Dyanne Thorne, who starred as a wicked soldier of fortune in the Naziploitation film Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS and a pair of sequels, has died. She was 83.
Thorne died Jan. 28 of pancreatic cancer while in hospice care in Las Vegas, Howard Maurer, her husband of 44 years and frequent co-star, told The Hollywood Reporter.
After a turn as the Fairy Godmother in the X-rated Pinocchio (1971), Thorne portrayed a warden in a Nazi concentration camp in the waning days of World War II in the lurid She Wolf of the SS (1975), directed by Don Edmonds.
Ilsa subjects her ...
Thorne died Jan. 28 of pancreatic cancer while in hospice care in Las Vegas, Howard Maurer, her husband of 44 years and frequent co-star, told The Hollywood Reporter.
After a turn as the Fairy Godmother in the X-rated Pinocchio (1971), Thorne portrayed a warden in a Nazi concentration camp in the waning days of World War II in the lurid She Wolf of the SS (1975), directed by Don Edmonds.
Ilsa subjects her ...
Dyanne Thorne, who starred as a wicked soldier of fortune in the Naziploitation film Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS and a pair of sequels, has died. She was 83.
Thorne died Jan. 28 of pancreatic cancer while in hospice care in Las Vegas, Howard Maurer, her husband of 44 years and frequent co-star, told The Hollywood Reporter.
After a turn as the Fairy Godmother in the X-rated Pinocchio (1971), Thorne portrayed a warden in a Nazi concentration camp in the waning days of World War II in the lurid She Wolf of the SS (1975), directed by Don Edmonds.
Ilsa subjects her ...
Thorne died Jan. 28 of pancreatic cancer while in hospice care in Las Vegas, Howard Maurer, her husband of 44 years and frequent co-star, told The Hollywood Reporter.
After a turn as the Fairy Godmother in the X-rated Pinocchio (1971), Thorne portrayed a warden in a Nazi concentration camp in the waning days of World War II in the lurid She Wolf of the SS (1975), directed by Don Edmonds.
Ilsa subjects her ...
Dyanne Thorne, star of the groundbreaking exploitation classic Ilsa, She-wolf Of The SS, (1975) has died. According to the IMDb, she was 77, though she may have been several years older. My first encounter with Ms Thorne (and the twins) occurred in 1977 when I was 15 and my bother and cousins and I traveled to Piggot, Arkansas from our grandparents home in Malden, Missouri to see Rolling Thunder. The theater (I wish I could remember the name of it) had a special ‘Adults Only’ show at 11pm. When Rolling Thunder ended about 10:45, we ducked down behind our seats so the usher wouldn’t see us, then popped back up at 11 to see what we were sure was going to be some glorious fun sex film. The ‘Adults Only’ movie turned out to be Ilsa, She-wolf Of The SS. My life was never the same. To this day, Rolling Thunder and Ilsa, She-wolf...
- 2/6/2020
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
A Planet Fury-approved selection of notable genre releases for May.
42nd Street Forever (2012) Blu-ray Available Now
225 minutes of pure awesome. Exploitation fans won’t want to miss Synapse Films' latest trailer compilation. This new release features theatrical trailers from the first two volumes with plenty of additional material. Enjoy classic horror, science fiction, action and exploitation coming attractions remastered in high definition. The 80+ titles include such grindhouse favorites as Dr. Butcher, MD, The Pom Pom Girls, Werewolves on Wheels, Savage Sisters, The Teacher, The Evictors and Chained Heat.
The Wizard of Gore/The Gore Gore Girls (1970/1972) Blu-ray Available Now
Something Weird’s Blu-ray release of Herschell Gordon Lewis’ Blood Trilogy last year was a minor revelation. The Blood Feast print, presented in glorious high definition, was stunning in its gore-soaked clarity. All three films (including Two Thousand Maniacs and Color Me Blood Red) highlighted superior transfers, but Blood Feast was the standout.
42nd Street Forever (2012) Blu-ray Available Now
225 minutes of pure awesome. Exploitation fans won’t want to miss Synapse Films' latest trailer compilation. This new release features theatrical trailers from the first two volumes with plenty of additional material. Enjoy classic horror, science fiction, action and exploitation coming attractions remastered in high definition. The 80+ titles include such grindhouse favorites as Dr. Butcher, MD, The Pom Pom Girls, Werewolves on Wheels, Savage Sisters, The Teacher, The Evictors and Chained Heat.
The Wizard of Gore/The Gore Gore Girls (1970/1972) Blu-ray Available Now
Something Weird’s Blu-ray release of Herschell Gordon Lewis’ Blood Trilogy last year was a minor revelation. The Blood Feast print, presented in glorious high definition, was stunning in its gore-soaked clarity. All three films (including Two Thousand Maniacs and Color Me Blood Red) highlighted superior transfers, but Blood Feast was the standout.
- 5/16/2012
- by Bradley Harding
- Planet Fury
Before we get to the list this week, a special note: I got a very nice email this week from Jackie Keen, the wife of legendary British underground filmmaker Jeff Keen. I’ve written about Jeff a few times on Bad Lit, particularly about his troublesome situation. If you’re not familiar with Jeff’s incredible body of work, read that link and do yourself a favor and check out his official website.
This week’s Must Read is Craig Baldwin’s history and understanding of why San Francisco is such a mecca for found-footage filmmakers such as himself. The article, on the Moving Image Source website, is reprinted from the recent book Radical Light. Speaking of Radical Light, Reed Johnson of the L.A. Times previews the Los Angeles screening tour that’s accompanying the book. Also to celebrate Radical Light, Chuck Stephens of Blip Magazine reviews several films...
This week’s Must Read is Craig Baldwin’s history and understanding of why San Francisco is such a mecca for found-footage filmmakers such as himself. The article, on the Moving Image Source website, is reprinted from the recent book Radical Light. Speaking of Radical Light, Reed Johnson of the L.A. Times previews the Los Angeles screening tour that’s accompanying the book. Also to celebrate Radical Light, Chuck Stephens of Blip Magazine reviews several films...
- 1/16/2011
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
(This film was sent to Bad Lit as a screener from the 2010 Boston Underground Film Festival, which runs March 25-April 1.)
After a bombastic opening credits sequence and an introduction that promises tons of gratuitous and sleazy sex, nudity and violence, the documentary American Grindhouse settles into something really hardcore: A hardcore history lesson.
Directed by Elijah Drenner, this chronicle of the seedy underbelly of film history does a damn fine job of showing how the notorious exploitation cinema racket is really the history of all cinema, that even from the days of Thomas Edison, all movies focused on the salacious and the bloodthirsty in order to draw in audiences. However, it is the grindhouse films that makes no bones about appealing to prurient interests while so-called mainstream films hide their licentious side under the cover of art.
One type of obscure, mostly-forgotten film covered in American Grindhouse are the ’50s...
After a bombastic opening credits sequence and an introduction that promises tons of gratuitous and sleazy sex, nudity and violence, the documentary American Grindhouse settles into something really hardcore: A hardcore history lesson.
Directed by Elijah Drenner, this chronicle of the seedy underbelly of film history does a damn fine job of showing how the notorious exploitation cinema racket is really the history of all cinema, that even from the days of Thomas Edison, all movies focused on the salacious and the bloodthirsty in order to draw in audiences. However, it is the grindhouse films that makes no bones about appealing to prurient interests while so-called mainstream films hide their licentious side under the cover of art.
One type of obscure, mostly-forgotten film covered in American Grindhouse are the ’50s...
- 3/22/2010
- by Mike Everleth
- Underground Film Journal
There are so many books, articles, and documentaries available on the subject of American exploitation cinema that new revelations are increasingly scarce and unlikely. A new documentary called American Grindhouse from director Elijiah Drenner is an example of the difficulty in uncovering anything new in this area.
Although the subject is briefly discussed, American Grindhouse isn't about grindhouse theaters. It is about exploitation films. To this end, the film is split into multiple chapters that cover a wide array of exploitation sub-genres, including film noir, teen beach party films, nudie cuties, roughies, gore, bikers, porn, women in prison, nazi exploitation, and blaxploitation.
Robert Forster handles the narration. 21 interviewees are featured with a set of core interviewees like Joe Dante, Alison Anders, John Landis, and film noir expert Eddie Mueller garnering extended screen time. Interviews with prominent figures, including H.G. Lewis, Larry Cohen, Jack Hill, and Lewis Teague. Rare interviews with people like Judy Brown,...
Although the subject is briefly discussed, American Grindhouse isn't about grindhouse theaters. It is about exploitation films. To this end, the film is split into multiple chapters that cover a wide array of exploitation sub-genres, including film noir, teen beach party films, nudie cuties, roughies, gore, bikers, porn, women in prison, nazi exploitation, and blaxploitation.
Robert Forster handles the narration. 21 interviewees are featured with a set of core interviewees like Joe Dante, Alison Anders, John Landis, and film noir expert Eddie Mueller garnering extended screen time. Interviews with prominent figures, including H.G. Lewis, Larry Cohen, Jack Hill, and Lewis Teague. Rare interviews with people like Judy Brown,...
- 3/20/2010
- Screen Anarchy
In 1975, Legendary exploitation producer David Friedman and director Don Edmonds gave us the taboo-busting cult classic Ilsa, She-wolf Of The SS about a sexy but evil Nazi Commandante who gleefully performs sadistic experiments on (mostly female) prisoners and has a nasty penchant for castrating potential lovers who fail to satisfy her. Ilsa was based in part on an actual person, Ilse Koch, who tortured death camp prisoners and collected skin from those who had tattoos. Dyanne Thorne was a busty red-headed 43 year old former Vegas showgirl who had toiled around in the low-budget sexploitation biz since the mid ‘60s with roles in films like Sin In The Suburbs (1964) and The Swinging Barmaids (1973). Working as a chauffer driver at the time, Thorne was tapped to portray Ilsa and the rest is exploitation cinema history (reportedly Phyllis Davis of Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls and the “Vega$” TV show was Friedman...
- 8/12/2009
- by Tom
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
The battle for horror supremacy rages on and Fangoria continues to fight the undead army, leaving yet another pile of mangled flesh in the smoldering wreckage behind us.
Let's take a look back at the past seven days worth of Fangoria news, features, reviews, blogs and more in your Week in Review for 7/05/2009...
Fangoria Entertainment Updates:
Fangoria #285 Hits The Streets! Happy 4th Of July from Fangoria! Live webcast with Colin director coming Tuesday Win Night Train on DVD! Horror News:
First Trailer for La Horde aka The Horde Rumor: Possible street date for Trick 'R Treat? Early details on The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn A new image from Rob Zombie's Halloween II Frightfest UK lineup revealed! An Excerpt from Lloyd Kaufman's Produce Your Own Damn Movie! New Stills from The Final Destination Blood: The Last Vampire theaters announced Bad Biology and Maniac mavens get bloody in new movie Synapse...
Let's take a look back at the past seven days worth of Fangoria news, features, reviews, blogs and more in your Week in Review for 7/05/2009...
Fangoria Entertainment Updates:
Fangoria #285 Hits The Streets! Happy 4th Of July from Fangoria! Live webcast with Colin director coming Tuesday Win Night Train on DVD! Horror News:
First Trailer for La Horde aka The Horde Rumor: Possible street date for Trick 'R Treat? Early details on The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn A new image from Rob Zombie's Halloween II Frightfest UK lineup revealed! An Excerpt from Lloyd Kaufman's Produce Your Own Damn Movie! New Stills from The Final Destination Blood: The Last Vampire theaters announced Bad Biology and Maniac mavens get bloody in new movie Synapse...
- 7/5/2009
- by no-reply@fangoria.com (James Zahn)
- Fangoria
The guys behind the on-line series America’S Bad Kids recently spoke to genre-fave actor Sid Haig and got his thoughts on the passing of Don Edmonds, the exploitation veteran (and director of the infamous Ilsa, She-wolf Of The S.S.; see our previous story here) with whom Haig worked early in his career. The tribute video was just posted on-line, and you can check it out below.
Haig also discusses an upcoming project with Jack Hill, who directed him in his first significant fright feature, Spider Baby, back in 1964. To find out more about America’S Bad Kids and view other videos in the series (including an “Exploitation Breakfast” with Edmonds, Haig, Hill and Ilsa star Dyanne Thorne), check out its official website here.
Haig also discusses an upcoming project with Jack Hill, who directed him in his first significant fright feature, Spider Baby, back in 1964. To find out more about America’S Bad Kids and view other videos in the series (including an “Exploitation Breakfast” with Edmonds, Haig, Hill and Ilsa star Dyanne Thorne), check out its official website here.
- 7/1/2009
- by no-reply@fangoria.com (Michael Gingold)
- Fangoria
Time to close out one week, and open the books for a fresh one. This past week brought seven incredible days of blood-soaked horror madness. The Fangoria Weekend of Horrors returned to New York City-proper for another stop on the 30th Anniversary Tour; Michael Myers returned to grace the cover of Fango once more; and the remake train continued with updates on Scream, Total Recall, and of course, A Nightmare On Elm Street
Let's take a look back at the past seven days worth of Fangoria news, features, reviews, blogs and more.
Fangoria Entertainment Updates & Weekend Of Horrors Coverage:
Woh NYC '09 Video: Debbie Rochon, Tom DeFeo, and John Russo Woh NYC '09 Video: Craig Singer of Perkins 14 & Dark Ride Woh NYC '09 Video: John Russo - Night Of The Living Dead Woh NYC '09 Video: Ashley Laurence of Hellraiser & Bump Woh NYC '09 Video: America's Bad Kids & Sweatshop Woh...
Let's take a look back at the past seven days worth of Fangoria news, features, reviews, blogs and more.
Fangoria Entertainment Updates & Weekend Of Horrors Coverage:
Woh NYC '09 Video: Debbie Rochon, Tom DeFeo, and John Russo Woh NYC '09 Video: Craig Singer of Perkins 14 & Dark Ride Woh NYC '09 Video: John Russo - Night Of The Living Dead Woh NYC '09 Video: Ashley Laurence of Hellraiser & Bump Woh NYC '09 Video: America's Bad Kids & Sweatshop Woh...
- 6/7/2009
- by no-reply@fangoria.com (James Zahn)
- Fangoria
Right on the heels of Exploitation director, Don Edmonds' death, actor David Carradine has also passed away. Carradine was found dead in Bangkok and died either late Wednesday or early Thursday due to an apparent suicide. Carradine was famous for acting in a wide-range of films, so many I don't even know where to begin. I guess he best known for his role on the TV show Kung Fu and starred in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. You can check out his impressive list of credits on IMDb.com. He was 73 years old. "While there have been conflicting reports as to the nature of Carradine's death, Thai newspaper The Nation is claiming that an unidentified Thai police source said the actor was found hung in his hotel room from curtain rope in an apparent suicide." -- Source To keep updated on all of the 2009 celebrity deaths visit our 2009 Celebrity Death list.
- 6/4/2009
- by wil
- HorrorYearbook
It was with great sadness that this Fango contributor learned of the passing of Don Edmonds. You see, ever since I had the pleasure of meeting Don in 2003 (through another Fango writer, Paul Gaita), I have been humbled and honored to call him a friend. Having encountered Ilsa, She Wolf Of The S.S. as a 19-year-old at university in Stirling, Scotland (it was banned in the UK at that time and remains in limbo to this day), I remember being shocked silly by the movie—and eager to find out who on Earth would have made such a thing! Luckily for me, the gentleman behind Ilsa was a gentle, humble and very, very funny soul who was filled with great stories.
Don Edmonds’ legacy includes acting turns (he starred in the drive-in favorite Gidget Goes Hawaiian and the television series Flubber), but it is for the 1975 bad-taste classic Ilsa...
Don Edmonds’ legacy includes acting turns (he starred in the drive-in favorite Gidget Goes Hawaiian and the television series Flubber), but it is for the 1975 bad-taste classic Ilsa...
- 6/1/2009
- by no-reply@fangoria.com (Calum Waddell)
- Fangoria
Who knew that the Nazis -- one of the most brutal regimes in the history of brutal regimes -- would be responsible for such fun, mind-blowingly awesome entertainment? The second I see a dude in a grey German uniform and an eye patch enter the frame, I’m like ‘Whoa. That Nazi is going to provide me a great amount of entertainment this evening’. So, with Inglorious Bastards having recently premiered at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, I figured I'd put together a list of some awesome WW2 films as a resource for anyone wanting to beef up their WW2 film knowledge before checking out Tarantino's self-proclaimed 'masterpiece'. It's worth noting that I focused on older films -- pre-1980 for the most part -- and only the stories featuring Nazi's. It was tough to cut this down to 15 films, but I'm sure you all will be able to come up with...
- 5/26/2009
- by Jay C.
- FilmJunk
What's the time...it's time to get "Ilsa"! This week on Deadpit Radio we're joined by legendary exploitation director Don Edmonds to discuss the "Ilsa" series, as well as his work with many horror luminaries. We're talking about everything from The Munsters to True Romance, so strap yourself in for a trip through a remarkable career. Get your heads outta your asses and into some horror DVD reviews this week as well with offerings like Dark Sky's twin terrors feature "Madhouse" and the Asian invasion centerpiece "Tokyo Gore Police". It's a merry old time this week because after you wade through the tidings of our bountiful show, Chester Grim has a new 30 min. Christmas Spectacular to tuck you in! All this plus some new Deadpit shit to buy, the latest news on upcoming shows, and more...only on Deadpit.com...
- 12/12/2008
- by deadpit@deadpit.com
- deadpit.com
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