Sweet Body of Deborah

Il Dolce Corpo Di Deborah

The Sweet Body Of Deborah

1970 Italy

D: Romolo Guerrieri (Girolami)

P: Sergio Martino, Mino Loy & Luciano Martino for Zenith Cinematografica, Flora Film & Lux CCF//St & Sc: Ernesto Gastaldi & Luciano Martino//DP: Marcello Masciocchi//E: Eugenio Alabiso//M: Nora Orlandi//Art D: Amedeo Fago//Costumes: Gaia Romanini//Makeup: Mario Van Riel//Color

Cast: Carroll Baker, Jean Sorel, Evelyn Stewart (Ida Galliani), Luigi Pistilli, Michel Gardinet, Renato Montalbano, Mirella Panfili, Domenico Ravenna, Valentino Macchi, Giuseppe Ravenna, and George Hilton.

Marcel and Deborah have recently wed and are on their way to Geneva, Marcel's home town. Once there, Marcel sees Philippe, an old friend who informs him about the suicide of Suzanne, Marcel's old girlfriend. They were in love back when Marcel was poor and she had lent him a considerable sum of money. Ashamed of the situation, Marcel left her and soon after met Deborah. Now that he's been reminded of his past, Marcel begins to be abusive to Deborah, causing them to move onto Nice. Once there, Marcel begins to find evidence that Suzanne may still be alive. Deborah, not able to take the strain, begins drinking and taking pills. Philippe shows up late one night in their bedroom and is shot dead by Marcel. He and Deborah bury the body and Marcel soon leaves town on business. The following night, Deborah sees that Philippe's grave is empty and he and Suzanne are approaching her in the darkness. Have they returned from the dead or is there something sinister going on with Marcel's disappearance?

After a very nasty divorce in the late sixties, Carroll Baker left America and made over 20 European films. THE SWEET BODY OF DEBORAH was her first with Jean Sorel, they would eventually make 7 films together before Baker returned to America in the late seventies. The film is densely plotted (much like A QUIET PLACE TO KILL, this one at least has nudity to offset the long-winded story) resulting in keeping the viewer off-balanced until the final scene. Like some of the Lenzi-Baker collaborations, DEBORAH relies on travelogue-like footage of Geneva and Nice to fill out the film's running time. However, there's no denying that director Romolo Guerrieri (real life brother of Enzo Castellari) pretty much set the stage for future films that featured a love triangle where characters are not what they appear to be. Plus, he has a cast that appeared together throughout the prime Gialli years from 1968 to 1975. Guerrieri's film reveals the time it was made in with many "Pop" art effects; especially when the characters visit a nightclub whose walls are adorned with enlarged comic book panels. Like other of his films (THE DOUBLE, RING OF DEATH), Guerrieri is obsessed with his character's past and always finds an innovative way to integrate flashbacks so that they have a lasting effect on their present day activities. Even after you have seen the film and know all the plot twists, subsequent viewings reward the attentive with new interpretations of characters and motivations.