Eine Armee Gretchen

As an accurate portrayal of World War II Nazi Germany, SHE DEVILS OF THE SS (aka: FRAULEINS IN UNIFORM) is surpassed only by ILSA: SHE WOLF OF THE SS.

It's a quasi documentary about those brave fighting women of the Third Reich, able to disrobe for action in mere seconds. Who knew the war was this much fun?

In spite of its setting and rampant nudity, it's impossible to be offended, due to the utter lunacy / idiocy of the entire project!

Filmed in the blissful, early 1970's, it's difficult to imagine such a movie being made today...

For better or worse, films in the Nazi exploitation genre aren't really made anymore. Also known as 'nazisploitation', these movies- made primarily in the 1970's- generally focused on Nazis committing sex crimes, often as prison camp overseers during World War II. Most were simply softcore pornography wrapped inside a cigarette-paper thin veneer of plot, though a few- perhaps most notably Liliana Cavani's 'The Night Porter'- had some actual artistic merit, and explored interesting ideas.

Erwin C. Dietrich's 'She Devils of the SS'- also referred to as 'Eine Armee Gretchen', 'Frauleins in Uniform' and, somewhat bizarrely, in Turkey as 'Queen of Vampires'- is not one of the few. As an independent film à la 'The Night Porter', it fails completely, having nothing whatsoever to say- interesting or otherwise. Neither is it a funny film, despite a carefree atmosphere and many moments that seem to have been intended as comedy. Furthermore, as a piece of softcore pornography, it also fails, as it is boring and strangely tame, surely failing to titillate even the most easily arousable individual.

Based on a novel by Karl-Heinz Helms-Liesenhoff- a former German army officer who fled to Switzerland after being sentenced for desertion in 1943- the film is light both on plot and excitement. Dietrich's screenplay- which he wrote under the name Manfred Gregor- centres on Marga Kuhn, a young woman drafted into the Army as a 'Lightning Girl,' essentially a German version of the Japanese 'Comfort Women'. Her job is to further the Aryan cause by giving soldiers pleasure, though with the Red Army closing in, time is running short both for fighting and for fun.

It's a strange beast of a movie, that doesn't follow the usual pattern of nazisploitation flicks: the Nazis aren't portrayed as villains and the women willingly participate in the action, so to speak. It's an oddly light and breezy venture, like 'Carry on Camping' for fascists. Nazis gaily roll about in fields, or enjoy swastika-topped cakes, cheerily praising the Führer whilst cavorting in the nude. Had Dietrich intended it as a straight parody, and leaned more into the comedic side of things, the film could have actually worked. However, he doesn't; large parts of the narrative are turgid melodrama, which- combined with the film's happy-go-lucky air- results in an unusual tonal schizophrenia.

Additionally, the dialogue- written by frequent collaborator Christine Lembach - is stilted and, oftentimes, unintentionally funny. Moreover, as alluded to above, it is a surprisingly dull feature, despite the subject matter. Dietrich seems reticent to show anything graphic or erotic, meaning the nude and sex scenes- of which there are many- are weirdly subdued and insipid. It makes one wonder who Dietrich's intended audience was, as it is too mild for aficionados of filth and too lacking in story for feature film fans.

Having said that, it clearly has high production values. The production design, from Rolf Engler and Vladimir Lasic, looks authentic, while Georg Heiler's costume design appears consistently period-accurate. The weaponry and sets are also strikingly realistic. Moreover, Walter Baumgartner's score is quite stirring, and the cast are generally impressive- with Karin Heske and Carl Möhner doing particularly fine work. However, in a tale devoid of artistic or salacious merit; all that quality is rather wasted.

In short, if you go into Erwin C. Dietrich's 'She Devils of the SS' with carnal pleasures in mind, you'll be disappointed, and if you watch it as a 'straight' feature, you'll be left wanting. In fact, there really are very few reasons to seek it out; unless you're the sole member of the Dietrich fan club, and want to watch everything in his filmography. In that case, you've probably already seen it, and know how underwhelming it is in nearly every regard. Narratively lacking and erotically uninteresting, it's an overwhelmingly banal work. Despite some good performances and high production values, the only memorable thing about 'She Devils of the SS' is its title.

This film has been re-titled Frauliens in Uniform. There a really nice color print on the Roku. Not sure why some of the reviews said this is Nazi exploitation for Germans when the Nazi imagery isn't even allowed there.

The color of the film really pops and the wardrobe looks custom made. Wonder what the budget was?

This has everything you could possibly want out of a sleaze, exploitation grind-house film from the 70s. Only difference is the production values are superb.

The nudity kicks in immediately following the credits and keeps pumping. Including some hot for the 70s lesbian sex. Don't miss it.

I recently watched She Devil of the SS (1973) on the Full Moon app on Prime. The storyline follows the German soldiers towards the end of World War II. Desperate to inspire the troops who know they're about to lose the war, women form free brothels on the front line to inspire the troops to fight harder and overcome impossible odds.

This picture is directed by Erwin C. Dietrich (Caged Women) and stars Karin Heske (Secrets of Naked Girls), Renate Kasché (Lady of Frankenstein), Carl Möhner (Carmen, Baby), Helmut Förnbacher (Manipulation) and Birgit Bergen (Sex Clinic '74).

This is a Swiss exploitation featured plenty of beautiful women, with the expected focus on nudity, including the obligatory shower and sex scenes. However, that's about where the film's appeal ends. The sex scenes are uninspiring, mostly showing soldiers in uniform laying on top of the women, and the humor feels forced, with more misses than hits. That said, the ending sequence does add a bit of fun to the otherwise lackluster film.

In conclusion, She Devils of the SS is a below average addition to the exploitation genre. While it delivers what you might expect in terms of visuals, there's little substance beyond that. I would score this a 4/10 and only recommend it with the appropriate expectations.

In most ways this fits in with the Nazi-sexploiters made in Italy or by Eurocine, except in one: this was made for the German market and consequently we do not get all the usual stereotypes: (i) all Germans are Nazis, (ii) all Nazis are evil, (iii) all Nazis are sexual predators. We just get (ii) and (iii). The film is also less violent and downright nasty than its foreign genre rivals, partly to accommodate the German censors (who always shunned the connection sex/violence) and partly because their target audience would not have been expecting that - for the aforementioned reason.

The supposed identification figures of the film are Dr Kuhn and his daughters, who suffer from not playing Nazi-ball with the required conviction. I qualify this as "supposed", because this is no more than a McGuffin. After a while the film focusses on its real purpose: ogling at beautiful young women in the nude, with some added spice caused by the dangerous surroundings. If this were an accurate description of the going-ons at the Eastern front then the Wehrmacht should not have had much trouble getting volunteers.

Obviously, this isn't complying with historical accuracy, or political correctness. But then, neither are 'Salon Kitty', 'Love Camp 7', 'Train spécial pour SS', 'Ilsa, she-wolf of the SS', or any of the other films of this ilk. One should not expect more of these pictures than a 1970s version of a roughie.