Greta - Haus ohne Männer (1977)

Director:

Jesus Franco

Writers:

Erwin C. Dietrich (writer)
Jesus Franco (writer)

Release Date:

February 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Horror

Tagline:

That Infamous "Ilsa" Woman Is Back

Plot:

Ilsa, now a vicious warden, runs a mental-hospital for young women. A girl deliberately "checks" in...

Plot Keywords:

Sex | Warden | Prison | Screaming | Clinic

Cast

Dyanne Thorne	...	Greta
Tania Busselier	...	Abbie Phillips
Eric Falk
Lina Romay	...	Juana
Esther Studer
Esther Moser
Peggy Markoff
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sandra L. Brennan
Alex Exler
Jesus Franco	...	Dr. Milton Arcos (as Jess Franco)
Howard Maurer
Angela Ritschard

Directed by
Jesus Franco

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Erwin C. Dietrich		writer (as Manfred Gregor)
Jesus Franco		writer (as Jess Franco)

Produced by
Erwin C. Dietrich	....	producer

Original Music by
Walter Baumgartner

Cinematography by
Ruedi Küttel

Production Companies

• Elite Film

Distributors

• Bernie Jacon (1979) (USA) (theatrical)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2000) (USA) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2000) (USA) (VHS)
• Ascot Elite Entertainment Group (2003) (Switzerland) (DVD) (as VIP Entertainment)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (UK) (2004) (UK) (DVD)
• Anchor Bay Entertainment (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• DMEG (2004) (Sweden) (VHS)
• Cinépix Film Properties (CFP) (????) (Canada) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• CIC Video (????) (Canada) (VHS)
• Tokuma Communications Company (TCC) (????) (Japan) (VHS)

Also Known As:

Greta the Torturer (Europe: English title) (informal alternative title)
Greta, the Mad Butcher (Europe: English title) (informal title)
Greta, the Sadist (Europe: English title) (informal alternative title)
Ilsa, the Wicked Warden (International: English title) (DVD title)
Ilsa: Absolute Power (International: English title) (new title)
Wanda, the Wicked Warden (USA)

Runtime:

Argentina:95 min | Germany:86 min | USA:90 min | UK:87 min

Country:

USA | Switzerland | West Germany

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Norway:18 (2007) | Argentina:18 | West Germany:18 | USA:X (self applied) | Australia:(Banned) | UK:18

Company:

Elite Film

Trivia:

Uses same sets as Frauengefängnis (1975).

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Prisoner of Paradise (1980)

Sexploitation Amidst the Jungle

Strange, depraved vision of Jess Franco's concerning Ilsa, that wicked, blouse-popping sadist of the famous/infamous series starring statuesque/bosomy Dyanne Thorne. This time around a young girl gets into a hospital run for women who suffer from sex-related diseases such as lesbianism and nymphomania. It seems she had a sister admitted a year ago and wants to find out what has happened to her even though she knows no patient has ever left. The film takes place somewhere in South America where a government is fighting rebels. Well, you get what you might expect from a series like this: lots of nude girls, lots of perversion, lots of sadism, lots of sleaze, and generally a sick/guilty feeling having seen it. There are many scenes which are downright disgusting such as one dealing with the use of a plastic bag, another with pins and a human pin cushion, shock therapy, a night with the boys from the local prison, and the grand finale where Greta(Thorne) is out to lunch with the girls. Franco is a decent director in terms of piecing a film together(despite what the subject matter might be). He can draw scenes out for suspense. He can also shock which he does well too. The acting was decent overall. Thorne is way over-the-top, but hey who cares once they see her? She is the personification of voluptuousness wearing her strained military blouse and high boots with red hair this time round. Ilsa, the Wicked Warden is a unique look at what film can do...and perhaps should not do.