Die Screaming, Marianne

Die Screaming, Marianne is a 1971 British thriller film produced and directed by Pete Walker and starring Susan George and Barry Evans.

Not wanting Marianne hurt, the judge drives away to get help but is killed when he loses control of his car (whose brakes Sebastian has sabotaged) and plunges off a cliff, crashing into the rocks below.

[6] Monthly Film Bulletin said "The title provides some clue to the makers' intentions, though in fact Die Screaming, Marianne fails either to horrify or thrill, thanks chiefly to an incoherent script and sloppy direction which misses every opportunity to introduce tension.

Some contrived editing – most noticeable in the cross-cutting between Marianne trapped in the steam bath and the judge battling to control his car on a mountain road – also fails to achieve its desired effect, and even the climactic crash is flatly shot from the wrong angle.

All of this throws an undue responsibility on to the actors, who all appear stiff and unhappy with their awkward lines; their set scenes are often pure melodrama, heavily reliant on meaningful glances and over-long pregnant pauses.

[9] Ian Jane of DVD Talk praises Susan George's performance and regards the film as a well-paced "decent little thriller, even if there are a few too many loose ends for its own good".