Obsessions charnelles

You may have thought the (pretty daft) plot idea of killing a man by making him have too much and too intensive sexual intercourse originated from the American Erotic Thriller of the late 80s or early 90s. In that case you were wrong. The idea popped up a few times in 70s Italian exploiters (and probably earlier than that) and this film is a perfect example. Erna Schurer is the femme fatale who avenges the financial misfortune of her father by entering the life of the culprit, seducing him, marrying him and then bonking him to death. The lucky b******.

A businessman (who everyone for some reason calls "the professor") cheats a count out of his seaside castle. He moves his sickly wife to the castle and while she's terminally ill and bed-ridden, he proceeds to freely philander with his wife's nurse (Femi Benussi), who actually falls in love with the cad, with his sexy blonde secretary, and with a young college girl (Erna Schurer), who is part of group students hanging around the beach whom he takes sailing on his yacht while his ailing wife and lovestruck mistress are stuck at home. He gets his comeuppance though when one the women he has wronged basically decides to screw him to death (which is perhaps not the most terrible kind of vengeance imaginable). This death-by-sex plot wasn't quite the old saw in 1974 that it is today, but it is very ham-handedly executed. The man is fairly young and fit at the beginning of the movie, but several weeks later he is on his deathbed (yet still apparently able to have more sex).

This could be considered a 70's Italian giallo, which I consider one of the best exploitation genres ever. But it more resembles the later "erotic thriller" genre (popular both in America and Italy in the 80's and 90's), which is probably one of the worst. The two genres are superficially similar, and the former certainly inspired the latter, but while the gialli have ridiculously convoluted but colorful and creative plots, the "erotic thrillers" have pretty stupid and very perfunctory plots. While the giallo often have a great visual style, the erotic thrillers are usually just so much soft-focus porno gloss. While the gialli have great music, the "erotic thrillers" are usually filled with wretched pop or sub-Kenny G. soft jazz. While the gialli often had genuinely talented people both behind and in front of the the camera, the "erotic thrillers" were lensed by hacks and full of talentless "scream queens"and erstwhile porn stars. And while the gialli may have been spiced with sex and nudity, the "erotic thrillers" have pretty much nothing else BUT sex and nudity. This movie isn't quite as dire as an "erotic thriller", but it's certainly much closer to that level of quality.

Director Alfredo Rizzo had earlier done an inept giallo/horror movie called "The Bloodsucker Leads the Dance" (also featuring the actress Femi Benussi and, I think, the same castle), which is still more entertaining than this simply because it is so much more bizarre. Femi Benussi was very prolific in films of this era and could, at times, be a decent actress, but she is mostly wasted here. German actress Erna Schurer was definitely a pair that could beat a full house, but she was not much of a leading actress. (The sexy Sonia Viviani is also in the supporting cast as one of Schurer's topless co-ed friends). The English dubbing, as usual, is awful and renders the movie even more of an endurance test. Not really recommended.

"Carnalita" is a giallo without violence.

Don't worry, though: it makes up for the lack of violence with a healthy dose of nudity.

Typically, the movie is about horrible, faithless rich people - in particular an average looking middle aged guy who has his pick of a bunch of sexy ladies half his age.

In this one, the rich guy's wife is sick, so he employs a beautiful nurse played by Femi Benussi whom he immediately seduces. The nurse falls for him, but he already has his sights set on other women who he meets after cheating a count out of his seaside chalet.

The pace is slow - some would say tediously - and the movie doubles down with some plot twists right at the end, revealing its debt to giallo, however I was bored by then and not really paying attention. It felt like too much too late. The movie clearly wanted to be a softcore romp in the sand. The plot - what plot there is - felt like an encumbrance.

The following sentence often gets used and misused in movie reviews, but in case of "Naked and Lustful" it's definitely appropriate: "they don't make films like this anymore!". True, you simply cannot imagine a film like this to be made today, and that's probably a good thing, because it's sexist, women-unfriendly, and extremely non-woke. Then again, films like "Naked and Lustful" - and Italian cinema in general - are the reason why many of us, cult-fanatics, still worship the seventies after fifty years!

I bet a $1.000 that every male viewer secretly (or openly, for that matter) wishes to live the life of the lead character Gabriele Luciano! He's a wealthy businessman but, apart from attending a couple of meetings, he doesn't work that much. His wife Elisabeth is terribly ill, but he certainly doesn't suffer from a lack of love and physical pleasure. At home, he fools around with his wife's private nurse Anna (lovely cult heroine Femi Benussi), and at work he has his gorgeous blond secretary who takes care of his needs. Luciano then also buys a magnificent castle for his wife, and when he goes out to his yacht, he meets the ravishing blond student Roberta as his third mistress. Life is good, when you are Luciano.

The plot then makes a couple of weird and highly implausible, yet very entertaining twists. Elisabeth eventually dies, with a little bit of unwanted help from nurse Anna. Too bad for her, Luciano chooses to remarry Roberta, but she has a little secret agenda of her own. I can only describe the absurd ending by referring to a famous line from the TV-series "Futurama", namely "Death by snu-snu!" Once again, I wish I was lucky Luciano.

I watched "Naked and Lustful" because it's often referred to as a Giallo, and I hope to watch every single Giallo ever made. According to me, however, this film doesn't feature any Giallo-trademarks whatsoever. Strange as it may sound, Luciano isn't even such a bad person. Okay, he unbuttons the blouse of a beautiful servant without her permission, but apart from that all the women throw themselves at his feet on their own free will. And, although he cheats on her in the same room whilst she's passed out from her medication, he treats his wife with care and makes sure she's comfortable. Strange film, but most certainly recommended. Apart from copious amounts of nudity - duh - there's also an excellent score by Carlo Savina, and fine cinematography by Aldo Greci.

Alfredo Rizzo was an Italian actor who appeared in some 100 films though nothing of any particular note and he also made a handful of films as Director of which this is one. Another of his films as Director was The Bloodsucker Leads the Dance, about which I recall noting that there was no bloodsucker and no dance. This is equally vacuous. true this time the title, Naked and Lustful is borne out by much fleshy action but just what the heck is it supposed to be? It occurred to me halfway through after some cringe making remarks by some old guy on a boat that this might be intended as a comedy. In the end, I think black comedy might have been the intention with lots of sexy action and of course, as in the aforementioned film, lots of shots of the castle. But Mr Rizzo seems not to know what makes a film work and creating an interest in the characters or the action way beyond him. By the end there is something almost likable and we have certainly been exposed to plenty of nakedness, but a good film, I don't think so.