(USA/West Germany, 1979)
Review by: Johan Melle
Cast: Audrey Hepburn, Ben Gazzara, James Mason, Romy Schneider, Omar Sharif, Gert Fröbe, Beatrice Straight, Irene Papas, Maurice Ronet, Michelle Phillips, Wolfgang Preiss, Claudia Mori, Marcel Bozzuffi, Maurice Colbourne, Vadim Glowna, Mike Monty, Dan Van Husen 
Directed by Terence Young. Written by Laird Koenig. 
Source: Paramount DVD (UK, PAL Region 2, 112 minutes) 

Based on the best-selling novel by Sidney Sheldon, BLOODLINE was met with terrible reviews from most critics at the time of its release. Which hardly comes as too much of a surprise, seeing as how serious critics have never had particularly high opinions of films based on literature from the likes of Sheldon or Harold Robbins and Jacqueline Susann. However, BLOODLINE has never been particularly popular among general viewers either – with the general consensus being that its much adored leading lady, Audrey Hepburn, was far too talented to appear in an adaptation of a trashy women's story. But there is something fascinating about films that are made out to be utterly, unwatchably bad, because often the fact is that if you bother to seek out these films, you'll find that although not great by any stretch of the imagination, they are usually not the complete turkeys they're frequently made out to be either. BLOODLINE is one of those films. It’s a misconceived thriller but nevertheless possesses a certain inexplicable appeal if one is in the right frame of mind. 

The film opens with the death of pharmaceutical magnate Sam Roffe in a rather suspicious accident. His giant Zürich-based pharmaceutical empire Roffe Industries is then left to his daughter Elizabeth (Audrey Hepburn). Meanwhile, Elizabeth’s high society cousins from around the globe are all facing financial difficulties: London-based Alec (James Mason) is up to his neck in debts thanks to his much younger, gambling-happy wife (Michelle Phillips); Parisian beauty Hélène (Romy Schneider) has a scamming husband who owes money to the wrong people; and Simonetta (Irene Papas) has a philandering playboy husband (Omar Sharif), who desperately needs a large sum of money to pay off his blackmailing mistress so she won’t tell Simonetta about their long-running affair and three illegitimate sons. All of the three cousins and their greedy spouses think they can manipulate the inexperienced Elizabeth into making Roffe Industries go public; which will allow them to sell their company shares for a quick profit that they all desperately need. Elizabeth, however, refuses and instead decides to continue as president of the company – with welcome help from kind-hearted assistant Kate (Beatrice Straight) and the company’s executive officer Rhys (Ben Gazzara). This naturally gets her cousins all hot-tempered and desperate, and it doesn’t take long before Elizabeth is the victim of several strange accidents which she barely escapes with her life intact. It also transpires that her father’s death was no accident at all and the culprit is someone within Roffe Industries. Not only that: the strange going-ons at Roffe are somehow connected to a rash of vicious sexual murders of beautiful young girls who are being murdered on camera by a mysterious snuff film team. 

Featuring an international all-star cast, BLOODLINE was directed by Terence Young, who is best remembered for directing some of the early (and best) James Bond films such as DR. NO (1962) and FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963). Young’s subsequent career, however, was somewhat of a mixed bag and includes several European films such as the cheap, idiotic WAR GODDESS (1973), as well as this critically panned film and the even more ill-fated war film INCHON (1981). The only one of Young’s post-Bond films to have achieved much acclaim is the thriller WAIT UNTIL DARK (1967) starring Audrey Hepburn. It was most likely this prior experience with Young that led Hepburn (who was in semi-retirement at the time) to agree to star in this film. 

Young’s film is off to a pretty good start; setting up its interesting plotline and lining up its array of colorful suspects but, unfortunately, it all goes downhill pretty quickly. The basic storyline about Elizabeth trying to uncover the truth about her father’s death and trying to avoid being killed herself is fairly intriguing and if the film had tried to stick to this plot, it may have worked out reasonably well. But instead it unwisely goes off in all sorts of other directions and weaves in some really unnecessary subplots. First of all there are the snuff killings, which don’t really fit in because their connection to the main plot is so vaguely explained that it will leave most viewers scratching their heads. Worse yet are several excruciatingly awful flashback sequences to Poland; detailing how Elizabeth’s father came to found his pharmaceutical empire. Not only are these scenes painfully long but they are also completely irrelevant. There’s absolutely no need to grind the narrative to a complete halt in order to show how the company was formed. It doesn’t add anything to the film, and to make matters even worse, the acting in these scenes is embarrassingly inept. 

The time spent on irrelevant subplots also has the negative consequence of not leaving enough time to develop many of the film’s characters. There are enough cousins and other suspects here for a 10-hour mini series but many of these characters are left with disappointingly little to do; thus wasting the talents of many great international stars. 

Apparently, BLOODLINE was heavily cut down before being shown in theaters. It still runs close to two hours, though, and it’s truly amazing that the makers seemed to think keeping the awful, redundant flashback scenes was a good idea; and instead cutting out stuff that ties the snuff scenes to the main plot. Several murders also ended up on the cutting room floor as gorgeous blonde Ursula Buchfellner from Jess Franco flicks like DEVIL HUNTER (1980) and LINDA (1981), and hardcore porno starlet Olinka Hardiman are nowhere to be seen in the film even though they both receive on-screen credits as ‘murder victims’. Showings on American network TV restored 40 minutes of additional footage and probably made a great deal more sense than the commonly seen version. Still, it’s doubtful that the inclusion of any additional footage would turn BLOODLINE into a great thriller because it’s already too long and saggy-paced at 112 minutes. 

Still, the film’s biggest flaw of isn’t its poorly interwoven subplots, its confusingly told plot, or even its shameful wasting of good actors, but rather its inability to build up any suspense. This is basically a thriller without any thrills. Sure enough, Audrey Hepburn is put in a couple of dangerous situations but we never really fear for her life or believe she will come to any lasting harm. 

So, what, then, is it that saves BLOODLINE from being a total turd? Can there really be any point in watching a thrill-less thriller? Surprisingly, perhaps, the answer to this is yes. Although difficult to properly explain, this film does have its appealing sides. On a purely visual level, this is a great-looking film. Freddie Young’s cinematography is absolutely gorgeous – making great use of the many wonderful locations such as Munich, Rome, Paris, London and Sardinia (this was a big studio film after all). Likewise, Ennio Morricone’s score is beautiful and very effective – the only exception being an extremely bizarre electronic-based disco-like oddity that plays while Hepburn is given a tour of the pharmaceutical plant. Probably meant to underline the high-tech equipment we see at work, it doesn’t quite work and sounds very atypical of Morricone. Still, that’s a minor quibble as the rest of the score is gorgeous. The chic, expensive designer’s clothes worn by the female cast is a definitive plus too, and will no doubt appeal to fans of 1970s mod fashions. 

Also adding to the film’s enjoyability are the trashy soap opera antics many of the characters indulge in. There are enough sexual escapades, dirty dealings and rivalry to keep our interest up until the climatic rooftop finale, which actually does boast some mild but decent suspense. There’s also a bit of humor thrown in – courtesy of a silly but enjoyable Omar Sharif as the cheating husband who must go to great lengths to keep his hot-tempered Italian mistress from confronting his jealous and equally hot-tempered wife (a great performance by the always excellent Greek actress Irene Papas). Sharif’s comedic juggling between his wife and mistress is surprisingly funny but it does at times feel like watching a separate film. It’s also a great shame that Irene Papas is given relatively little to do because she is clearly enjoying herself and making the most of her limited role. 

Another, more unwelcome, comedic element comes in the form of Gert Fröbe (Goldfinger himself) as a bumbling, crazy-looking police inspector who tries to solve the murders. Fröbe puts all his trust in a huge, high-tech computer, to which he feeds all his clues and then gets very specific information on all the suspects. The computer talks too, in a loud, monotone robot voice that outwears its welcome pretty quickly. There’s some very minimal fun to be had from watching a hysterically overacting Fröbe make a complete ass of himself but for the most part it’s just annoying. 

Then, of course, there are the snuff scenes. As mentioned, these scenes are poorly tied to the rest of the plot and, as such, they don’t fit in too well. Then again, a snuff movie subplot is such a sleazy theme that it would’ve felt out of place in an Audrey Hepburn film no matter what (one has to wonder if she actually knew about these scenes). In spite of the sleazy subject matter, though, the scenes themselves aren’t as violent as one would expect, and they feel pretty restrained compared to, say, Italian films from that time. Still, the inclusion of this plot point does grab our attention and helps make the film more interesting. 

The only cast member who really gets any chance to deliver a solid performance is of course the much loved Audrey Hepburn. By the time she made BLOODLINE she was 50 years old but still looking wonderful, if a bit too thin for comfort. Many of Hepburn’s more serious fans cringe at the thought of her being in a film like this but she does actually give a very good performance; managing to create a warm, sympathetic character that nevertheless has enough guts to stand up to all her cousins and not let them boss her around. Leading man Ben Gazzara on the other hand was clearly in this just for the money, and he only goes through the motions here. James Mason too has delivered more engaging work than he does here as Hepburn’s favorite cousin but the seasoned actor has enough authority and presence to come off good. Romy Schneider – looking as ravishing as ever – is a true delight in her bitchy role but she should have been given more to do. 

For lovers of so-called Euro-cult, though, the biggest attraction is probably the supporting cast, which is chockfull of recognizable faces. The most amazing presence here is American-born Mike Monty, who many will recognize from Italian trash films such as Luigi Batzella’s silly Nazisploitation flick THE DESERT TIGERS (1976) and various Filipino-shot actioners like Ruggero Deodato’s RAIDERS OF THE ATLANTIS (1983) and Bruno Mattei’s DOUBLE TARGET (1987). Here Monty (completely bald for the occasion) gets to play the naked snuff movie killer who strangles the girls to death. Seeing him here acting all sleazy in a big studio Hollywood film is a real joy. Helping matters further is the presence of creepy-looking Dan Van Husen (known from numerous Spaghetti westerns and several Jess Franco films) as the cameraman for the snuff films. There’s also the excellent Marcel Bozzuffi from COLT 38 SPECIAL SQUAD (1976) and CONTRABAND (1980) as a threatening hitman-type; the delectable Italian singer/actress Claudia Mori from Riccardo Freda’s THE BURNING OF ROME (1963) and the peplum URSUS IN THE LAND OF FIRE (1963), who is enjoyable as Omar Sharif’s fiery mistress; and Lucio Fulci favorite Cosimo Cinieri from THE NEW YORK RIPPER (1982) and MURDER-ROCK (1984) who is seen very briefly as an airport officer at the Rome airport. 

Paramount’s UK release of BLOODLINE delivers what we’ve come to expect in terms of quality from Paramount. The anamorphic 1.78:1 transfer is pretty flawless, with strong vibrant colors and good black levels. Likewise, the English mono audio is clean and free of any noise. French, German, Italian and Spanish audio options are also available, as well as optional subtitles in English, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish. Sadly, the supplement department also delivers what we’ve come to expect from Paramount: nothing! There isn’t even a theatrical trailer. What a wasted opportunity as this could have been a perfect release to include some deleted scenes. Where are the additional 40 minutes that were added for network showings? Furthermore, the cut murder scenes with Ursula Buchfellner and Olinka Hardiman (which were probably not among the 40 minutes added to the network release) would have been great to see too. Then again, BLOODLINE isn’t exactly a major title and considering how Paramount didn’t bother to include any cut footage on their releases for the considerably more popular FRIDAY THE 13th series, it’s doubtful that any of the cut scenes from BLOODLINE are ever going to see the light of day on DVD. 

So there you have it! BLOODLINE is a bad film and it can’t really be recommended. It fails to thrill but there’s still something about it that makes it a pretty decent time-waster. Perhaps it’s the idea of the much loved Audrey Hepburn starring in a trashy R-rated film about a snuff killer, combined with first-rate (though partially wasted) stars and recognizable Euro actors? I guess one could say this film is more interesting than it is entertaining but it still makes for a nice guilty pleasure. A polished guilty pleasure that is – courtesy of its gorgeous photography and locations. The DVD itself looks great, while the film itself is the kind that’s good for a rainy, and is certainly not for all tastes! 

Purchase this DVD at X-Ploited Cinema
 

STORY/FILM- 2/5 BITCH SLAPS
PICTURE- 4/5 BITCH SLAPS
AUDIO- 3/5 BITCH SLAPS
EXTRAS- 0/5 BITCH SLAPS
OVERALL DVD- 3/5 BITCH SLAPS

2008 @ Cinema Nocturna