Radley Metzger Movies

Frank Willard's 1927 stage play The Cat and the Canary was filmed several times before this 1978 version saw the light of day. In the story, Annabelle West (Carol Lynley) is one of several potential heirs to a huge fortune. Brought to his foreboding mansion to learn who will benefit from his death, the anxious heirs must sit still for the deceased's taped recitation of his bequests. The dead man, Cyrus West (Wilfred Hyde-White), takes advantage of the occasion to scold his greedy and unpleasant relatives. He leaves behind several posthumous practical jokes which drive his points home. It's a rainy night, the mansion is full of surprises, most of the heirs are an anxious, unpleasant lot, and at least one of them is not above committing murder to have his way. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Master of sophisticated sexploitation Radley Metzger directed this elegant and thoughtful erotic drama. A wealthy and jaded couple living in a palatial Italian villa (Erika Remberg and Frank Wolff) spend an evening watching pornographic films with their adult son (Paolo Turco). Looking for a change of scenery, the family visits a carnival where they see a stuntwoman performing tricks on a motorcycle. When she removes her helmet, they're surprised to discover that the stunt rider appears to be one of the "stars" of the film they watched earlier, except that her blonde hair has turned dark. They invite her back to the villa, only to find out that the images in the film seem to have changed, and the face of the woman onscreen is no longer recognizable. Eventually, the strange woman begins to interact sexually with the mother, father, and son as they walk a fine line between reality and illusion. As with most of his work, the American-born Metzger shot this film in Europe with cinematographer Hans Jura, whose rich color images add immeasurably to this film's impact. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

This story from Alexander Dumas is updated to modern times and tinged with graphic nudity and eroticism. Marguerite (Daniele Gaubert) is the tart who sleeps her way up the social ladder to help Armand Duval (Nino Castelnuevo), a commoner who happens to be her boyfriend. The original story has Camille dying from tuberculosis, but in this version she suffers from an unknown ailment. She takes a variety of drugs and becomes a walking zombie (when she can stand up) in this expertly photographed sexploitation feature. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

This thoroughly weird but truly inspired monster flick is one of the earliest gore films to splatter across drive-in screens in the years prior to Herschell Gordon Lewis' notorious Blood Trilogy. The plot finds a besotted movie star (Rita Morley) and her entourage trapped on an island surrounded by aquatic flesh-munching amoebas (represented by scratches on the film emulsion) created by mad scientist Peter Bartell (Martin Kosleck). These sparkly little death-blobs make mincemeat of most of the cast, including a dorky beatnik (Ray Tudor) who ingests a few of the little buggers in his drink -- leading to an agonizingly fatal case of indigestion. Good photography and well-designed makeup effects make the most of a shoestring budget. Film editor Radley Metzger found his own way as the director of numerous soft-porn films in the '60s and '70s. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide

The arrival of Catherine (Marie-Hélène Arnaud), a new student with a troubled past, at an exclusive French girls' school triggers a tumult of emotions for Anne-Marie (top-billed Agnes Laurent) and her friends, especially naïve Monica (Christine Carère), who develops a crush on the newcomer. Trouble arises when Catherine falls in love with Anne-Marie's sister's fiancée, which causes Monica to retaliate in jealousy. ~ Paul Gaita, All Movie Guide