A Diary of a Murderess

Normally I'd have given this movie 5 out of 10, but Miss Mell does so fabulously in this solid Euro-thriller that I had to add three more...

"Diary of an Erotic Murderess" is a sexy mystery drama about a woman who murders a millionaire (Conte) to marry his mentally retarded son (lovely but mute: Juan Ribó). Mur Oti, the director, chose a slow-moving climax which might be considered a little boring by most viewers, but I liked it quite a lot. The interestingly atmospheric score was a great plus for me as well.

Whether you like the plot, the direction, the music etc., or not, after all, this is Marisa Mell's film, and she is just wonderful in it! She steals the movie and is prettier than ever.

Marisa was born Marlies Moitzi in Graz, Austria, went to the renowned Max Reinhard Seminar in Vienna and did a couple of less-than-memorable appearances in German and Austrian movies before, in 1963, she went abroad to star in movies like "French Dressing" (by Ken Russell) or "Masquerade", but her career never quite took off. The multi-lingual (fluent in French, English, Spanish, Italian, and German) Mell did excellent in Bava's pop art extravaganza "Danger: Diabolik" and Fulci's "One on Top of the Other" before, in the 1970s, her movies became more and more obscure. The died of cancer in 1992. She was only 53 and had spent her last few years in poverty. She died as she had lived: alone.

Unfortunately, the American distributor cut about 15 minutes from the film, so that the film lacks both, gore and nudity. The dubbing is also quite poor.

P.S.: If you look closely, you can see Carmen Maura, Almodóvar's leading lady of the 1980s, in one of her first movie appearances.

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.

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.

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 .

This known as 'A Diary of a Murderess', 'A Diary of an erotic Murderess' or 'La encadenada' For the story to work, you have to be invested in the characters. It isn't always easy to care too much about characters who are dubbed into another language, as is the case here. The translation, and often the choice of voice artists, leaves a sense of distance between them and the audience. This is a major challenge with dubbed films, and cannot be blamed on anyone. Happily, the cast here is quite small, and people are introduced in stages rather than all at once, so the issue is lessened. You would be wise to stick with it.

'La encadenada' is a giallo styled mystery involving an emotionally unstable young man Marc (Juan Ribó), and his new nanny. Even given the time this film was made, and the decade's fondness for elderly men to strike up relationships with young women, things are stretched here. Gina (Marisa Mell) is stunningly, classically beautiful, and Alexander (Richard Conte) - for all his wealth and talk of power - is 26 years older. (Given her youthful appearance and the fact that Conte was sadly nearing the end of his life by this time, the gap is more marked.) Of course, if they're both happy, who cares? But are they? This is far from the whole story. The more we learn of the new nanny, the more she learns of why Marc is the way he is.

Marc is clearly highly volatile, and given his behaviour, it is questionable why he hasn't been placed inside a sanatorium. That his mood swings are just tolerated becomes more a little difficult to believe. And yet, Alexander continues to pursue Gina when she has made it clear she is not interested - his behaviour is more creepy than that of his son. The former may well be answered by the latter.

This is intriguing stuff, and it pulls you in the longer you stick with it. Just when you think you understand various motives, something or someone appears that makes things yet more complex. I really enjoyed this - the acting survives the dubbing handsomely, and there is more than enough going on to keep the viewer engaged. My score is 7 out of 10.