The Giallo-days continue with one of my favorite leading ladies, Edwige Fenech, in The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh; the “h” was added after a lawsuit from a deeply offended, real life Mrs. Ward. In this week’s movie, a sex fiend is killing women in Vienna, while an unfaithful diplomat’s wife becomes more unbalanced due to the increasing threat of a stalker.
- Directed By: Sergio Martino
- Written by: Eduardo Manzanos, Ernesto Gastaldi, Vittorio Caronia
- Starring: Edwige Fenech, George Hilton
Martino contributed heavily to the giallo genre, often collaborating with Fenech, like in They’re Coming to Get You or Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key. Martino’s best-known work may be 1973’s Torso, which stars Suzy Kendall, last seen here as Julia in The Bird with the Crystal Plumage. Torso does fit the giallo subgenre, but since the murders are committed with scarves instead of the typical knife, I’ve skipped it this year. However, there’s a LOT to dig into there, so if there is interest, I’ll come back to it.
Content Warning
I’ve not covered a movie that so heavily features nudity and, let’s go with “adult themes” yet, but sex is as least plot-adjacent here. This review will discuss some topics related to these themes so if that’s not for you, check out my other reviews: Here
Recap and Review: Spoilers Ahead!
In Vienna, we open with a black-gloved serial killer targeting women. His first victim is a sex worker, who he dispatches with a straight razor. This kill is as tastefully done as it could be considering that the woman is topless, and it’s a fast, frantic, slashing kill. The blood is minimal; small drops of bright red on pale skin. All of the impact is in the motion of the razor.
After this dramatic first scene, we are introduced to our main character. Julie Wardh is hiding from a violent ex-lover, Jean. She’s so desperate to get away from him, she even married her husband Neal as a way to protect herself against him. Neal, however, is never around, and Jean is stalking Julie, following her around and sending her flowers with creepy notes.
A Question of Morals
While the other two films I reviewed skirted around the combination of nudity and violence, The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh makes a point of combining the two. This is a very different world than one we’ve seen before, filled with wealthy, pretty people who play fast and loose with sexual ethics. I’m including the main character Julie in this, even though she’s obviously troubled by her preferences. This moral ambiguity is almost presented without judgement, except for her introduction. She takes a taxi and the driver fills her in on the serial murders. He also condemns all perverts, suggesting they be punished harshly. Based on Julie’s reaction, she’s including herself in that category. She then flashes back to her previous relationship with Jean, her sadistic ex-lover.
Julie seems to have complicated feelings and memories about Jean. He’s clearly dangerous, but part of her seems attracted to that. The memories she has of him are a mix of blood, violence, and sex. In her post-Jean life, Julie acts like she needs a man to support her, even when it’s clearly not in her best interest. There is also something clearly lacking in her relationship with her husband. In short, she’s attracted to danger and drama, and girl needs therapy.
More Men More Problems
At a party thrown by Carol, one of the world’s worst friends, Carol introduces Julie to her cousin George and tells Julie that her wealthy uncle has passed away and they are the only heirs. Julie continues to be troubled by Jean, and Neal seems at best, mildly interested and at worst, indifferent. He heads out of town on business, leaving his obviously scared wife alone. I’m not blaming him for Julie’s bad decision making, just his own callous behavior.
After spending what starts as an innocent day with George, Julie ends up spending the night with him.A stranger watches them from the bushes outside.. The next morning Julie gets a phone call from the man who threatens to reveal her affair to her husband before demanding she pay him. They set up a meeting in a local park for the payoff.
After talking to Carol, Julie heads to lunch and Carol goes to meet the blackmailer. As she walks through a thick hedge maze, black-gloved, razor-wielding man stalks her. He klls her before the gardener can intervene.
Poor Dead Carol
A word about Carol; now that she’s dead, let’s talk bad about her. Carol encourages Julie to cheat on her husband and indulge in some of her worst instincts. She also calls her out on her bullshit. When Julie says that she was just so scared of Jean stalking her, she just had to go in George’s apartment, Carol immediately identifies that Julie is making excuses. She’s blunt and kind of mean, but she was also willing to face down potential danger for Julie.
Julie tells the police that Jean may be the killer, and they investigate him, but he has an alibi. George wants to run away with Julie, but feels she must stay until the police catch Carol’s killer. At least the maniac attacks her in her apartment parking garage.
Neal believes it’s Jean, and even wants to confront him, even though Julie would rather just go to the police.
After a tense search of a dark house, they discover what looks to be Jean’s dead body in the bathtub. However back outside, Jean’s car is gone and flowers have been left in Neal’s car. . Neal develops a photo from a camera found at Jean’s, and rushes off to the police. This is by far the scariest scene in the movie. Julie and Neal are lit by only a small lighter, and the darkness around them is oppressive. It’s effective, efficient filmmaking, which is my favorite kind.
Spain Does Not Help
Julie, who is close to a nervous breakdown, calls George and tells him that she’s ready to go away with him. She leaves a note for Neal, and they take off for Spain.
Meanwhile in Vienna, one of the razor killers intended victims stabs him to death in self defense.
Back in Spain, George and Julie are trying to have a romantic getaway when they learn that the razor killer is dead. Julie’s stalker, however, is still alive and finding ways to deliver flowers. After another attempt on her life, Julie has a nervous breakdown, sending George to the doctor for help.
The First Twist
While George is out, a still-alive Jean breaks in and attacks Julie, staging the scene to look like she committed suicide by gas. As far as frame jobs, go it’s a good one. Jean and the script demonstrate a cleverness here that I was not expecting.
It’s a race against time, as Julie’s slowing heartbeat becomes the soundtrack to George and the doctor’s return. It comes to a stop just as they make their way into the apartment.
Julie has no pulse when they pull her out of the apartment. Later at the police station, the police inform Neal and George that Julie is dead.
The Real Twist
Jean and George meet up in a remote location, and the plot begins to unravel. George hired Jean to kill Julie. George then kills Jean and stages it as a suicide. And now, Neal enters, setting up the most complicated Strangers on a Train ever. Neal is in debt and had Julie killed for insurance. George wanted to be the only heir of the inheritance. Neal killed Carol, and George had Julie killed, conspiring to use the MO of the razor killer to attempt to hide the plot.
The two of them drive off together, gloating about their brilliance, when they pass a girl who Neal swears is Julie. They go back to check, only to end up with the police on their tail. Julie is still alive, and the police were onto them since the forensic investigation of Carol. Turns out while the murder weapon was the same, the MO was totally different than the real razor killer. Maybe framing a murder isn’t that easy after all? Oh in the end, the conspirators panic and run their car off the road into a river. They die. Justice is served because cheating is bad no matter what Carol says, but murder is far worse.
Julie and the nice doctor drive off together, with him promising that the best medicine is time. Probably time with him. Seriously Julie, therapy.
The Giallo in The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh.
Julie Wardh is a perfect giallo leading lady. She has a dark and twisty past, filled with deviant exploits and trauma that haunt her decisions in the present. As an unfaithful wife and the victim of a stalker, she is also someone to be suspicious of, while being sympathetic to her circumstance.
The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh delivers an abundance of suspects and plot twists, but weirdly no red herrings, since they all did it. This is another giallo where no one is truly innocent. After all, it is Julie Wardh’s strange vice and poor judgement in men that got her into this mess.
As for what that vice is: it’s brought up towards the end as proof of her mental instability and hinted at in the scenes of her and Jean’s relationship. Julie is a bit of a masochist, with a thing for blood. Given the decade this was made in, I’m not sure they could delve too much into this theme, other than the background motivation for a lot of Julie’s decisions. Particularly the ones surrounding her relationship with Jean, and her drive to jump into new relationships quickly. For this movie to work, Julie must remain sympathetic despite her behavior. They pull it off because of the vulnerability that Edwige Fenech brings to the role. Also, she takes her top of a lot, which probably earned her some fans.
The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh has a score that is haunting and memorable in a different way than Morricone’s from Crystal Plumage. It’s tense with almost gothic vibes and elevates even the walk in the park to an atmospheric nightmare.
End Major Spoilers
Final Thoughts:
While not as well-known as some of the other giallo, The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh holds a special place in my heart for its style and the strong presence of Edwige Fenech. The plot delivers plenty of fake-outs and misdirects. If you are averse to nudity, casual or otherwise, this may not be the best giallo to start with.
The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh is streaming on Shudder. The trailer is age restricted because of nudity so here are some kittens:
Check out my other Giallo-Days reviews here:
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