The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh

I finally got my hands on a movie I've been itching to watch:

The Strange Vice of Mrs.Wardh (1971)

This is Sergio Martino's first Giallo, predating all the others I've written about to far. The story is this:

Mrs. Julie Wardh (Edwige Fenech) arrives back in Vienna with her neglectful diplomat husband Neil (Alberto de Mendoza). On her way home, she learns that a razor wielding maniac is killing women, mostly prostitutes. Through her friend Carol, Julie meets Carol's cousin from Australia, George (George Hilton) and they soon develop a romance. Julie is also tormented and stalked by her ex-lover Jean (Ivan Rassimov), with whom she had a stormy relationship. It turns out that Julie likes it very rough in bed, something Jean was more than willing to supply. It was to escape from Jean that Julie married Neil, but sadistic Jean is not a person that takes no for an answer. Things get tenser and tenser as Julie struggles to keep it together while trying to survive.

The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh is also known as Blade of the Ripper and The Next Victim, depending on where you are. It marks the start of Martino's Giallo career, and the start of a collaboration between him and a small group of actors. He knew who he liked to work with and had no problem doing so. This means that the movie is full of faces that you will see time and time again in his other movies.

Last week in my write-up of The Case of the Scorpion's Tail, I mentioned that one can see the development of Martino's style in it's early stages. This is still true in my mind, but what's fascinating is that The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh is much better shot than Scorpion's Tail. Some of the shots are superb and much more artistic than the average Giallo.

The sound is fine to good. A lot of the music sits in the background, where it belongs. However in several scenes there is heartbeat or a kind of dull roar placed over the music that really elevates the tension to a new level.

What really shines are the actors. All the actors do a fine job, but Edwige Fenech knocks it out of the park. In the other roles that I've seen her, she has been collected and in control or more of a side character. Here, as Julie Wardh, she shines in her ability to display paralyzing terror with little more than her eyes. Anyone can scream, cry and run around, but to stand still and show the fear coursing through you with only subtle expressions is impressive.

As for blood and sex, there is a fair amount in The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh, particularly sex. The blood should have been more prominent. If someone gets their throat cut, blood doesn't tastefully drip a bit, it gushes. Not a deal breaker by any means, just an observation.

As I was watching, I found plot hole after plot hole, or so I thought. It turns out that, like in Scorpion's Tail, Martino pulls in all the strings and ties them off in a neat little knot by the end. Everything I was going to complain about is sorted and taken care of. Fun fact: the extra H in Wardh was added because a real Mrs. Ward threatened to sue for ruining her reputation. Also a fun fact: throughout the movie, Julie gets red roses with hand written notes. I google translated them all and one states that “Your Vice is a locked room and only I have the key”. This is funny as Martino used that as the title of one of his later movies.

So, do I recommend this movie? Yes, I do. This is one of those Giallo that should work for all fans of thrillers, not just Giallo fans. It doesn't go too far in any direction and the story is actually really good. It also does something that I can't remember any other Giallo doing, but telling would be spoiling. Can't have that...

That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!