Underplayed Gems

Ilsa, the Wicked Warden (1977)

Ilsa, the Wicked Warden poster
Original title
Greta - Haus ohne Männer
Directed by
Jesús Franco
Genre
horror film, prison film, erotic film, exploitation film, sexploitation film
Country
Germany, Switzerland
Runtime
1h 30m
Rated
NC-17
Rating
4.8 of 10 from 87 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A woman runs a psychiatric hospital where she abuses young women. A girl pretends to be sick to find out what happened to her sister who was a patient there.

exploitativegrimyslowsleazydatedmean-spiritedhokeyunsettling

What happens

Ilsa the Wicked Warden ( Greta – Haus ohne Manner (lit. 'Greta – House Without Men')) is a 1977 sexploitation women-in-prison film directed by Jess Franco, written by Ric Meyers, and starring Dyanne Thorne as Greta. The plot follows Greta, a warden at a psychiatric hospital for young women, and a girl portrayed by Tania Busselier, who feigns illness in order to investigate the disappearance of her sister, a former patient. Thorne was known during the 1970s and early 1980s for her role as Ilsa, in three women-in-prison films starting with Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS (1974). While she portrays a similar character to Ilsa in the film, it was originally released under unrelated titles and only received a title relating it to the series when released theatrically and on home video in the United States. Ilsa the Wicked Warden was lensed in Portugal and released in Germany, Switzerland and Canada in 1977. Thorne later said her role in the film made her lose her contract with Cinépix. Retrospective response to the film has left critics of exploitation cinema and home video releases to be mixed on whether the film was still shocking or not years after its release. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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