The Girl and Death

Unabashed Gothic melodrama is admittedly a bit of a lurid howler, but when executed with such verve and conviction (and backed by a terrific cast) it proves difficult to resist; as in the best of the genre, the film is stolen by the villains; a gloriously sleazy Hallervorden as the venal Count, and his hilariously intense off-sider Kovalevski, though Bichevin and Hoeks are also appealing as the star crossed lovers. A superb genre entry.