...DOPO DI CHE, UCCIDE IL MASCHIO E LO DIVORA

Based on a play by Juan José Alonso Millán, who also co-wrote the screenplay, MARTA was directed by Spanish filmmaker José Antonio Nieves Conde. His influence for MARTA's story was not so much the giallo flavorings of Dario Argento, as some might suspect from its wordy Italian title, but more from the films of Alfred Hitchcock, with a psychopath linked to a mother who dies from a morbid relationship, whose hobby is collecting insects instead of taxidermy, and a notorious vice of spying on beautiful women from hidden holes in the walls. MARTA stars Austrian actress Marisa Mell, who became very popular in Europe (especially in Italy, where she co-starred in DANGER: DIABOLIK and many other genre movies). She essays a double role here, playing both the titular Marta and the missing wife, Pilar, thereby confirming both women's resemblance. Miguel, the aristocratic landowner who lives alone in a large castle and spends his days studying insects, was played by North Irish actor Stephen Boyd (BEN-HUR, FANTASTIC VOYAGE). At the time, Boyd was in an actual relationship with Mell, so their charged sexual chemistry on screen was more than simply good acting.

Piero Piccioni's score for MARTA is an interesting and engaging mélange of original cues along with a large variety of library music or cues tracked in from other films. The repetition of motifs, textures, and full-on themes throughout the score assertively integrates the music with the drama playing out on screen. Even with a variety of individual tracks and musical sequences, Piccioni ties most of them together by recognizable instrumental patterns and designs that characterize the uncertain and potentially dangerous liaison between Marta, Pilar, and Miguel.

Chris' Soundtrack Corner is delighted to make MARTA available in this 30-track CD edition. It's one of Piero Piccioni's most stimulating thriller scores, with its wealth of themes and variations that offer an intriguing listening experience. The album is produced by Christian Riedrich and mastered by Manmade Mastering. The CD is accompanied by a 12-page illustrated booklet featuring detailed notes by Randall D. Larson. With this expanded CD edition from Chris' Soundtrack Corner, we include Piccioni's original 11-track playlist with an additional assortment of mostly unreleased cues culled from the film's soundtrack.