Paranoia

ORGASMO
PARANOIA
Italy
D:Umberto Lenzi.
P:Salvatore Alabiso. SC: Umberto Lenzi, Ugo Moretti, and Marie Claire Solleville. DP: Guglielmo Mancori.Music: Pierro Umiliani. E: Enzo Alabiso. Art D: Giorgio Bertolini.
Cast: Carroll Baker, Lou Castel, Colette Descombes, Tino Carraro, Lilla Brignone. 

Helen West is newly widowed and rich as sin. She wants to escape the glare of publicity and so moves back to her remote villa in Italy. Soon after returning, a young man named Peter Donovan appears in her life. He has car trouble outside her gate and before too long, works his way into her bedroom. Soon after that, Peter's sister Eva shows up and the two young people encourage Helen to give up her inhibitions and so she begins to drink and take pills in excessive amounts. Increasingly, Helen is driven to the brink of suicide as Peter and Eva dominate her every move. Ultimately they succeed, but they too pay a high price.


Here's a film that differs radically when comparing the English and Italian language versions. The Italian print removes most of the nudity and any sign of the lesbian relationship between Baker and Descombes . There is also an entire subplot with Baker's character involved in the actual murder of her husband that is completely missing from the US print (no doubt removed to maintain viewer sympathy for all the grief Baker's character experiences). Without question the English language version is the one to see as the amount of sordidness, which is important to show how low Baker sinks to, is of tantmount importance to the film's denouement. Umberto Lenzi had a special relationship with Carroll Baker as he featured her in a variety films, allowing her to play both predator and prey. Although she'll never receive praise for her film work in Italy, fans who know better, appreciate this excellent body of work. She always dubbed her own voice which allowed her to get the best out of each part. Here she takes chances with a role that is far from glamourous. I've never been a fan of Lou Castel, but here his worm-like appearance works well. He becomes increasingly crazed as the film progresses, ultimately revealing a total amoral side to his character. Of all the Lenzi-Baker collaborations, this is their best.