The Libertine (1968)
"La matriarca" (original title)

A sexy widow discovers her late husband had a secret apartment where he cheated on her. Now she decides to used the same apartment to explore her own sexuality.

Director:

Pasquale Festa Campanile

Writers:

Ottavio Jemma (screenplay), Nicolò Ferrari (story)

Stars:

Catherine Spaak, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Gigi Proietti

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Catherine Spaak	...	Margherita aka as Mimi
Jean-Louis Trintignant	...	Dr. Carlo De Marchi
Gigi Proietti	...	Sandro Maldini (as Luigi Proietti)
Luigi Pistilli	...	Otto Frank aka as Mr. X
Renzo Montagnani	...	Fabrizio
Fabienne Dali	...	Claudia
Nora Ricci	...	Mimi's Mother
Edda Ferronao	...	Maria
Vittorio Caprioli	...	Il libraio
Gabriele Tinti	...	Man in Car
Venantino Venantini	...	Aurelio
Frank Wolff	...	Dr. Giulio, the dentist
Paolo Stoppa	...	Professor Zauri
Philippe Leroy	...	Tennis Instructor

Storyline

A sexy widow discovers her late husband had a secret apartment where he cheated on her. Now she decides to used the same apartment to explore her own sexuality.

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Plot Keywords:

widow | misogynist | lust | panties | girl in panties | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

X

Details

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Release Date:

23 December 1968 (Italy)

Also Known As:

The Libertine

Company Credits

Production Co:

Clesi Cinematografica, Finanzia San Marco

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Italian censorship visa #52632 dated 14 November 1968.

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Quotes

Mimi: What do you do?
Mr. X: My life is incredibly boring.
Mimi: Oh, how interesting!

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Connections

Referenced in Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape (2010)

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Soundtracks

"L'amore dice 'Ciao'"
By Guardabassi - Armando Trovajoli (as Trovaioli)
Sung by Andee Silver
ed incisa su disco JOKER 7020

User Reviews

Nostalgic 60's "Eurotica"

A pampered young widow (Catherine Spaak) discovers that her deceased husband was a pervert after finding his secret penthouse and stash of stag films (which strangely seem to be professionally shot and edited). She decides to get post-humous revenge on him by embarking on a series of perverse sexual escapades of her own. She buys a copy of Freud's "Psychpathis Sexualis" (I don't know why she doesn't start with "The Joy of Sex" or something and work her way up) and experiments with an number of strange, but relatively harmless, perversions before finding true love with her chiropractor (Jean Sorel).

Some may find this movie pretty slow and lacking in both sex and nudity. It has some really ridiculous dialogue (or rather monologue--as the lead seems to constantly talk to herself in voice-over or out loud). It seems pretty innocent by today's standards, but it also has startlingly cavalier attitude toward sexual promiscuity. And some of the passages the heroine reads in voice-over from her book (such as the account of a sexual sadist who bites off his partner's nose during sex) are quite jarring compared to the silly and much more wholesome things she actually does. Still I liked this film for it's odd combination of sex and the 60's-era nostalgia you feel watching it today. Catherine Spaak is unbelievably cute and naturally sexy in a way that woman just aren't anymore in the modern world of breast implants and 24-hour-a-day fitness centers. The final image of her nearly naked and in sexual ecstasy as she (literally) rides her boyfriend around the penthouse apartment is very memorable.

Pasquale Campanile was also a pretty damn good director who years later would helm the memorable giallo "Hitchhike". He and his fellow countryman Massimo "Venus in Furs" Dallamano actually might have done "Eurotica" better than more famous European directors like Jesus Franco, Jean Rollins, and Jose Larraz, but they are much less internationally renowned today, probably because their work never crossed into the horror and fantasy genres. It's very worthy stuff, nevertheless--seek it out.