Helga Liné

All posts tagged Helga Liné

Hell of a Gal: Nightmare Castle

Published January 26, 2018 by biggayhorrorfan

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(Hell of a Gal explores the films of the powerful, ever luscious Euro Vixen Helga Liné.)

Jealous looks good on Helga Liné. Of course, it should be noted, that almost everything looks absolutely fabulous on this devilish wonder. But most fans would probably agree that her dual role in the classic Nightmare Castle shows her off best of all.

As Solange, the devoted companion to the crazed Dr. Stephen Arrowsmith (Paul Muller), Liné makes her first appearance in this black and white gothic adventure as a withered crone. But, when we see her next, this gorgeous creature’s true beauty is shining through. (Hmmm…I just had to work a Melanie Griffith title into the proceedings, didn’t I?) It seems that Arrowsmith’s experiments have given the aged Solange the glow of youth…and a bit of possessiveness, as well. Solange is definitely not happy with the arrival of Jenny, played by the irreplaceable Barbara Steele. Jenny is the exact replica of Arrowsmith’s late wife and although she may hold the key to their fortune, Solange would, from all appearances, like her dispatched as quickly as possible.helga 1

Of course, all does not go according to plan in the world of villainy and the arrival of Jenny’s handsome and kindly doctor (Marino Mase) and a couple of vengeful ghosts soon spell doom for Arrowsmith and Solange.

But despite the corrosiveness of her character, Steele and director Mario Caiano have nothing but praise for Line’s beauty and talent on the special features of Severin’s beautifully restored copy of the film. Indeed, Liné is, nicely, given more range to play here than is normally required of her and while Ms. Steele, rightfully, has claimed the top spot in my many terror lovers’ hearts, Line’s take on Solange here proves that, in a fair world, she would be right up there with her.

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Those interested in the restored version of this film should definitely check it out at https://severin-films.com.

Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan

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Hell of a Gal: Rings of Fear

Published March 23, 2017 by biggayhorrorfan

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(Hell of a Gal explores the films of the ever luscious Euro Vixen Helga Liné.)

The radiant Helga Liné has over 130 credits on her resume. If all of the alternative titles of Rings of Fear, a mid career giallo, were counted among those credentials, she would have quite a number more. Known, alternatively,  as Red Rings of Fear (or Enigma Rosso), Trauma and Virgin Terror, this final entry in an unofficial Italian film series known as the Schoolgirl Trilogy, also found Liné portraying a totally sympathetic character, something that she was rarely given a chance to do.

Helga VK 4As Mrs. Russo, the anguished mother of the film’s first victim, Liné is given just a couple scenes here, but she provides plenty of understated sorrow and maternal strife in them. She also shares a nice connection with fellow Euro superstars Fabio Testi (What Have They Done to Solange, Four of the Apocalypse), as the detective investigating the case, and Nicoletta Elmi (Deep Red, Demons), who plays her youngest, incredibly inquisitive daughter. In fact, her best moments come as she, thoughtfully and quietly, answers Testi’s Di Salvo as he questions her after the funeral of her eldest child. Nicely, she gives these moments a disconnected quality, as well, nodding to her character’s expected melancholy.

The rest of the picture focuses on the unusual friendship that develops between Testi and Elmi as they try to discover what happened to her sister. Bolstered by such genre regulars as Ivan Desny, (Franco favorite) Jack Taylor and Christine Kauffman (Murders in the Rue Morgue), whose kleptomaniac character simply decides to leave Di Salvo halfway through the film, this slow burner is redeemed by an ending with several twists. Director Alberto Negrin also provides some interesting moments like the one where the off-kilter Di Salvo physically threatens Taylor’s smarmy shop owner on a roller coaster.

Helga VK 1Granted, the world probably didn’t need another sleazy film about underage prostitutes being done in by sweaty superiors, but the sight of the exquisite Liné, for even a very short period of time, is always a good reason to let some greasy celluloid settle like red dust around your sagging viewing chair.

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan

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Hell of a Gal: Pulsebeat

Published January 12, 2017 by biggayhorrorfan

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(Hell of a Gal explores the films of the ever luscious Euro Vixen Helga Liné.)

Mother Earth or mother of Daniel Greene…the stupendous Helga Liné is fit to play them all. Of course, in 1985’s Pulsebeat, a gloriously goofy Perfect take-off, she plays the latter with cool ease and directness. pulsebeat

Naturally, the big joke (of sorts) here is that Liné, at 53, is still gorgeous enough to be confused as the younger, muscular Greene’s ex-lover. The scriptwriters definitely spend the first half of the film leading the audience in that direction as Liné’s conniving Marlene tries to undermine the smooth and juicy Roger (Greene), her former employee, as he attempts to save his health club from certain extinction. Of course, Mama Bear is just lonely…and controlling…and wants her son at her side to help run her own oasis of perfection.

helga-2But by the time the two rival clubs are competing against each other in the film’s climatic, unconvincingly strenuous National Aerobithon, Marlene reveals a bulging pair of maternal instincts and urges her flesh and blood onto victory, despite her own business interests.

Unfortunately, sticking to the tried and true, the film, disappointingly yet unsurprisingly, does focus on Marlene’s physical upkeep with Roger, at one point, calling her “embalmed” and warning her about “her face cracking”. Granted this is a silly comedy, but these moments do stick out as another indication of how women, particularly those of a certain age, are viewed in society. Funnily, here, it almost comes off as ironic, as everyone involved treats Roger’s almost freakishly large muscles and slavish devotion to his body as a normal state of being while a middle aged woman’s attempts to grow older, gracefully, are treated with contempt. Thankfully, Liné, like every woman of grace and power, wears the insults well.helga-1

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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Hell of a Gal: Death Will Have Your Eyes

Published July 25, 2016 by biggayhorrorfan

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(Hell of a Gal explores the exceptionally European film career of the always glorious Helga Liné.)

Sometimes a bra is tossed, irretrievably, away…and sometimes friends are ignored. Sigh. Support is just not appreciated on occasion.

The glorious Helga Liné learned this first hand in 1974 Euro trash fest Death Will Have Your Eyes. As Yvonne, the saucy best friend of Marissa Mell’s adulterous Louisa, Liné finds her honest council ignored – with murderous consequences. Of course, at first, these two ravishing beauties play nice and Liné brings a wearied friendliness to the table as Yvonne helps Louisa establish herself.helga 2

Fortified, Louisa soon marries an older, upscale doctor (Farley Granger) whose idea of a good time is reciting poetry into a recording machine. Bored, Louisa begins an affair with Stefano (Riccardo Salvino), a colleague of her husband’s. Murdering her husband in order to be with Stefano, Louisa is soon ensnared in the clutches of an all seeing blackmailer and, despite a desperate call to Yvonne, ends up falling further into self-destructiveness.

Mell, known for such films as Danger: Diabolik and The Mad Dog Killer, is just as ravishing as Liné  here and one would like to think that this duo could have gone onto create even more continental mayhem if the goddesses of cinema had looked (even more) kindly upon them.

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Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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Hell of a Gal: My Dear Killer (1972)

Published May 28, 2016 by biggayhorrorfan

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(Hell of a Gal explores the films of the ever luscious Euro Vixen Helga Line.)

It’s always nice to introduce a new color into one’s wardrobe for hire. In fact, even the irreproachable Helga Liné turned her back on the villainous seductresses and medieval monsters that she was best known for with her appearance in the rock solid giallo My Dear Killer.MDK1

As the confused (yet surprisingly calm) Mrs. Paradisi, Liné does her best to assist George Hilton’s determined detective as he investigates the brutal murder of her common law husband. Adding glimmers of humor and classic world weariness to their conversations, our deductive damsel eventually sets out to retrieve a clue from a post box that may provide the identity of the killer. Alas, even though she is surrounded by other customers, Liné is strangled to death by a quick moving assailant, allowing the film’s mysteries to proceed to full boil.

Hilton’s Inspector Peretti soon realizes that Mr. Paradisi had discovered the identity of the killer of a young girl and her father in a kidnapping scenario gone wrong and he is soon giving investigative chase to others who may lead him to the murderer. Naturally, each meets a particularly gruesome end. Especially notable is the savage annihilation of the young girl’s former school teacher, played with saucy bravado by gorgeous Euro-regular Patty Shepard.

MDK2What is, perhaps, most notable about this entry, though, is director Tonino Valerii’s hard boiled take. He provides a slightly more realistic edge to the film’s outrageous acts of violence and twisted turns of plot, setting My Dear Killer a step or two above other black gloved entries of that era. Nicely, his efforts gave Hilton, best known then for sex comedies, a new lease on life, career-wise, and, even more importantly for viewers such as myself, allowed the world to see an established actress like Liné in an entirely different light.

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan

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Hell of a Gal: The Vampires Night Orgy

Published April 23, 2016 by biggayhorrorfan

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(Hell of a Gal explores the films of the ever luscious Euro Vixen Helga Liné.)

If anyone knows the importance of a well timed entrance, it’s our glorious Helga Liné!

Liné’s mysterious Countess doesn’t show up in 1974’s The Vampires Night Orgy until almost 32 minutes into the film. But she quickly makes up for lost time by seducing a sensitive poet-type and then, vampirically, feeding on him…before throwing him down to a throng of her devoted followers for further ravaging. Talk about stealing the show!

Helga VN 2Another ludicrously fun slab of cheap Euro horror, TVNO concentrates, mainly, on a group working class travelers who wind up in the Countess’ fog soaked village after their bus driver, quite rudely, dies at the wheel. Offered the run of the town by the mayor, they soon discover the price of such hospitality is their lives. Of course, the swinging lovers of the group, played by Franco regular Jack Taylor and Naschy favorite Dyanik Zurakowska, escape, but returning with the authorities, soon discover that the charming death trap has, simply, disappeared into the mists.

Unfortunately, Liné is mostly invisible here, as well. After her initial appearance, she shows up a couple of more times to feast on some of the other (less desirable) visitors, but this is definitely Taylor and Zurakowska’s show. TVNO is still highly enjoyable foreign trash, but Liné’s relative absence from the proceedings is widely felt by those looking to add a bit of auburn comfort to their afternoons.

So, until the next time, throw that copy of The Loreley’s Grasp into your DVD player…

…and SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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Hell of a Gal: The Loreley’s Grasp (1974)

Published March 24, 2016 by biggayhorrorfan

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(Hell of a Gal explores the films of the ever luscious Euro Vixen Helga Line.)

The Wild West, the Trans-Siberian Express, a Gothic mansion…you actually can take the stunning Helga Line anywhere. But…she’ll usually be playing someone ruthless when you do it!

1974’s The Loreley’s Grasp is no different. Taking place in a tiny German village and at the all girl’s academy that is located on its outskirts, this tale, directed by The Blind Dead’s Amando De Ossorio, finds Line scantily enacting the deadly siren of the film’s title.

Beguiling Sirgurd (Tony Kendall), the hunter that has been hired to protect the students, with her black, string laden bikini and frequent dashes through the lakeside brush, Line is all exotic sexuality here. With moody stares and pouty concentration, she is an eternally compelling figure even though the plotline dictates that Sirgurd ultimately ignore her wiles for the more straightforward charms of school marm Elke, played by the equally beautiful Silvia Tortosa, who also shared the screen with Line in 1972’s Horror Express.

Helga 2Full of obviously fake, but very bloody attacks (including several shots of beating hearts being ripped from chests) courtesy of Loreley’s alter-ego, a scaly green monster, this cheesy time capsule is enjoyable not only due to Line’s compelling attitude but because of its innate ludicrousness. While Kendall’s swarthy handsomeness is a plus, the character of Sirgurd has to be one of the densest Euro horror heroes ever. After being filled in by a local musician and a determined scientist about Loreley’s deadly origins, he still can’t figure out that she is the mysterious woman that he has encountered – even after she practically confesses to him during their initial seduction scene. Tortosa’s Elke is almost equally insipid. Despite the evidence of several brutal outdoor attacks, she is constantly sneaking out at night to confront Sigrud – often ending up being targeted by her slimy nemesis.

Interestingly, the Americanized version of the film inserted red flashes to warn audiences when the picture’s more gruesome elements were about occur and was retitled When The Screaming Stops. Barf bags were also provided as a gimmick for the more sensitive viewers, as well.

If they would have asked me, I would have told them to simply concentrate on the ample awesomeness of Line to draw folks in. Well…better late than never!

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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Hell of a Gal: Horror Rises from the Tomb (1973)

Published February 12, 2016 by biggayhorrorfan

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(Hell of a Gal explores the deliriously delectable films of Euro cult goddess and frequent Queen of Mean, Helga Line!)

If one needs further proof that European sensation Helga Line is not only a goddess, but a warrior of the female flesh as well, then they need look no further than her performance as the heart ripping, blood gobbling Mabille De Lancre in writer-actor Paul Naschy’s insane warlock-vampire-zombie hybrid Horror Rises from the Tomb.Helga 3

As the mistress to the penultimately evil Alaric de Marnac (Naschy), Mabille is executed along with him in Medieval France. The swinging 70s uproots more than those hideously flashy fashions at the discotheque, though, when de Marnac’s distant relative Hugo (Naschy again) and his friends wind up reviving the evil duo through a series of mysterious and violent circumstances. Human sacrifice, anyone?

As ravishing as ever, Mabille is soon bedding down with smitten villagers and eviscerating their central organs…all in the name of ferocious survival, of course! With a sick twist in her eye and an upturned lip or two, Line commands the screen here, reveling in Mabille’s psychotic deliciousness. Even the inevitable uprising of the corpses on the family estate doesn’t take the focus off of her.

Helga 2Missing out on the action for a good half of the film, Line also definitely makes up for lost time by showing off her glorious body (in often very chilly looking scenarios) with grand efficiency. In fact, her presence and professionalism here assure that she far outshines all of her feminine competition in the film – of which there is a great deal of – and makes one wish that she had been restituted for Panic Beats, the 1983 (sort of) sequel in which de Marnac and Naschy returned.

Oh, well….

Until the next time, SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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Hell of A Gal: Horror Express (1972)

Published March 12, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

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Hell of A Gal explores the many genre credits of European exploitation goddess Helga Liné!

Diversity, thy name is Helga Liné! While her role of Natasha in the deliriously fun 1972 Spanish/British mash-up Horror Express finds her in familiar bad girl territory, this definitive fatale also adds a light sense of girlish comedy to her scenes with terror legend Peter Cushing.

Sneaking aboard the Trans-Siberian Express, Liné’s Natasha talks her way into the room of Cushing’s turn-of-the-century anthropologist. Charmed by her seductive brashness, the two strike up an engaging friendship. Of course, that relationship is cut short when Natasha’s thieving ways earn her a place on the victim’s list of a prehistoric caveman, who just happens to house the essence of a murderous alien creature. (I know! Happens every day, right?!?)Helga and Cushing

Still, in her unfortunately short screen time here, Liné and Cushing shine together. Their cute chemistry, also, produces one of the unusual screenplay’s funniest lines, as well.

A blend of Euro horror (with both more traditional and zombie elements), zany action and science fiction, Horror Express features delightful performances from almost everyone involved (including horror legend Christopher Lee and an exuberantly wacked out Telly Savalas) and Severin’s ( http://www.severin-films.com ) 2011 Blu-Ray re-mastering features such amazing extras as an extensive audio interview with Cushing and features with director Eugenio Martin and composer John Cacavas.

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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Hell of a Gal: Have A Good Funeral, My Friend…Sartana Will Pay

Published December 31, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

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Hell of a Gal explores the many genre credits of divine Euro princess Helga Liné.

“Why can’t you behave?” – Kiss Me Kate

I guess the excuse that “she’s drawn that way” could apply to the film career of Helga Liné, as well. With her bright red hair and womanly figure, this versatile goddess, who began her career as an acrobat, was often cast as characters that grew in a conflicted light.funeral

Even in goofy 1970 Italian western Have a Good Funeral, My Friend…Sartana Will Pay (now say that 10x, quickly) Line’s Saloon Girl Mary aligns herself with the bad guys. Not required to do much more than spy on Daniela Giordano’s sweet Abigail Benson, Liné is still one of this goofy shoot ‘em up’s brightest presences. She applies a light, almost comic touch to her dealings with both Sartana (an easygoing Gianni Garko) and Benson. Meanwhile, a more sinister bent comes out when Mary deals with her partners, a crooked banker and a cow towed sheriff. More than anything, though, Liné simply looks like she is having a good time, here.

Audiences should, as well. As the hero, Sartana manipulates the wrongdoers with joking finesse. He, also, as the title suggests, pays for the burials of those who wind up on the wrong end of his gun. Throw in a bit of kung-fu action, a few bumbling sidekicks, some amusing (almost motivation-less) twists and a decent, oats-ridden timewaster is to be had.
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Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

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