Die Screaming Marianne

Director Pete Walker's DIE SCREAMING MARIANNE is about carefree go-go dancer, Marianne Evans (Susan George), who must stay one step ahead of her insane family, including her crackpot dad (Leo Genn) and homicidal sister, Hildegard (Judy Huxtable). Marianne has something they want, sitting in a Swiss bank account. Her diabolical family will do anything to get it!

Though far from exciting, this movie does have some semi-interesting plot twists, a handful of colorful characters, and a smattering of tension. An alleged "thriller", it suffers from a lack of any real thrills. The long-winded story and sporadic "action" sequences do little to hold our attention. A chore to watch, it's almost saved by its "big pay off" ending. Almost...

Pete Walker was one of the most interesting British horror directors of the 1970's, with impressive efforts like The Flesh and Blood Show (1972), House of Whipcord (1974) and Frightmare (1974) to his name. This earlier film is sometimes described as his first foray into horror but really it is nothing of the sort. Despite a title that suggests that it could be, this one turns out to be a psychological thriller with really no horror aspects at all. A young woman's life is threatened when her crooked father tries to prevent her reaching her 21st birthday and in doing so inherit a fortune plus some documents which will incriminate him.

Aside from being an early example of a Walker film, this one is notable for featuring Susan George in a starring role a year before she appeared in Sam Peckinpah's controversial Straw Dogs (1971). In truth, the opening credit sequence which has her gyrating in a bikini in front of a deep red background is very striking indeed, although it is probably in fairness the best bit in the entire film. The main issue with this one is its pretty poor script which meanders about somewhat with a definite lack of focus. The first half of the film which is set in England is the better part with some intrigue and character set-ups but once the action relocates to Portugal things grind to a bit of a halt and it does get a bit boring. It's kind of unfortunate, as the bare bones of the story has got at least some potential but there is something very half-hearted in how things are ultimately played out. Seemingly Walker had some issues with the young cast members during the Portuguese section and this may account for the results on screen being less than impressive. Whatever the case, this is still worth seeing if you have an interest in Walker's movies as it does at least showcase some of his recurring themes such as elderly villains interfering with the lives of the younger generation. But, despite its director and cute leading lady, it has to be admitted that this is not essential stuff by any means. With its cool title and nice cover art it will look good in your film library though and that's not such a terrible thing I guess.

I'm a great admirer of director Pete Walker and I personally feel that most of his horror films unquestionably belong to the absolute best independent British productions ever made! Titles like "Frightmare", "Schizo" and "House of Whipcord" are downright GREAT genre films with genuinely shocking plot-twists and an almost natural aversion to political correctness. Back in 1971, Walker made his very first attempt to do horror with "Die Screaming Marianne" and, to my own regret; it wasn't a very good one. The story largely feels like a failed crossover between a crime-thriller and the Italian giallo (which was also hugely popular in that era) and it's still too similar to the silly & light-headed sex comedies that Walker used to make previously, like "School for Sex" or "The Four Dimensions of Greta". The ravishing star Susan George plays the headstrong girl Marianne who flees from her parental mansion in Portugal and hooks up with a duo of typically British friends. Her infamous father (a former corrupt judge) and her wicked stepsister need her back in Portugal urgently because Marianne will soon turn 21 years old, and then she has access to her deceased mother's fortune as well as the dirty family secrets. This is a very basic description of the film's story and there are loads of unimportant sub plots and incomprehensible twists that aren't really worth mentioning. The screenplay is stunningly incoherent and abruptly jumps from one sequence to another without even trying to make sense. New characters are introduced swiftly and they travel back and forth between Portugal and London like it's an ordinary day trip. And yet, despite all its flaws, "Die Screaming Marianne" surely has potential and it's interesting viewing for Pete Walker fans, as he already approaches some of the topics that'll become his hobbyhorses in later films. The judge character played by Leo Genn, for example, is a typically corrupt and perverted figure that smuggles away all his dirty acts and the stepsister is a greedy bitch who'd do anything for power and money. Other positive elements include some nice set pieces, a catchy title song and a beautifully staged scene inside a sauna! Susanne George is magnificent but her two male counterparts are odd-looking idiots. Like another reviewer already pointed out, this film becomes much more interesting if you watch it with Walker's audio commentary on, as he amplifies many bits and pieces that are shown poorly in the actual film.

Not particularly gripping tale of a 'free spirited' Susan George becoming embroiled in a seedy crime racket, led by a 'defrocked' Judge.

Not just *a* Judge, but 'The Judge' - Leo Genn's character who is continually accorded the definite article by sundry friends and enemies - who are largely interchangeable. This melodrama, with a heavy accent on the corrupt authority figures, bears some resemblance to Pete Walker's later baroque horrors. But the formula isn't developed as of yet - and he had yet to work with the waggish scriptwriter David McGillivray. Walker followed this film with the relatively interesting curio, "The Flesh and Blood Show" - collaborating with the talented veteran Alfred Shaughnessy of "Upstairs, Downstairs" fame - and then his fecund period began with "The House of Whipcord" in 1974.

Susan George and Judy Huxtable are done a great disservice by Walker and scriptwriter Murray Smith here with their reductive portrayal of female characters. Such as shame for George in particular, subject of much brutality in Peckinpah's "Straw Dogs" the following year, but also Huxtable, who was the evocative beauty at the heart of the whimsical "Les Bicylettes de Belsize" two years earlier.

There is always some degree of objectification of women in Walker's films, but what is lacking here is the suspenseful, charged context of his later films. "Frightmare" and "House of Mortal Sin" have something of the Hitchcockian about them: Hitchcock-meets-the Grimm Brothers-meets-British exploitation cinema of the 70s. This is a rather more humdrum affair, with even the exotic locations eliciting no more than a Gallic shrug in this viewer.

DIE SCREAMING MARIANNE is a standard-issue potboiler which is high on 'exotic' locations but low on excitement. Susan George is good to look at, as always, but she can't save boredom from setting in or do much to salvage the dreadful screenplay. Veteran exploitations Pete Walker didn't hit his stride as a truly effective film-maker until he began directing horror movies, bringing sleaze and gore to suburbia, so quite what this tedious mess is doing in Anchor Bay's otherwise excellent Pete Walker boxed set is a mystery to me. THE FLESH AND BLOOD SHOW or SCHIZO would have been more welcome inclusions, but Walker made films for a wide variety of companies and distributors, so maybe some rights complications prevented their inclusion. Having said that, the title sequence is justly celebrated, and Walker offers an amusing and illuminating audio commentary on the film's troubled history (at one point he cancelled the production, and the location filming in Portugal was hampered by personality clashes) and his admiration for the lovely George is touchingly clear throughout. In fact, it's a lot more entertaining than the film itself! Kenneth Kendel, Barry Evans and Anthony Sharpe offer effective support in smallish roles.