''The Diabolical Dr. Z'' ( es, Miss Muerte) is a 1966 French-Spanish
horror 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 and B-movies. In a career spanning from 1959 to 2013, he wrote, directed, produced, act ...
. The film stars Mabel Karr as Irma Zimmer, a surgeon who creates a machine that turns people into zombified slaves. Ms. Zimmer is the daughter of a Professor Zimmer (a disciple of
Dr. Orloff), who was hounded to his death several years earlier by four of his scientific associates. Zimmer uses the machine to control an erotic dancer named Miss Muerte (
Estella Blain
Estella Blain (born Micheline Estellat; 30 March 1930 – 1 January 1982) was a French actress. She appeared in more than twenty films from 1954 to 1981. She played the lead role in Hervé Bromberger's 1954 film ''Wild Fruit
''Wild Fruit'' ( Fren ...
) who uses her long poison-tipped fingernails to murder the people Ms. Zimmer holds responsible for her father's death.
Plot
Woman seeks to avenge her father's death by using a local dancer, with long poisonous fingernails, to do her bidding.
Cast
*
Estella Blain
Estella Blain (born Micheline Estellat; 30 March 1930 – 1 January 1982) was a French actress. She appeared in more than twenty films from 1954 to 1981. She played the lead role in Hervé Bromberger's 1954 film ''Wild Fruit
''Wild Fruit'' ( Fren ...
as Nadia
* Mabel Karr as Irma Zimmmer
*
Howard Vernon as Dr. Vicas
* Fernando Montes as Philippe
* Marcelo Arroita Jauregui as Dr. Moroni (as Marcelo Arroita
* Cris Huerta as Dr. Kallman
* Antonio Escribano as Policeman (as Albert Bourbon)
* Guy Mairesse as Hans Bergen
Production
''The Diabolical Dr. Z'' was written and
Jean-Claude Carrière based on a story by director Jesús Franco.
The film is loosely based on the 1940 novel ''
The Bride Wore Black
''The Bride Wore Black'' (french: La Mariée était en noir) is a 1968 French film directed by François Truffaut and based on the novel of the same name by William Irish, a pseudonym for Cornell Woolrich. It stars Jeanne Moreau, Charles Den ...
''. The film's opening credits state that it is based on "a novel by David Khune" which is an alter-ego for director Jesús Franco. Franco would later re-use elements from the plot of ''The Diabolical Dr. Z'' in his later films including ''
The Blood of Fu Manchu
''The Blood of Fu Manchu'' (german: Der Todeskuss des Dr. Fu Man Chu, lit=The Death-Kiss of Dr. Fu Manchu, es, Fu-Manchú y el beso de la muerte), also known as ''Kiss of Death'', ''Kiss and Kill'' (U.S. title) and ''Against All Odds'' (orig ...
'' (1968) and ''
She Killed in Ecstasy
''She Killed in Ecstasy'' (german: Sie tötete in Ekstase es, Mrs. Hyde) is a 1971 West German-Spanish erotic thriller film directed by Jesús Franco. The film's plot borrows elements from previous Franco films ''Miss Muerte'' and ''Venus in Fu ...
'' (1971).
Despite being one of Franco's favourite films of his earlier period, Franco has stated that the film "shouldn't have been made... Censorship was causing me troubles."
Release
''The Diabolical Dr. Z'' was released in Spain in August 1966 under the title ''Miss Muerte'' with a running time of 86 minutes. The film had 360,990 admissions in Spain and grossed a 2019 equivalent of 30,787.00€ domestically. It was released in France on 13 September 1967 under the title of ''Dans les griffes du maniaque'' () with a running time of 88 minutes.
It was dubbed in English and shown theatrically in the U.S. in 1967.
''The Diabolical Dr. Z'' was released on DVD by the Mondo Macabro label on 29 April 2003. A Blu-ray was released by
Kino International
The Kino International is a film theater in Berlin, built from 1961 to 1963. It is located on Karl-Marx-Allee in former East Berlin. It hosted premieres of the DEFA film studios until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. Today it is a protec ...
in 2018, with Budd Wilkins of ''
Slant Magazine'' noting that it surpassed the "already visually impressive" DVD from Mondo Macabro.
Reception
In a contemporary review, the ''
Monthly Film Bulletin
''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with ...
'' noted that Franco "shows an eye for unusual images-notably in Miss Death's bizarre but rather tame dance act"
From retrospective reviews, The online film database
Allmovie gave the film three stars, praising it as "One of Franco's most entertaining films, Miss Muerte is a great improvement over the similar ''El Secreto del Dr. Orloff''"
See also
*
List of French films of 1966
A list of films produced in France in 1966 in film, 1966.
See also
* 1966 in France
References
Footnotes
Sources
*
*
External links
French films of 1966at the Internet Movie DatabaseFrench films of 1966
at Cinema-francais.fr
...
*
List of horror films of 1966
A list of horror films released in 1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan ...
*
List of Spanish films of 1966
A list of films produced in Spain in 1966 (see 1966 in film).
1966
References Footnotes
Sources
*
External links
Spanish films of 1966at the Internet Movie Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spanish Films Of 1966
1966
Spanish
Spanish might ...
References
Footnotes
Sources
*
*
*
*
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diabolical Dr. Z, The
1966 horror films
Spanish horror films
French horror films
French black-and-white films
Spanish black-and-white films
Films directed by Jesús Franco
1966 films
Films produced by Serge Silberman
Films with screenplays by Jean-Claude Carrière
1960s French films