Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1970) on Netflix
GP19701h 28mHorrorMysteryThriller
John Harrington manages a bridal dress factory outside Paris, and his wife Mildred refuses him a divorce. He murders brides in their wedding gowns to recall a childhood trauma.
- Netflix3.0/5
- IMDb6.3/104,954 votes
- Rotten Tomatoes57%
Trailer
Plot summary
John Harrington, thirty years old, lives in a villa outside Paris and manages the bridal dress factory his late mother owned. His wife Mildred supports him financially and refuses his requests for a divorce. When he learns that a model at the factory is about to be married, he kills her with a meat cleaver while she wears her bridal gown, burns her remains in the greenhouse furnace and scatters the ash as fertilizer. Each killing brings a slightly clearer image of the childhood trauma he is trying to recall. Inspector Russell keeps questioning him about the six models who have vanished from the salon, but lacks evidence to act. Into the office comes Helen Wood, applying for a job left open by one of the missing women.
Cast
- Antonia Masas Louise
- Pasquale Fortunatoas John Harrington a Boy(as Fortunato Pascuale)
- Silvia Lienasas Vicky
Show all 20 cast
- Montserrat Riba Vidalas Rosy Miller(Monserrat Riba)
- Guido Barloccias Unknown(uncredited)
- Bruno Boschettias Policeman(uncredited)
- Elina De Wittas Model(uncredited)
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Hatchet for the Honeymoon (1970)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- Francisco Franco's villa served as the Harrington household in the film; the cast and director both described its atmosphere as oppressive, with armed guards constantly present to make sure they did not shoot on the upstairs floors or damage the furnishings.
- Dagmar Lassander, promised the female lead and required by the producers to lose 25 pounds, found the revised script sidelining her character in favor of Laura Betti; she had antagonistic relations with Bava and Betti on set and later successfully sued Caño for failing to make her the film's top-billed actress.
- With the budget run out and lead actor Stephen Forsyth already two weeks unpaid, he refused to take part in the Paris exterior shoot until he was paid; a body double was filmed at a distance in his place, and virtually none of the Paris sequences were used in the completed film.
- Mario Bava wanted to work with Laura Betti immediately, but Santiago Moncada's script had no role remotely suitable for her, so Bava created the subplot involving Mildred Harrington in order to cast her.
- Hatchet for the Honeymoon had the least money allotted for special effects of any film Bava directed, so nearly all the visual effects were achieved in-camera, usually by rapidly adjusting the focus or shooting through distorted lenses.
