The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh (1971)

One of my all time favorites.

Good movie but grossly overrated

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

This was the first of director Sergio Martino's five gialli released in the period 1971-73. A quite astonishing series of films by anybody's standards. It's an arguable point but The Strange Vice of Mrs Wardh may actually be the best of the five. Whatever the case, there is no question that this is an essential giallo, and one all fans of the genre should see.It's about an ambassador's wife who finds herself in the middle of a series of brutal murders of women. There is no shortage of suspects, while her own kinky past adds a further dimension to the mystery.First and foremost this is a highly stylised film. Martino certainly had an eye for a great shot and was somewhat skilled in constructing memorably beautiful set-pieces. The film consistently looks gorgeous, with the lush and ornate settings used to great effect. Like many a giallo from the time this one is set outside Italy - in this case Vienna and Spain – and the contrasting locations are well integrated. Of course, this is a giallo so the suspense scenes need to be mentioned and this one is well served on this score. There is a beautifully photographed scene in a park at dusk, which clearly was an influence on Dario Argento, seeing as he filmed a very similar sequence for Four Flies on Grey Velvet; also of note is a really tense set-piece in an underground car park where the killer stalks the heroine. The latter is played by the one and only Edwige Fenech, the star of many an excellent giallo, she is once again great here and is very ably supported by a trio of male genre regulars, namely Alberto de Mendoza as her aloof husband, Ivan Rassimov as her sadistic ex-lover and George Hilton as her shifty new squeeze.All of Martino's thrillers were quite sexy but this one has the most pronounced eroticism of them all. With several scenes of abundant nudity and kinky sex. A couple of slow-motion flash-backs of Fenech and Rassimov in particular are very memorable, with lots of stylish eroticism. The music in these scenes helps hugely; in fact, the soundtrack in general by Nora Orlandi is without question one of the best the giallo sub-genre has to offer. That's saying quite a lot considering the quality of scores in most of these films but Orlandi's one is unbelievably haunting and quite mind-blowing to tell you the truth.The plot line is pretty convoluted – what else could you expect? It's another written by giallo specialist Ernesto Gastaldi who seemed to have a natural feel for these things. It holds together well enough though and ends with a pretty surprising final act that has at least one shock moment that impressed me quite a bit. In all honesty the movie as a whole pleased me greatly. It's a prime example of the Italian giallo and shows quite clearly why they will always have cult value. A triumph from Martino.

Good Giallo full of vicious killings , suspense and eerie events . This genuinely mysterious story deals with the ambassador's wife (Edwige Fenech) who discovers that one of the men in her life - either her husband named Neil Ward(Alberto De Mendoza), a sadistic ex-lover named Jean(Ivan Rassimov) or her new lover named George (George Hilton ), the handsome cousin of her friend Carol;- may be a grisly serial killer . In Vienna happens several murders with bloody and gruesome executions. There a razor wielding slasher is killing women and some clues seem to implicate about anybody are dieing. Julie's husband Neil is away frequently, so George pours on the charm .She also meets both are newly rich, thanks to an uncle's death. Jean, her brutal previous lover, immediately contacts her, certain that only he can satisfy her strange vice , but she rejects him. Meanwhile the series killer goes on a real massacre on various unfortunate victims as a woman is slashed , another attacked in her apartment. Slowly more people are found dead and the inspector investigates the strange killings with numerous suspects .Sergio Martino's great success is compelling directed with well staged murders plenty of startling visual content with translucently pale turquoises and shimmer red when the killings take place . This is a classic slasher where the intrigue, tension, suspense appear threatening and lurking in every room , corridors and luxurious interior and exterior . This suspenseful movie is plenty of thrills, chills, high body-count and glimmer color during the murders in lurid pastel and deep orange-red with phenomenal results . The movie belongs to Italian Giallo genre that was invented by Mario Bava along with Riccardo Freda (Secret of Dr. Hitchcock, The ghost , I Vampiri) , they are the fundamental creators . These Giallo movies are characterized by overblown use of color with shining red blood, usual zooms, and utilization of images-shock . Later appears Dario Argento (Deep red, Suspira,Inferno), another essential creator of classic Latin terror films. Sergio Martino's so-so direction is well crafted, here he's less cynical and more inclined toward violence and lots of killings . It's a co-production Italian- Spanish financed by Eduardo Manzanos Brochero , for that reason appears Spanish actors as Manuel Gil , Alberto De Mendoza , Miguel Del Castillo and Italian as Edwige Fenech , Ivan Rassimov , among others . Colorful and evocative cinematography by Emilio Foriscot who photographed splendidly Vienna and Sitges, Barcelona, Cataluña, Spain . Very good and thrilling score by Nora Orlandi. The picture is well directed by the prolific filmmaker Sergio Martino . Talented and versatile writer/director Sergio Martino has made a vast array of often solid and entertaining films in all kind of genres as horror, comedy, Western, and science fiction in a career that spans over 40 years . He especially was expert on Western as proved in ¨Mannaja¨ and ¨Arizona returns¨ and Giallo as ¨The case of scorpion's tale ¨ , ¨Torso¨ ,¨the scorpion with two tales¨ and of course ¨The strange vice of Mrs Ward¨. Rating: Good, this is one more imaginative slasher pictures in which the camera stalks in sinister style throughout a story with magnificent visual skills.

The beginning of the seventies saw the full spread of the "Giallo" genre mainly thanks to the works of Mario Bava (who started it in the mid-sixties), Dario Argento and Lucio Fulci. Nevertheless a few other directors left a mark: one to remember was Aldo Lado with his amazing "Short Night of the Glass Dolls" and another was Sergio Martino with "Lo Strano Vizio...". Anyone interested in those nicely aged Italian B movies where settings, screenplay, direction, music... all seem to work very easily in perfect harmony, should definitely not miss this movie! Thrill, violence, stylish interiors, smart dialogues, a memorable score, and a very inventive plot together with some awesome (often naked) actresses, will capture your attention all the way through... contributing once again to leave us a visually stunning portrait of the Seventies like no other movie genre was able to do. A fantastic and recommended movie, also for non-giallo fanatics. Really enjoyable!

When Americans think of the Italian horror movies known as "giallo" - if they even know the genre - they probably best know about director Dario Argento. A lesser known director is Sergio Martino. "Lo strano vizio della Signora Wardh" (called "The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh" in English) is the first of his movies that I've ever seen; if it's any indication, his other movies must be really cool. This one is mainly horror, but also has a tinge of the late '60s/early '70s, what with the music and all. It portrays Julie Wardh (Edwige Fenech) getting stalked in Vienna by one of three men...but which one? Aside from the fact that Ms. Fenech is one hot babe (well duh; it was practically a requirement for Euro-horror flicks to have at least one), the Vienna nights are quite possibly the perfect setting for a horror film. The DVD features a documentary about the making. Edwige Fenech, George Hilton and Sergio Martino all put in their two cents, and believe you me, Ms. Fenech is still really hot over thirty years later! So check this flick out. With locations from Austria to Spain, you're sure to love it. And it just might save your life.