European anthology movies were all the rage in the 1960s, and regarding this forgotten four-part Italian-French omnibus, released in the U.S. in 1965, if you substitute sex for love then you will get the general idea of the contents.
The first episode is a reverse Pygmalion tale in which Suzy (Franca Rame), the daughter of a Milanese taxi driver, falls for a Sicilian troglodyte-like peasant, Gerlando (Carlo Giuffré), whom her father befriends. She leads him first through a series of language lessons and soon enough he emerges a clean shaven, well-dressed gentleman while she likewise upgrades her appearance. They parade around town before finally driving off together into a new life. There are some funny moments, as when they at first don't recognize each other following their makeovers, and there is a cute bit involving an automatic door that Gerlando has trouble negotiating.
In the second story, in order to carry on with her new boyfriend a woman (Sylva Koscina) rather cheerfully plots to get divorce evidence against her spouse (Gaston Moschin) by luring him with a model (Franca Polsello) that she hires as a maid. In a twist ending, she loses both men. The episode boasts an impressive array of hair designs worn by Koscina and Isa Crescenti, and also benefits from some slight nudity.
In the third story, a newly married screenwriter (Philippe Leroy) is so sexually charged by his wife (Lena von Martens) that he is too exhausted to work. Instead, while he spends his day drawing breasts on paper he also lashes out at her. In turn, she blows up at him for perceived flirting with his female typist. Leroy's screaming writer gets his love and glory blown away when she is seduced by his new male typist (Fabrizio Capucci) who plays shy but is quite wily.
In the final vignette, Luisa (Michèle Mercier), decked out beautifully in black, portrays a fake widow who pulls out all the teary emotional stops in order to cheat grieving widower Matteo (Alberto Lionello). Despite the tragi-comic scenario, there is some amusement here, including a funny seduction scene in which both of them sob uncontrollably as Matteo has great difficulty taking off her clothes, as well as his own.
The first episode is a reverse Pygmalion tale in which Suzy (Franca Rame), the daughter of a Milanese taxi driver, falls for a Sicilian troglodyte-like peasant, Gerlando (Carlo Giuffré), whom her father befriends. She leads him first through a series of language lessons and soon enough he emerges a clean shaven, well-dressed gentleman while she likewise upgrades her appearance. They parade around town before finally driving off together into a new life. There are some funny moments, as when they at first don't recognize each other following their makeovers, and there is a cute bit involving an automatic door that Gerlando has trouble negotiating.
In the second story, in order to carry on with her new boyfriend a woman (Sylva Koscina) rather cheerfully plots to get divorce evidence against her spouse (Gaston Moschin) by luring him with a model (Franca Polsello) that she hires as a maid. In a twist ending, she loses both men. The episode boasts an impressive array of hair designs worn by Koscina and Isa Crescenti, and also benefits from some slight nudity.
In the third story, a newly married screenwriter (Philippe Leroy) is so sexually charged by his wife (Lena von Martens) that he is too exhausted to work. Instead, while he spends his day drawing breasts on paper he also lashes out at her. In turn, she blows up at him for perceived flirting with his female typist. Leroy's screaming writer gets his love and glory blown away when she is seduced by his new male typist (Fabrizio Capucci) who plays shy but is quite wily.
In the final vignette, Luisa (Michèle Mercier), decked out beautifully in black, portrays a fake widow who pulls out all the teary emotional stops in order to cheat grieving widower Matteo (Alberto Lionello). Despite the tragi-comic scenario, there is some amusement here, including a funny seduction scene in which both of them sob uncontrollably as Matteo has great difficulty taking off her clothes, as well as his own.