THE MAD BUTCHER

Victor Buono

THE MAD BUTCHER (aka Lo srangoloatore di Vienna aka Meat is Meat/1971). Director: John (Guido) Zurli. 

Butcher Otto Lehman (Victor Buono) is released from a mental institution in Vienna in the care of his rather shrewish wife, Hanna (Karin Field). Otto has no interest in returning to their home, however, but prefers to stay in a room above his butcher shop so he can spy on the naked lady across the way. When he finally loses it and strangles his wife, he decides she might as well serve a purpose -- as Viennese sausages! Others who come afoul of dear Otto wind up in the same condition ... 

Brad Harris and Franca Polesello

Despite the title, Otto dispatches his victims with his hands around their necks, and the butchery that follows is kept off-camera. The Mad Butcher is essentially a grotesque black comedy, with everyone acting a little "off" as they would in a humorous movie. This includes eurospy and peplum hunk Brad Harris as a callous reporter from the Chicago Tribune who is, for unexplained reasons, in Vienna. He begins a relationship with Berta (Franca Polesello), a customer in the shop. The film appears to be a period piece, but from the production design you can't tell exactly which period . There are also precious few shots of the beautiful city of Vienna. The spritely musical score is in direct contrast to the events of the story, but somehow it suits the movie perfectly. As for Buono, he seems to be enjoying himself mightily, but the movie is nothing special.

Verdict: Skip the sausages when in Vienna! **1/2.