The Flesh of the Orchid [La Chair de L’Orchidée] *** (1975, Charlotte Rampling, Edwige Feuillère, Simone Signoret, Valentina Cortese, Alida Valli, Bruno Cremer) – Classic Movie Review 12,651

Patrice Chéreau’s lurid 1975 French giallo thriller film The Flesh of the Orchid [La Chair de L’Orchidée] stars Charlotte Rampling as disturbed young Claire, whose wicked aunt plots to put her in an asylum and take over the family business. 

Debut director Patrice Chéreau’s lurid 1975 French thriller film The Flesh of the Orchid [La Chair de L’Orchidée] stars Charlotte Rampling, Edwige Feuillère, Simone Signoret, Valentina Cortese, Alida Valli and Bruno Cremer. It is based on the 1948 pulp-fiction novel The Flesh of the Orchid by British writer James Hadley Chase, a sequel to his 1939 book No Orchids for Miss Blandish, set 20 years later.

Charlotte Rampling stars as disturbed young Claire, whose wicked aunt plots to put her in an asylum and take over the family business. But plucky Claire escapes and sets about regaining her lost fortune, helped by an assortment of oddball characters. Carol moves from being the hunted to being the hunter.

Patrice Chéreau co-writes (with Jean-Claude Carriere, from the novel by James Hadley Chase) and directs this very interesting, most passable Seventies French thriller film that contains moments of dark humour and unease amid the heated, generally convincing tale.

It is fascinating giallo material, creepy and atmospheric, and at the very least worth seeing for the amazing female cast.

Also in the cast are Hans Christian Blech, François Simon, Hugues Qouster, Rémy Germain, Roland Bertin, Marcel Imhoff, and Eve Francis.

The Flesh of the Orchid [La Chair de L’Orchidée] is directed by Patrice Chéreau, runs 114 minutes, is made by V M Productions, ORTF, Apostrophe, Océana, TIT, Paris-Cannes and Lira Film, is released by 20th Century Fox, is written by Patrice Chéreau and Jean-Claude Carrière, is shot by Pierre Lhomme, is produced by Vincent Malle, is scored by Fiorenzo Carpi, and is designed by Richard Peduzzi.

Release date: 29 January 1975.

No Orchids for Miss Blandish was filmed as No Orchids for Miss Blandish in 1948 and The Grissom Gang in 1971.

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,651

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