La última señora Anderson

This international thriller with influences from America, England, Italy and Spain is sometimes called a giallo but I would say it's just a murder mystery thriller from the 70s. There's no serial killer sneaking around with black gloves, nudity is non-existent, gore is similarly off the table, and for the majority of the film it plays out like a British soap opera with a continental sense of style. Giallo-like twists do occur near the end.

I think this is one of the more coherent and easily watchable films from the era, even for people who are not completists nor super fans of gialli. The atmosphere isn't terribly creepy nor is it especially fashionable but it is rather lovely and has the requisite big houses with gold curtains.

Michael Craig stars as Arthur Anderson whose blonde wife is found suspiciously drowned in their swimming pool.Because he two previous wives also died strange deaths Anderson is charged with murder and only gets off because his motherly housekeeper lies to clear his name.Soon a pretty blonde woman(Carroll Baker)shows up and starts flirting with Anderson but it's clear from the get-go that she may not be who she seems to be.She quickly becomes the fourth Mrs. Anderson."The Fourth Victim" is very rare Spanish giallo with capable cast and nice score by Piero Umiliani.There is not much gore and the pace is slow,but last 20 minutes are quite twisted.6 out of 10.

Carroll Baker made a handful of giallos (Italian thrillers) and this one is certainly the best ;it must be the screenplay :it does not fall apart after the first reel and suspense is sustained throughout ; Michael Craig 's character ,three times widower ,might be a cross between French Blue Beard and Cary Grant in Hitchcock's "suspicion": hence the English title "the fourth victim ".Even though she knows about her new husband 's shady past , Baker marries him : but hasn't she skeletons in her closet too? And who is this mysterious woman who prowls around the mansion?And is the housekeeper candid when she tells she thinks her master is totally innocent ,that all these deaths are accidental ? Directing is just OK , Baker is gorgeous , her co-star is suave and handsome, no masterpiece but watchable all the same.

This film begins with a wealthy British man by the name of "Arthur Anderson" (Michael Craig) driving to his house and discovering his wife face down in the swimming pool. So after taking the body upstairs to the bedroom he and his maid "Felicity Downing" (Miranda Campa) dry off the body, change her clothes and then call the police. A couple of days later, Arthur is charged with murder due primarily to the fact that this was the third wife he has had in three years and all of them had died leaving him as the beneficiary of their insurance policies. However, with only the fact that drugs had been found in her system and no proof as to whether he had anything to do with it, he is subsequently acquitted. Not long afterward he hears a noise in his yard and upon going to check it out sees a stunning blonde woman by the name of "Julie Spencer" (Carrol Baker) swimming in the same pool his wife had drown in not too long before. After a brief conversation she leaves but soon after that they begin to spend more time together which eventually leads to marriage. Unfortunately, there is much more to Julie than meets the eye and soon the two of them become deathly suspicious of one another. Now rather than reveal any more I will just say that this film starts off exceedingly slow and maintains that pace for quite a while afterward. Fortunately, the mystery and intrigue pick up about two-thirds of the way through and partially redeems what otherwise could have been a rather boring movie. All things considered then, while this wasn't a great mystery-thriller by any means, I suppose it was okay for a rainy day and for that reason I have rated it accordingly. Average.

This is quite a stylish production with a fine cast and a good ending. However, it is rather slow which may cause some viewers to lose interest half way through the film. This is definitely worth seeing if you are a fan of obscure giallo's or Spanish Horror/Exploitation (like me!), otherwise it's probably not worth tracking down. (For those interested, there is only one video release of this that anybody has been able to find, which was on "Master Home Video" in Greece. It was fully uncut, but is long deleted as it was released sometime between 1984 and 1987. The cover art is very cool and totally misleading!)