The Sweet Body of Deborah

The Sweet Body of Deborah (Italian: Il dolce corpo di Deborah) is a 1968 giallo film directed by Romolo Girolami and starring Carroll Baker and Jean Sorel. It was written by Ernesto Gastaldi based on a story by Gastaldi and producer Luciano Martino.[1]

The Sweet Body of Deborah
Directed byRomolo Girolami
Produced by
[1]
Screenplay byErnesto Gastaldi[2]
Story by
Starring
Music byNora Orlandi[2]
CinematographyMarcello Masciocchi[2]
Edited byEugenio Alabiso[2]
Production
company
  • Flora Film
  • Zenith Cinematografica
  • Lux C.C.F.[2]
Distributed byVariety Film[2]
Release date
  • 1968 (1968) (Italy)
Running time
95 minutes[1]
Country
  • Italy
  • France[3]
Box office$1.6 million (Italy)[4]

Set in Geneva, the film follows a recently-married American woman who finds herself in danger after a stranger begins to target her husband and accuse him of murdering his ex-wife.

Plot

Deborah (Carroll Baker) and Marcel (Jean Sorel) return to Geneva from their honeymoon. Marcel learns of his former fiancée Susan's suicide, and is confronted by a man named Philip (Luigi Pistilli) who accuses him of murdering her. Marcel begins to receive threats from someone who holds him responsible for Susan's death. His new bride Deborah also becomes the target of these threats, and a weird neighbor named Robert with voyeuristic tendencies (George Hilton) begins fixating on her as well.

Cast

Release

The Sweet Body of Deborah was released in Italy in 1968 as Il dolce corpo di Deborah.[5] The film later opened in Paris in February 1969 as L'adorable corps de Deborah.[5] In the United States, where the film was distributed by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts, it opened in Detroit on March 12, 1969.[5] The film was a box office hit in Italy, inspiring a number of similar thrillers starring Carroll Baker, but was not as successful in the United Kingdom and United States,[4][6] and marked the beginning of actress Carroll Baker's career in Europe starring in giallo and horror films.[7]

Reception

The New York Times gave the film a middling review, with critic Vincent Canby noting the film's "disembodied narrative—[it is] a movie without any real national identity that seems to have sprung into existence not because of any artistic urgency but because somebody could make a deal."[8] In Variety, "Murf." noted "contrived direction and photography, lifeless dubbing and careless production mark this Italo-French co-production, which Warner Bros.-Severn Arts can ride to okay first playoff."[9]

The Saturday Review gave the film a positive review, noting that: "the film's unstinting effort to entertain at all costs is both welcome and refreshing."[10] The film was considered very sexy for its time, showing brief glimpses of Carroll Baker's nudity and Ida Galli's fetishistic clothing.[11] Upon the film's release, The New Yorker republished a snippet of a review by John Mahoney of The Hollywood Reporter, which contained an extensive and detailed description of Baker's nude body as it appeared in the film.[12]

References
  1. Poppi & Pecorari 1992, p. 164.
  2. "Il dolce corpo di Deborah (1968)". Archviodelcinemaitaliano.it (in Italian). Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  3. "Il dolce corpo di Deborah" (in French). Cineresources.net.
  4. What Ever Happened to Baby Doll?: An American in Rome What Ever Happened to Baby Doll? By ALFRED FRIENDLY Jr.ROME.. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 29 June 1969: D11.
  5. "The Sweet Body of Deborah". American Film Institute. Archived from the original on April 2, 2014. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  6. "Sweet Body of Deborah". Motion Picture Herald. Quigley Publishing Company. 239: 88.
  7. Weldon 1996, p. 70.
  8. Canby, Vincent (26 April 1969). "'Sweet Deborah'". The New York Times.
  9. Variety's Film Reviews 1968-1970. 12. R. R. Bowker. 1983. There are no page numbers in this book. This entry is found under the header "February 26, 1969". ISBN 0-8352-2792-8.
  10. "The Sweet Body of Deborah". Saturday Review. 52 (18–26): 176. 1969.
  11. Luther-Smith 1999, p. 116.
  12. "A Constellation of Moles". The New Yorker: 45. 12 May 1969.

Works cited
  • Luther-Smith, Adrian (1999). Blood and Black Lace: The Definitive Guide to Italian Sex and Horror Movies. Stray Cat Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-953-32611-2.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Weldon, Michael (1996). The Psychotronic Video Guide To Film. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-312-13149-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Poppi, R.; Pecorari, M. (1992). Dizionario del Cinema Italiano. 3. Gremese Editore.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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