1974's "A Black Ribbon for Deborah" made three appearances on Pittsburgh's Chiller Theater (under its simplified US title "Deborah"), the third by special request, but found few fans or even a cult following in the decades since. Marina Malfatti stars in the title role of infertile bride Deborah Lagrange, whose scientist husband Michael (Bradford Dillman) acknowledges that what she wants more than anything else is a baby. Her obsession with children manifests itself in psychic fashion, as she first anticipates a circus acrobat's fall, then almost kills a medium, Herman Ofenbauer (Gig Young), with forceful energy during a demonstration. The journey home is interrupted by a vehicle that crashes off the road, resulting in the husband badly shaken, his pregnant wife fighting for her life. Eventually Deborah befriends the woman, Mira Wener (Delia Boccardo), whose calming influence comforts Michael, but it's only the calm before the storm as Deborah reveals herself to be pregnant, despite her doctor's assurance that it would take a miracle for her to conceive. It's difficult to warm up to any of the characters, particularly the often hysterical Deborah, though an obviously disheveled Gig Young provides necessary exposition while pumping some life into the draggy narrative. Dillman can do little with his one note character, who truly loves his wife but remains helpless to provide what she needs. With her short Mia Farrow-style hair, the attractive Marina Malfatti looks decidedly unappealing, keeping the audience from identifying with her increasingly shrill and unbalanced plight. No true Giallo, though there are some otherworldly goings on that carry a measure of frisson, but only for those viewers who manage to stay awake. Stephen Boyd's "Marta" was another Italian psychodrama that aired on Chiller Theater, featuring the considerable charms of Marisa Mell to carry it through in far more intriguing fashion than this turgid soap opera can muster.
Review of A Black Ribbon for Deborah
