''Amuck!'' ( it, Alla ricerca del piacere, lit=In Pursuit of Pleasure) is an Italian '' giallo'' film written and directed by Silvio Amadio.

Plot

Greta, a beautiful blonde American, is hired as the new secretary to Richard Stuart, a famous novelist who lives on an island near Venice with his wife Eleanora. Sally, the previous secretary, had disappeared without a trace. Unbeknownst to Richard and Eleanora, Greta has taken the job in order to investigate the disappearance of her lover, Sally. Greta learns that Sally was accidentally killed in the heat of passion during one of the kinky sex games the Stuarts hold in their mansion occasionally; a hulking man-brute named Rocco lost control and strangled the girl. The bizarre couple then kills their butler when he attempts to blackmail them over the incident. All that remains is for Greta to be disposed of, then the crimes will never be uncovered. Eleanora lures Greta into a three-way private orgy with Rocco and herself, in an attempt to get the easily excited Rocco to repeat his careless crime of passion one last time.

Cast

* Farley Granger as Richard Stuart * Barbara Bouchet as Greta Franklin *

Rosalba Neri Rosalba Neri (born 19 June 1939) is a retired Italian actress. Early life Born in Forlì, Emilia-Romagna, Italy, Neri was regarded for her beauty even in youth, winning a beauty pageant when she was still young. Eventually pursuing an acting ...

as Eleanora Stuart * Umberto Raho as Giovanni, the butler *

Patrizia Viotti Patrizia Viotti (1950–1994) was an Italian glamour model and film actress. She first gained attention in 1969 through her relationship with the singer Mal Ryder, who she met at the Piper Club in Rome. On the back of this, she starred in sev ...

as Sally Reece * Dino Mele as Sandro * Petar Martinovic as Rocco * Nino Segurini as Commissary Antonelli

Production

The original working titles for the film included ''Replica de un delitto'' () and ''Il passo dell'assassino'' (). In his book on Italian ''gialli'', Troy Howarth described the film as belonging to the trend of "sexy-trashy gialli" opposed to burgeoning films influenced by the films of

Dario Argento Dario Argento (; born 7 September 1940) is an Italian film director, producer, screenwriter, actor and film critic, critic. His influential work in the horror film, horror genre during the 1970s and 1980s, particularly in the subgenre known as ...

. Film historian Roberto Curti echoed this statement, that along with Amadio's ''

Smile Before Death ''Smile Before Death'' ( it, Il sorriso della iena/ translation: ''Smile of the Hyena'') is a 1972 Italian giallo film written and directed by Silvio Amadio, and starring Rosalba Neri. Plot Marco, a bankrupt nobleman, is unhappily married to the ...

'' (1972) were variations on the erotic ''gialli'' of the late-1960s.

Release

''Amuck!'' was first released in 1972. The film was released theatrically in the United States as ''Maniac Mansion'' in the United Kingdom as ''Hot Bed of Sex''. It was released by

Something Weird Video Something Weird Video is an American film distributor company based in Seattle, Washington. They specialize in exploitation B to Z films, particularly the works of Harry Novak, Doris Wishman, David F. Friedman and Herschell Gordon Lewis. Ins ...

on home video as ''Leather and Whips''.

Reception

From contemporary reviews, David McGillivray of the '' Monthly Film Bulletin'' reviewed an 81-minute version of the film titled ''Hot Bed of Sex''. McGillivray stated the film was "cluttered with preposterous suspects" and "ham-fisted attempts at building suspense." From retrospective reviews, Adrian Luther-Smith wrote in his book ''Blood and Black Lace'' defined the film as "another seductive erotic thriller from Silvio Amadio" recommending it to admirers of

and Barbara Bouchet while finding the score occasionally resembled an episode of ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the eponymous 1960s television series and quickly became a worldwide pop-culture phenomenon. The franchise has expanded into vari ...

'' and that "the sedate Seventies pace may be too slow for viewers brought up on a diet of MTV and bombastic Hollywood hyperbole."

References

Bibliography

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External links

* * 1972 films 1970s English-language films 1970s erotic thriller films English-language Italian films Films about writers Films directed by Silvio Amadio Giallo films Italian erotic thriller films 1970s Italian films {{thriller-film-stub