Olga's House of Shame (1964) User Reviews

Wacky S&M mix of Ilsa, John Waters and Irving Klaw!

[Jens-28 · 23 June 1999]

This is the 3rd movie in the infamous Olga series starring Audrey Campbell and it's a classic sickie! The pseudo mondo narration and the Wagner-like music gives the film an unique edge. It's low budget but nicely shot (handheld camera, dogme-style!) in glorious b/w and Miss Campbell is captivating in a twisted sort of way. This torture/bondage fest must've been pretty shocking in 1964. John Waters went to filmschool in New York around that time and said it influenced him more than any Eisenstein movie! Waters was expelled within a year in a reefer scandal. Michael Medved was right: THESE FILMS ARE UNHEALTHY! Producer George Weiss also backed another trash classic, Ed Wood's "Glen Or Glenda"! "Olga", an anti-PC masterpiece, and "Love Camp 7" are the obvious inspiration for the wonderful "Ilsa" movies and countless others. Jess Franco and Joe D'amato fans should defintely check in at this House Of Shame!

From the "Something Boring" part of the "Something Weird" vault...

[BigBabe0 · 2/10 · 18 November 2009]

In the realm of "S-M"/"B & D" (i.e. women getting physically restrained and then usually abused in various ways) this can be viewed as a kind of "missing link" between the Irving Klaw/Bettie Page classics of the early to mid 1950's and the gems from House of Milan/TAO in the 1970's and 1980's (the latter still being regarded by yours truly as the exemplar of the genre). Apparently it's part three of a trilogy, but I've just seen the one (which probably won't change). As you probably already know, the alleged story concerns a crime boss named Olga who spends most of her time punishing various female subordinates for various off-screen infractions. It upholds the John Willie/Eneg tradition of the all-female universe, although we do briefly see a couple of quasi-gay male characters, one of whom wears a ship captain's hat and smokes a big cigar---overcompensation? Even by Z-grade budget standards, the faked nature of the abuse performed by Olga is pretty laughable; I especially enjoyed the pulled punches/slaps. (How hard would it have been for the director to have Olga put her hand next to the victim's face, yank it back suddenly, then show that particular footage in reverse?) The "electric chair" also stands out (or sits) in that regard. The reason I give it 2 stars instead of just 1 is due to a few aesthetically pleasing elements; the cinematography is gorgeous old-school black and white (not like today's occasional black and white efforts that look like crap); the outdoor shots of upstate New York are a nice relief from the largely bare-walled interior scenes (it's a nice touch having Olga's hide-out be an abandoned mine, although clearly the rooms seen aren't in a mine); there's a long (and blessedly dialog-free) sequence of one of the victims getting chased through the countryside that almost achieves a kind of pastoral quality, reminiscent of the silent era; most of the women are fairly easy on the eye, especially Olga (who by the way is clearly American despite her foreign-sounding name). Late in the going we see Olga let her hair down and start to undress as she gets ready for bed; unfortunately no auto-eroticism ensues (well it was still 1964 and all that). There's also a scene of some amateurish belly dancing tossed in, for fans of that particular activity. If you're a male who will be watching this for masturbatory purposes (I don't know who else would be watching it, or why else) I would suggest turning the volume all the way down and playing your own "stroke music" on your CD player or whatever you have, unless you're heavily into "Night on Bald Mountain" (and other old library tunes) and lots of self-satirizingly earnest narration a la Walter Winchell on "The Untouchables," e.g. "Olga was now about to achieve a new level of sadism," pronounced "sad-dism." (That line's probably not verbatim, but you get the idea.) Even on just a technical bondage level it's pretty lame (aside from the lady in the strait-jacket with the blindfold and ball gag); soap operas do a more convincing job of binding & gagging. Here's the "spoiler" part: eventually one of the victims becomes Olga's partner ---but do any nice lesbian antics ensue? No way, Jose--bottom line, it's a pretty bare-bones 70 minutes; even describing the "tortures" would make them sound more interesting than they actually play out, one reason I haven't done so...

Please no more "Night on Bald Mountain"

[chainsawfodder · 6/10 · 6 January 2007]

This is the third entry of the 'official' Olga series with Audrey Campbell playing the lead character. The addition of a bit of a plot makes this quite an improvement over White Slaves of Chinatown and the character began to grow on me a little bit. I am starting to see why Campbell ended up becoming a sexploitation icon but the film still failed to live up to the hype that has been bestowed on the series over the years.

Some improvements in this film were a cool location for Olga's lair (an abandoned ore mine), cinematography that was much more interesting with a number of clever shots and some great looking black and white photography, and the addition of another main female character named Elaine. This character would go on to star in the next film in the series entitled Mme. Olga's Massage Parlour that has apparently become lost over the years. I thought that Alice Davis (aka. Judy Young) was perfect as the young protégé of Olga. That being said, some of the more annoying elements of the first film were still present including the terribly repetitious use of "Night On Bald Mountain" and the voice-over.

Sexploitation fans will be happy that this contains the most nudity of the series, there is a belly dancer, and the requisite torture scenes are plentiful but relatively tame in comparison to what was to come with the many knock-offs in the 70's. If you are only planning to see one Olga movie in your life, this is probably the best one to check out.

Worthy sequel

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 27 January 2015]

The ruthless Olga (the striking Audrey Campbell in fine fearsome form) relocates her crime syndicate to an old abandoned mine. She's helped out by her depraved brother Nick (ably played to the slimy hilt by W.B. Parker) and eager protégé Elaine (a solid performance by the lovely Alice Davis). Once again, director/co-director Joseph P. Mawra and co-writer/producer George Weiss cover all the satisfyingly sleazy exploitation bases: We've got lots of brutal torture (everything from spanking to bondage), a pleasing amount of tasty distaff skin, nice use of the rundown mine main location, a robust classical music film library score (you'll never hear "Night on Bald Mountain" quite the same way again), and even some mild lesbianism. Slim fox Josel does a cool'n'sultry belly dance while slender minx Ella Daphni provides a delicious eyeful as the enticing Nadja. The tight 70 minute running time ensures that this flick never becomes dull or overstays its welcome. Joel Holt's gloriously overripe narration adds an amusing element of histrionic kitsch. William Rose's crisp hand-held black and white cinematography rates as another major asset. Good tawdry fun.

Olga series

[Michael_Elliott · 29 February 2008]

Olga's House of Shame (1964) 1/2 (out of 4)

If you're looking for a plot then you're going to be looking for a while but we've basically got Olga (Audrey Campbell) escaping and then starting up her prostitution racket again.

This is the third film in the series and I must say that it's not a very a good series. Yes, I know some fans enjoy these pictures but to me they're on the same level as something like THE BEAST OF YUCCA FLATS. What does that film and OLGA'S HOUSE OF SHAME have in common? For the majority of the running time they were shot silent and there is some really awful voice-over dialogue that keeps us informed as to what is happening.

This has always been a cheap way for low-budget filmmakers to save money but it just doesn't work and I think it looks especially ridiculous in something like this. There are all sorts of problems with this movie including the fact that nothing shocking happens until around the forty-five minute mark. At this point we finally get a bit of torture and this continues throughout the rest of the movie but by the time it starts the viewer is already dead from boredom.

These type of "roughies" were popular at one time and it seems they gained a bit more popularity once Something Weird Video started to release them. I love sleaze as much as anyone but this film here is just pure boredom to sit through.

Bad S&M + cheesy narration + classical music == hilarious

[yv_es · 8/10 · 22 June 2020]

Olga's House of Shame is not a good film by any measure. And it must be said us moderns-with such vast depths of pornography at our fingertips-will find little titillating in Olga's House of Shame. Indeed these days its S&M aspects could probably sneak into a CBS primetime serial without anyone batting an eyelash. The "punishments" are hilariously poorly executed to the point that they feel almost charming. Pointy instruments are moved within six inches of grimacing women, whipping never seems to make contact, and although Olga looks good strutting around in her jodhpurs, the film made me doubt she could even dominate a conversation.

But that's what makes Olga's House of Shame so fun! If the film was more realistic, you'd instead feel sad knowing that there are men who enjoy watching women get sexually abused (even if it is just simulated for the screen). Because this film is so bad though, you are free to enjoy the ride.

And what a ride it is! Olga's House of Shame is a very loosely connected sequence of scenes involving the titular Olga dominating her "girls" when they disobey her. The film uses a classic Mondo-style narrator to present these. Dear god do I love this narrator! This would not be the same film without him cheerfully describing all the "punishments" Olga will be dishing out. He's always just a little too interested as well... The whole thing is like one big wink at the camera as if to say, "hey we know this is some real sick stuff here, but you're into that aren't ya?"

Nor would the film be the same without its soundtrack. Classical music blares as Olga works over her girls with tongs and brands and whatnot. The music is bafflingly out of place, and yet I simply cannot imagine the film any other way. Now every time I hear "Night on Bald Mountain", I will think of my dear Olga!

I have little doubt that I am a terrible person for laughing my way through Olga's House of Shame. For lovers of sexploitation though, Olga's House of Shame is a classic. And deservedly so.

Not even enjoyable for cheap thrills

[IMOvies · 22 September 2003]

OLGA'S HOUSE OF SHAME (1964)

0 (of ****)

I love mindless perversion as much as the next red blooded guy when it's done right. This is just a terrible film, not even enjoyable for a sexploitation flick. Women are unconvincingly abused with not even the slightest attempt to make it look real. No dialogue, just narration - much of it unintentionally funny but not enough to waste your time.