''Ilsa, the Wicked Warden'' (originally released as ''Greta: Haus Ohne Männer'', and also known as ''Greta, the Mad Butcher'', ''Ilsa: Absolute Power'', and ''Wanda, the Wicked Warden'') is a 1977

sexploitation A sexploitation film (or sex-exploitation film) is a class of independently produced, low-budget feature film that is generally associated with the 1960s and early 1970s, and that serves largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit s ...

film directed by

Jesús Franco Jesús Franco Manera (12 May 1930 – 2 April 2013) was a Spanish filmmaker, composer, and actor, known as a prolific director of low-budget exploitation film, exploitation and B-movies. In a career spanning from 1959 to 2013, he wrote, directe ...

and starring

Dyanne Thorne Dyanne Thorne (October 14, 1936 – January 28, 2020) was an American actress, stage performer and vocalist. She was known for her stage work in Las Vegas and as the lead actress in the ''Ilsa'' film franchise which began with ''Ilsa, She Wolf ...

. The film is considered to be the third entry in the '' Ilsa'' film series, but was not originally filmed with the intent of being as such, despite starring

. The film's plot follows Greta, a warden at a

psychiatric hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociative ...

for young women, and a girl who feigns illness so that she can investigate what happened to her sister who stayed at the hospital. ''Ilsa, the Wicked Warden'' contained scenes of graphic violence, which writer

Ric Meyers Richard Meyers (born 1953), is an American author, ghostwriter, screenwriter, consultant, actor, editor, and teacher, who may be best known for his contributions to the martial arts film industry (Rim Films having called him "one of the men most ...

commented was "sicker" than its predecessor in its depictions. Meyer also opined that the movie had been filmed at the same time as Franco's '' Barbed Wire Dolls'' due to the shared cast and setting of the two movies.

Synopsis

Greta (

) works as the warden in a

for young women. Unbeknownst to her, her patient Abby is actually the sister of Rosa, one of the hospital's other patients. Abby has lied in order to get herself admitted so that she can find out what has become of her sister, and, hopefully, to rescue her. However, she is unaware that Greta uses the hospital's inmates to create pornography, often against their will. Abby finds herself at the mercy of Juanna, Greta's lover and leader of several of the hospital's inmates. Juanna tries hard to make Abby respond to her advances but, after she refuses, begins to exploit her.

Cast

as Greta *Tania Busselier as Abbie Phillips *

Lina Romay Lina Romay (born Rosa María Almirall Martínez; 25 June 1954 – 15 February 2012), a.k.a. Candy Coster and Lulu Laverne, was a Spanish actress who often appeared in films directed by her long-time companion (and later husband) Jesús Franco. ...

as Juana *Eric Falk as Pablo *

Howard Maurer Howard Maurer (born December 30, 1935) is an American musician, performer and actor from New York City. He is known for his roles in the ''Ilsa'' series of films in addition to 30 years of producing and performing musical and comedy revues in La ...

as Greta's lover *Angela Ritschard as Rosa Phillips *Peggy Markoff as No. 14 *Esther Studer as No. 24 *Jesús Franco as Dr. Milton Arcos (as Jess Franco) *Lorli Bucher as Guard *Esther Moser as No. 18 *Sigad Sharaf as No. 20 *Sandra L. Brennan *Alex Exler

Release history

''Ilsa, the Wicked Warden'' was originally filmed and released in

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, under the title ''Greta: Haus Ohne Männer''. The title was changed and the script was reworked, with new dialog being dubbed for the English-speaking market. Given the inclusion of Dyanne Thorne in the title role, and the similar content and subject matter between the film and the '' Ilsa'' series, the small change of character name and other edits made to support it allowed the film to commercially benefit from the popularity of the '' Ilsa'' series, despite it not being originally intended as part of the

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

. The film's graphic nature made it—along with the entire ''Ilsa'' series—associated with the so-called "

video nasties Video nasty is a colloquial term popularised by the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association (NVALA) in the United Kingdom to refer to a number of films, typically low-budget horror or exploitation films, distributed on video cassette that w ...

" of the 1980s, and caused the film to be edited for release in some territories.

Reception

HorrorNews.net remarked that the film was "Certainly not a waste of time, just don't expect anything near what '' Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS'' originally provided."

References

External links

* * {{Jesús Franco 1977 films 1970s exploitation films 1970s erotic films 1977 horror films West German films 1970s English-language films English-language German films English-language Swiss films Canadian sexploitation films Films directed by Jesús Franco Women in prison films Films about Latin American military dictatorships Canadian prison films German prison films 1970s Canadian films 1970s German films