Amuck (1972)

A writer's secretary tries to find her missing friend and uncovers a murder plot.

Director:

Silvio Amadio

Writer:

Silvio Amadio

Stars:

Farley Granger, Barbara Bouchet, Rosalba Neri

Cast

Cast overview:
Farley Granger	...	Richard Stuart
Barbara Bouchet	...	Greta Franklin
Rosalba Neri	...	Eleanora Stuart
Nino Segurini	...	Il commissario Antonelli
Dino Mele	...	Sandro
Umberto Raho	...	Giovanni - the butler
Patrizia Viotti	...	Sally Reece
Petar Martinovitch	...	Rocco

Storyline

Greta Franklin, a beautiful American blonde, arrives on an island near Venice and rings the door-bell of Richard Stuart, a famous novelist who lives in a beautiful house with his wife Elonora. She manages to be hired as Richard's new secretary, the former one having disappeared without a trace. What Richard and Eleonora do not know - yet- is that Greta has a secret motive for taking the job: not only did she know Sally, her predecessor, but she was her lover...

---

Plot Keywords:

italian horror | psycho | grindhouse film | drive in classic | psycho terror | 

---

Taglines:

He kidnapped beautiful women, forcing them to do what he wanted...AND HE WANTED EVERYTHING!

---

Genres:

Mystery | Thriller

---

Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

June 1978 (USA)

Also Known As:

In Search of Pleasure

Filming Locations:

De Paolis Studios, Rome, Lazio, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

West Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

98 min 85 min (DVD) (2015)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Technochrome)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Greta is investigating in the cellar, a print of Dorthea Lange's 'Migrant Mother' can be seen.

---

Alternate Versions

Amuck (1972) has also been released in a shortened, 78 minutes version under the title Leather and Whips (1972).

---

Connections

Referenced in The Big Lebowski (1998)

User Reviews

Sexy Italian mystery thriller

The stunningly beautiful Barbara Bouchet plays Greta, who gets a job working as a secretary at the large house of writer Farley Granger with the motive of solving the disappearance of her friend/lover Sally, who had previously been employed there. In my opinion this is borderline horror/giallo. There is no gloved maniac killing people off and the few deaths, when they do happen, aren't especially gruesome. In terms of horror we get a couple of raging thunderstorms, a very good night time disposal of a corpse and a rather bizarre incident of psychic powers. But that's about it. However, what this movie does have is lots of female nudity, including a couple of lesbian sex scenes. Like many Italian movies of this time it is beautifully filmed, the reflections of Venice in the water being particularly stunning. There's a fair amount of suspense, especially when Greta explores the house. Plus it has a great 70's euro groovy, jazzy, psychedelic score. This one won't tax the brain and like I said, may disappoint some giallo or horror fans, but it's visually it is highly enjoyable. No masterpiece but well worth seeing.