Le lunghe notti della Gestapo

If, like me, you prefer your Nazisploitation loaded with gore, perversion and nudity, with a generous side order of camp, then you would probably be best advised to goose-step straight past Red Nights of the Gestapo.

Ezio Miani plays Werner von Uhland, an SS Colonel attempting to infiltrate a select group of the bourgeoisie who are known for their dislike of Der Führer. Inviting the seven men to a secret meeting, Werner pairs each guest with a women chosen for her ability to cater for that person's specific perversion (amazingly, each guest seems to have his own unique sexual weakness).

By recording each couple with hidden microphones, Werner hopes to uncover the group's plans to overthrow Hitler's regime, whilst also gathering material for blackmail.

With a script that delves rather too deeply into the political history of the Nazis circa 1941, Fabio De Agostini's movie proves to be more concerned with factual accuracy than in delivering sleaze. Thus, we get frequent extremely dull conversations about the defection of Hess, the progress of the Wehrmacht, and anti-Nazi sentiments amongst the German intelligentsia, and not nearly enough time devoted to the lesbianism, sado-masochism, violence and extreme decadent behaviour that is normally associated with the genre (although a hilarious nymphomaniac and a female Hitler impersonator do try their best to liven up proceedings).

And with the entire movie set in a castle, rather than a concentration camp (like so many other films of its ilk), we don't even get any unnecessarily painful experimentation performed on prisoners. Shame!

Unlike the typical example from the short-lived but oddly prolific Nazisploitation subgenre, THE RED NIGHTS OF THE GESTAPO does not deal with the dehumanizing activities in Nazi concentration camps but rather with all the salacious perversions that a group of renegade anti-Nazi Germans get down to when they are holed up in a castle one night under the supposed pretext of plotting Hitler's downfall. What is even more surprising is that the plot is not only based on a book by one of the supporting characters but is ostensibly driven by actual historical events like Rudolph Hess' defection to Britain in early 1941 seeking to sign a Peace Treaty, the proliferation of anti-Hitler sentiments among key figures in the German bourgeoisie which came to a head in the unsuccessful "Night of the Long Knives" assassination attempt on Hitler's life, Hitler's march on Russia in mid-1941, etc.

The Gestapo blackmail Hess' right-hand man (after bugging his apartment and threatening him with the kidnapping of his son) into organizing a party which would gather together the leading figures of the uprising. But, for most of the film's running time, the Gestapo's intentions seem not to find out how the latter plan to overthrow the Nazi regime but rather to prove that even these would-be saviours of the Fatherland have their sordid weaknesses: aided by a handful of truly loose women, the meeting degenerates into one sleaze marathon which ends with the unceremonious gunning down of all concerned by SS troops. As can be expected, there is a sheer barrage of nudity on display exacerbated with the pre-requisite traits of lesbianism, paedophilia, sado-masochism, etc. Unfortunately, there are none of the familiar Euro-Cult faces or even a rousing score which would make all this palatable; what we have instead are an abysmal SS anthem, "Lullaby for Monsters"(!!), whose lyrics have to be understood to be disbelieved, stiff acting (pardon the pun) including a female Hitler impersonation and a hilariously defiant farting gesture from one silver-haired stud of an aristocrat!

Although "Red Nights of the Gestapo" is extremely boring, poorly made and totally unmemorable, I somewhat feel obliged to reward it with a *slightly* higher rating than the majority of Nazisploitation flicks I've seen before. Why? Because these stupid films usually always revolve on sleaze and repulsive experiments in concentration camps, filled with perverted guards and deranged doctors, but "Red Nights…" is at least a little more ambitious. The plot revolves on a Nazi (a typical one with blond hair and blue eyes) who has to come up with a plan to prevent an already plotted murder conspiracy against Hitler himself. To accomplish his mission, Werner does a whole lot of things that don't make any sense – unless I wasn't paying enough attention – like kidnapping the daughter of a Swedish industrialist, recruiting nymphomaniac women for the army or forcing a fellow officer to drink the breast milk of a female prisoner. What the hell? The absolute funniest sequence shows a doctor giving a scalpel to a female prisoner and commanding her to hurt herself. The scalpel is clearly just a red pen and the blood she licks is simply ink! Practically ALL Nazi-exploitation movies are total duds and not worth tracking down (two exceptions being "Salon Kitty" and "Ilsa, She Wolf of the SS"). They're the most boring films imaginable and the sexual footage depicted here is of the most UN-erotic kind. For example: in "Red Nights…", there's a scene were a poor girl gets raped with a gun and some sick bastard even bites off one of her nipples! If that idea arouses anyone, they're in urgent need of professional psychological help.

At first I didn't believe such a gem could exist. Then, after seeing it a couple of times, I had to admit that the RED NIGHTS OF THE GESTAPO was one of the best films of the genre.

The plot is a little confusing, but the emphasis is given on the directing, the acting and the shocking sex scenes. A nazi officer has to bring the 12 most influent german personalities into a "castle" for the week-end. 12 girls are already there, sexually trained to "entertain" the men. What follows is an orgy where sex and violence are king and queen, and a general atmosphere of spreaded madness. The scenes are powerful, the actresses are perfect, and I can't help but raise a couple of cut thumbs up to Fabio...

"Red Nights of the Gestapo," as it is known in the US, is an unusual example of Nazi-exploitation films. Here the focus is on story rather than smut (sometimes regrettably), thus endowing the film with a certain credibility, even if it may disappoint viewers looking for softcore erotic horror like "Beat In Heat" or "Ilsa She Wolfe of the SS."

Production values are excellent: Cinematography, sets, locations, wardrobe, editing and score all present exceptionally well. Whereas most Nazi-exploitation movies are saddled with nearly all-female casts and endless scenes of lesbianism, "Red Nights of the Gestapo" gives us a (handsome) male lead and several equally handsome male supporting actors.

Boffing is kept to a minimum, sad to say; although there is an early scene where one woman takes on three good looking Nazi soldiers for a wild foursome, the scene ends before the men have a chance to drop their trousers. Not until around the 88-minute mark (in the uncut 110-minute version), do we get a real sex scene, in which one of the Nazi guests plows a prostitute in the castle lobby while a butler holds her in place and a violinist provides background music!

Aside from these two vignettes, there are many mildly risque moments throughout, which amount to little more than PG-13 tease. It's a shame, because with such excellent production values and a (mostly) attractive cast, this could have been the definitive Nazi-exploitation film, had it not pulled its punches.

Well worth seeking out and long overdue for a blu-ray release. Check it out.