''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 Canadian

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

film directed by

Jess Franco Jess is a unisex given name, often a short form (hypocorism) of Jessica, Jesse, Jessie, Jessy, Jesswin and a surname. It may refer to: Given name * Jess Atkinson (born 1961), American football player * Jess Cain (1926–2008), American radi ...

, written by

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 ...

, 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 Wol ...

. The plot follows Greta, a warden at a

psychiatric hospital A psychiatric hospital, also known as a mental health hospital, a behavioral health hospital, or an asylum is a specialized medical facility that focuses on the treatment of severe Mental disorder, mental disorders. These institutions cater t ...

for young women, and a girl who feigns illness in order to investigate the disappearance of her sister, a former patient. Often considered the third installment in the ''Ilsa'' film series, ''The Wicked Warden'' was not initially produced with the intent of being as such, despite Thorne's starring role. The film contains scenes of graphic violence, which Meyers commented was "sicker" than its predecessor in its depictions. Meyers further opined that it had been shot at the same time as Franco's '' Barbed Wire Dolls'' due to the shared cast and film setting.

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 Rosa María Almirall Martínez (25 June 1954 – 15 February 2012), known by the stage name Lina Romay, was a Spanish actress and filmmaker. She often appeared in films directed by her long-time companion, and later husband, Jesús Franco. She ...

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 (credited 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, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

, 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 material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

. 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 in ...

" 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 Unofficial sequel films Ilsa (film series) Films scored by Walter Baumgartner English-language horror films English-language Canadian films English-language erotic films