L'alcova (1985)

Director:

Joe D'Amato

Writers:

Ugo Moretti (story)
Ugo Moretti (screenplay)

Release Date:

21 January 1985 (Italy)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot Keywords:

Lesbian Sex | Marriage | Writing A Book | Writer | Servant

Cast

Lilli Carati	...	Alessandra
Annie Belle	...	Wilma
Al Cliver	...	Elio De Silveris
Roberto Caruso	...	Furio
Laura Gemser	...	Zerbal
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Nello Pazzafini	...	The Gardener (uncredited)

Directed by
Joe D'Amato

Writing credits
Ugo Moretti		(story)
Ugo Moretti		(screenplay)

Original Music by
Manuel De Sica

Cinematography by
Joe D'Amato		(as Federico Slonisco)

Film Editing by
Franco Alessandri
Mariano Laurenti

Production Design by
Richard Ribovske

Costume Design by
Catherine Corbaz

Makeup Department
Alex Hills	....	makeup artist
Charles Ross	....	hair stylist
Betty Russel	....	hair stylist (as Betty Russell)
Pietro Tenoglio	....	makeup artist (as Peter Trevor)

Production Management
Donatella Donati	....	production manager (as Helen Handris)
Antonio Tacchia	....	production supervisor (as Tony David)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
George Walsh	....	assistant director

Art Department
Albert McCoy	....	property master

Sound Department
Frank Blake	....	boom operator
Paul Parker	....	sound engineer

Special Effects by
Robert Gold	....	special effects

Camera and Electrical Department
Richard Cohen	....	assistant camera
Mike Conte	....	assistant camera
Albert Hillman	....	still photographer
Daniele Massaccesi	....	camera operator (as Larry Hessel)
George O'Hara	....	key grip
Richard Power	....	chief electrician

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Paula Whiter	....	seamstress

Other crew
Telly Albert	....	administrator
Alex Muller	....	production secretary

Production Companies

• Filmirage
• Golden Hawk Entertainment
• M.A.D. Film

Distributors

• Indipendenti Regionali (1985) (Italy) (theatrical)
• Capitol International Video (Italy) (VHS)
• Perfect Video (198?) (West Germany) (VHS)
• Poletel (19??) (Brazil) (VHS)
• Rex Films Home Video (Greece) (VHS)
• Severin Films (2009) (USA) (DVD)
• Video Junkie
• Videocast (198?) (Brazil) (VHS)
• X-Rated Kultvideo (2010) (Germany) (DVD)

Also Known As:

"The Alcove" - , USA (DVD title)

Runtime:

Portugal:88 min | France:90 min | Italy:86 min

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

France:-16 | UK:18 | West Germany:18 (cut)

Company:

Filmirage

Trivia:

The credits claim the screenplay is based on a novel by Judith Wexley. It seems that this novel does not exist and researchers claim they could not locate such a novel.

Quotes:

Wilma:You hypocritical sow!
Alessandra:I love you too, Mata Hari.

A Different Type of D'Amato

Alcove, The (1984)

** (out of 4)

Interesting tale from D'Amato about a Captain (Al Cliver) returning from a battle in Africa where he was given a slave, Zerbal (Laura Gemser) as a gift for saving a tribal leader. Back at home his wife (Lilli Carati) is having an affair with her secretary (Annie Belle) but soon Zerbal begins to come between them but it might be more than just your typical lesbian affair. I was really surprised with this film because it's actually very well-made and features a pretty good story. One is probably going to walk into this thing expecting nothing but a sex romp and while there is a lot of sex it really never takes center stage over the story being told. D'Amato made a very long career out of sex movies so this one here is certainly a lot different than many of the items he was releasing around this period. What really stands out is the actual production. The film takes place during the 1940s so we've got the older cars, costumes and set design, all of which is extremely good looking. Another plus is the cinematography from D'Amato, which to me is his greatest aspect (a lot better than his directing). All of this makes for a pretty interesting atmosphere and most of the sex scenes are quite erotic (though some enter a camp level). The film also benefits from an fun Euro-cult cast with Gemser leading the way as the obvious sex object to everyone. If you've seen any of her films with D'Amato then you should know what to expect. Belle really stands out and delivers a fine performance as does Carati. Cliver, God bless him, is his usual fun self. What keeps the movie from being even better is its rather slow pacing and it also goes on a tad bit too long at 93-minutes. I think a good ten minutes could have been cut out and we really wouldn't have lost anything story-wise. The film is pretty straight-forward and is well-made but at the end of the day this here is still going to be for D'Amato completest only.