La soldatessa alla visita militare (1977)

Director:

Nando Cicero

Writers:

Nando Cicero (writer) &
Francesco Milizia (writer) ...

Release Date:

2 September 1977 (Italy)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot Keywords:

Italy | Italian Soldier | Sex Comedy | Female Nudity | Nurse

Cast

Edwige Fenech	...	Eva Marini
Renzo Montagnani	...	Colonnello Narciso Fiaschetta
Fiorenzo Fiorentini	...	Warrant Officer at the depot
Alvaro Vitali	...	Alvaro Quattromani
Michele Gammino	...	Gavino Piras
Leo Gullotta	...	Captain Lopez - doctor
Jacques Stany	...	Musumeci - policeman
Nino Terzo	...	Corporal at the depot
Renzo Ozzano	...	Sergeant
Tiberio Murgia	...	Generale Patterson
Lucio Montanaro	...	Soldier with haemorrhoids
Enrico Beruschi	...	Il prete
Mario Carotenuto	...	Colonnello Farina
Graziella Polesinanti	...	Graziella - Guarducci's daughter
Dante Cleri	...	Commendator Guarducci

Runtime:

West Germany:84 min

Country:

Italy | France

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Company:

Dania Film

Trivia:

Italian censorship visa # 70776 delivered on 2-9-1977.

Movie Connections:

Follows La dottoressa del distretto militare (1976)

The first woman in the Italian army was from Algeria

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

Army Doctor Eva Marini wants to join a regiment to secure equal rights for women. So her commanding officer (Mario Carotenuto) sends her off to a boot camp led by Renzo Montagnani, where only the most unruly soldiers end up (something like "The Hill", except here all the offenders are sex obsessed). On the ferry her wallet and papers are stolen and Edwige has to make a detour to the police station. Result: she disappears for about 15 minutes as we follow a group of four disgusting misfits (including Alvaro Vitali and Lucio Montanaro) into camp. This is not a one time deal: once Edwige has joined the regiment, her character periodically disappears from the film as if she was nothing but a sub-plot. Eva Marini never partakes in any military exorcises or trainings (though the tailors go to a lot of trouble fabricating a pair of hot-pants out of military fatigues for her). Each time she is off screen, the movie focuses on low brow humour that would make even the 'Carry On' gang blush.

Amongst the rag tag group of never do wells is one hairy beast of a man (who's hobby is knitting) and Eva takes a shining to him the moment she spots him at the dance. You see, these unruly soldier boys periodically have a disco where they quick quick slow with one another. The anthropoid man grabs her and wants to make for the hills, but is caught and chained to a pole instead. Still, Edwige comes over and gives him a shave, revealing the handsome face of her regular leading man Michele Gammino. It's always the same in these comedies: she starts off wanting to change the Italian way of thinking but soon sets aside all ambitions for love. Meanwhile all the ugly guys are busy lusting after her, especially Colonello Renzo.

There are running gags involving an escape tunnel in the making, a blow up doll and some truly disgusting bets involving Alvaro Vitali's miraculous bodily functions. One gag involving flatulence after a Hungarian meal just seems to go on forever and all the while there is no sign of Edwige. By now nobody is keeping track of what is going on in this camp (let alone the movie), so Eva hatches a plan to get her man with help from the local chaplain. It involves finding a truckload of female recruits wearing hot-pants and the obligatory detour past a couple of transvestites. The finale is the usual uninspired mess with all the idiots running around shouting while the beautiful people jump into bed. Always a bit of a letdown when the movie just ends in the middle of a big mess, as if the writers have never heard of the term 'epilogue'.

6 out of 10