Une poule, un train... et quelques monstres

While some of the segments are no more than 5 minutes long, others never seem to end. All of them star Nino Manfredi and feature people obsessed with sex in one way or another. It stays relatively tame until the final sketch, from which the movie gets its title.

`La Diva' A fashion model brings an injured man to hospital. Naturally the doctors only have eyes for her and most of the other patients forget about their pain and jump out of bed to ogle her. 5 out of 10

`Processo a Porte Chiuse' A chicken thief tries to defend himself in court. Effectively a 5 minute monologue by a cross eyed Nino. 4 out of 10

`Ornella' The obligatory transvestite sketch.'Ornella' receives news that his pen pall (who is unaware of Ornella's true gender) is coming for a visit and pretends that Ornella is his sister. This segment goes on longer than necessary and fails to deliver a satisfying ending. 3 out of 10

`Il Guardone' The funniest bit is also the shortest (and the only one without any dialogue). It concerns a near sighted peeping Tom and features some great Sixties music. 7 out of 10

`L'ultima Vergine' A young woman suspects the phone company man of being a vicious criminal. Nino deadpans all the way through. A bit repetitive but not too long. 5 out of 10

`Motrice Mia' A married man has an unhealthy obsession with trains. Quite a clever and disturbing little sketch featuring a solid buildup and some funny lines after the cat is out of the bag. 6 out of 10

`Vedo Nudo' A fashion editor starts to see naked women everywhere he goes.This one-joke sketch is just an excuse to put in as many flashes of female nudity they could get away with in 1969. 'Blow Up' like fashion models and Nino's Sixties bachelor pad ad to the fun but it takes to much time to resolve itself. 5 out of 10

Average: 5 out of 10

A "spicy" comedy, in the style of the time, which brings together a talented director, Dino Risi, with an actor of enormous resources, Nino Manfredi. Both of them often gave in to populism, with banal films, comedies of embarrassed eroticism. But they have works of undeniable value on their resumes. Il Sorpasso is an excellent film by Risi, and Manfredi was one of the most important Italian actors of his generation, with memorable roles, such as Uglies, Dirty and Bad, by Scola, or The Executioner, by the Spanish Berlanga.

Even when they gave in to the easy way out, as in this Vedo Nudo, they did so with good taste and professionalism. It is an entertaining and well-made film, although not very ambitious.

It is deeply regrettable that the copy available on YouTube is completely censored, even in scenes as innocent as women in bras. What did not bother the censors in 1969, bothers the new self-censors of political correctness. It seems that, in some essential aspects, we are living in a period of civilizational regression. A disgrace to YouTube!

I really love this film, it has such a kind nature to it. Lots of lighthearted jokes and quirky people do quirky things, all while thinking about sex. The film grain is gorgeous as are a lot of films from this era, making 60s Italy seem like a surreal wonderland.

After Alberto Sordi and Ugo Tognazzi, the greatest Italian and not only Italian comic actors, comes Nino Manfredi. Or in other words, all three, together with Vittorio Gassman, form the four aces of classic Italian cinematographic comedy. We have seven sketches here, all with Manfredi, one better than the other. Manfredi plays seven different characters, not just Cacopardo as he is credited right here on IMDb. The best sketch is the 4th, in which Manfredi is a guy who comes to a young lady's house to fix the phone and looks exactly like the serial killer monster whose picture is in the newspapers. Until the end of the episode we won't know if he is the monster or not.

The 2nd best is the one in which Manfredi, almost unrecognizable, cross-eyed, plays a rather stupid, scoundrel peasant who raped a chicken. Dino Risi was an excellent Italian director who delighted me with great films such as "The Treasure of San Gennaro" Original title: Operazione San Gennaro (1966), with the same super talented Manfredi and another super talented guy named Mario Adorf, "Straziami ma di baci saziami" (1968), also with Manfredi and the huge Ugo Tognazzi, "The Widower" Original title: Il vedovo (1959), with the one and only great Alberto Sordi and, especially, "The Monsters" Original title: I mostri (1963), in my opinion, together with "The Party" (1968), with Peter Sellers, and "Some Like It Hot" (1959), the three best comedies of all time.

Not his most famous film, but combine his talent with director Dini Risi and you can't go far wrong. One other user left a review and my reactions were different, so I am writing this as a point of comparison.

1) La Diva. The star-worship satire hits the spot here, with the great Sylva Koscina playing herself, a movie star whose presence distracts Dr. Manfredi from his duties. 7/10

2) 'Processo a Porte Chiuse' Short and hysterical, this caused a scandal on release. The other reviewer got it wrong - this is not about a chicken thief! The dialect is thick, but Manfredi's impression of how he was provoked is priceless! 9/10

3) Ornella. A sensitive, repressed Manfredi meet the man with whom he has been sharing tender letters under the guide of a women What could have been crude is in fact a surprisingly tender sketch and holds up even today. 10/10 Best in the film!

4) Il Guardone. Short Peeping Tom sketch with a great pay-off! 8/10

5) L'ultima Vergine. So dated that it ruins the fun - almost. 5/10

6) Motrice Mia. Kinky and creative! 8/10

7) Vedo Nudo. OK, he sees nudes. We get the satire; the culture has gone tittie-crazy and so has Manfredi, who has to go in for a cure. Could have been great at half the length, but it really drags. 4/10