throughout the film, all leading up to a -truly- grand finale.

Highly recommended for fans of the genre...