The Laughing Woman

"Dominance. Submission."

1969 1h 26m IT

👍

6.7

SOLID

★6.7TMDB · 53

RomanceThriller

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Beautiful PR woman, Maria finds herself trapped in the home of the sinister and troubled Dr. Sayer, where she is subjected to a series of increasingly bizarre, terrifying, and degrading sex games. Sayer admits that he has murdered several women after the same ordeal, always killing them at the point of orgasm. But all is not what it seems, and through a series of twists and turns, the whole situation is slowly turned on its head.

“Dominance. Submission.”

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Cast

Dagmar Lassander
Maria
Philippe Leroy
Dr. Sayer
Lorenza Guerrieri
Gida
Varo Soleri
Administrator
Maria Cumani Quasimodo
Sayer's Secretary
Mirella Pamphili
Streetwalker
Manlio Dalla Pria
Politician (uncredited)
Salvatore Furnari
Dwarf (uncredited)

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Piero Schivazappa
Writers: Piero Schivazappa, Giuseppe Zaccariello, Paolo Levi
Languages: Italian
Countries: Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

86 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

57 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Piero Schivazappa, shot by Carlo Achilli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Stelvio Cipriani. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Carlo Reali shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Dagmar Lassander and Philippe Leroy and Lorenza Guerrieri carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Dominance. Submission.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0124621 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Piero Schivazappa directs. Carlo Achilli behind the camera. Stelvio Cipriani scores. Carlo Reali cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Italy. Dialogue in Italian.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

186 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
257 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Piero Schivazappa, shot by Carlo Achilli. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Stelvio Cipriani. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Carlo Reali shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Dagmar Lassander and Philippe Leroy and Lorenza Guerrieri carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Dominance. Submission.".
8IMDB entry: tt0124621 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
9Only 53 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.