The Laughing Woman

The Laughing Woman
Italian theatrical poster
Directed by	Piero Schivazappa
Written by	Piero Schivazappa
Produced by	Giuseppe Zaccariello
Starring	Philippe Leroy Dagmar Lassander
Cinematography	Sante Achilli
Edited by	Carlo Reali
Music by	Stelvio Cipriani
Production company	Cemo Film
Distributed by	Cemo Film
Release date	4 December 1969 (1969-12-04)
Running time	90 minutes
Country	Italy
Language	Italian

The Laughing Woman (Latin: Femina ridens), also known as The Frightened Woman, is a 1969 Italian erotic thriller film directed by Piero Schivazappa. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Plot

Dr. Sayer, the director of a philanthropic foundation, spends his weekends at his luxurious villa outside of Rome toying with sadistic fantasies. His games are usually acted out with the help of a prostitute conversant with his desires. When his regular prostitute becomes unavailable at the last minute, Sayer substitutes Maria, a young journalist on his staff. After the drugged Maria regains consciousness at his villa, Sayer realizes that he now has a real victim on his hands. She is subjected to his unpleasant games but soon begins subverting him. ^{[4] [5]}

Cast

• Philippe Leroy: Doctor Sayer
• Dagmar Lassander: Mary
• Lorenza Guerrieri: Gida
• Varo Soleri: Administrator
• Maria Cumani Quasimodo: Sayer's Secretary
• Mirella Pamphili: Streetwalker

Soundtrack

Femina Ridens
Soundtrack album by Stelvio Cipriani
Released	1969 (1969)
Genre	Jazz funk psychedelia
Label	CAM

The soundtrack to the film was composed by Stelvio Cipriani and released in 1969.

Track listing

All tracks are written by Stelvio Cipriani.

Side A

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Week-End with Mary"	2:02
2.	"Love Symbol"	2:20
3.	"Hot Skin" (Vocals by Edda Dell'Orso.)	2:46
4.	"Chorus and Brass “Fugato”" (Vocals by Edda Dell'Orso. Choir by I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni.)	2:18
5.	"Rendez-Vous in the Castle"	1:51
6.	"Sophisticated Shake" (Vocals by Edda Dell'Orso.)	3:43

All tracks are written by Stelvio Cipriani.

Side B

No.	Title	Length
1.	"“Femina Ridens” Song" (Choir by I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni. Vocals by Olympia.)	3:23
2.	"Mary's Theme"	2:08
3.	"The Shower" (Vocals by Edda Dell'Orso. Choir by I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni.)	2:44
4.	"The Run in the Alley"	2:48
5.	"Fight of Love" (Choir by I Cantori Moderni di Alessandroni.)	3:21
6.	"Femina Ridens"	1:48

Release

English-language prints have badly faded, so the theater is screening an 85-minute digital English-language version followed by the first three 35mm reels (about 60 minutes) of the Italian version (without subtitles), allowing the viewer to "bathe in the vivid colors and intense production design." ^[6]

References

1. "The Frightened Woman (Piero Schivazappa, 1969)". houseofselfindulgence.blogspot.de. 21 February 2013.
2. "Piero Schivazappa – Femina Ridens AKA The Frightened Woman (1969) (DVD)". worldscinema.org | Cinema of the World. Archived from the original on 2012-09-21.
3. "The Frightened Woman". AllMovie . Retrieved October 18, 2021.
4. "The Laughing Woman". Turner Classic Movies . Archived from the original on March 29, 2016. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
5. "The Laughing Woman". MUBI. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
6. Johnson, G. Allen (Sep 6, 2017). "1969 Italian exploitation film 'The Laughing Woman' plays at Roxie". sfgate.com . Retrieved 16 September 2025.

External links

Reviews

• "Bluray Review - 'The Frightened Woman'". The Movie Waffler. Retrieved 16 September 2025.
• The Frightened Woman - The Spinning Image
• The Overlooked Brilliance of Femina Ridens (1969) - thecarbonfreeze.com
• Hopkins, Peter (29 February 2024). "Italian erotic thriller 'The Frightened Woman' out now". HORROR SCREAMS VIDEO VAULT.

Metadata

• The Frightened Woman - Grindhouse Cinema Database
• "The Laughing Woman". tcmdb Turner Classic Movies . Archived from the original on March 29, 2016.
• "The Frightened Woman". AllMovie .
• The Laughing Woman at IMDb