Female photographer (the sulky, rail-thin Isabelle De Funès, coiffed with Louise Brooks' hairdo) is bewitched and cursed by the title-named sorceress, a predatory lesbian with kinky inclinations. Of all the sexploitation films Carroll Baker made overseas once her fortunes ran dry in Hollywood, this may be the strangest. Baker stepped into the role of chalky-white, cool-to-the-touch Baba Yaga after actress Anne Heywood dropped out at the 11th hour. Although she looks spookily tantalizing in her black mink ensembles, Baker's intensity goes wasted in this dubbed, choppy Italian-French co-production with a breast fixation. The pop art flourishes in De Funès' studio--complete with a see-through clear rotary phone--are amusing, as is composer Piero Umiliani's throbbing/sensual score. Director Corrado Farina nearly took his name off the credits when he discovered the negative had been reedited against his wishes (this review is based on the 89mn print, which seems comprised of already-existing and previously excised footage). *1/2 from ****
Review of Baba Yaga
