Nazi Love Camp 27 (1977) La svastica nel ventre (original title)

Director:

Mario Caiano

Writers:

Gianfranco Clerici (story) &
Sandro Amati (story) ...
(more)

Release Date:

September 1977 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller | War

Tagline:

What is the worst act a woman can be forced to commit... again and again and again...

Plot:

A Jewish girl and an Aryan, both German, are in love in pre-war times. WW2 breaks up, he is sent to...

Plot Keywords:

Nazi | Death | Sexual Desire | Prison Camp | Depravity

Cast

Sirpa Lane	...	Hannah Meyer
Giancarlo Sisti	...	Captain Kurt von Stein
Roberto Posse	...	Captain Klaus Berger
Gianfilippo Carcano	...	Hanna's Father
Piero Lulli	...	General at the Nazi Brothel
Marzia Ubaldi	...	Frau Gruber
Renata Moar	...	Klaus's Sister
Isabella Russo
Christiana Borghi	...	Woman at the love camp (as Cristiana Borghi)
Mike Morris	...	Herr Gruppenführer
Sarah Crespi	...	First rape victim
Margherita Horowitz	...	Hanna's Mother
Gaetano Russo
Giovanni Di Benedetto		(as Gianni De Benedetto)
Gudrun Gundelach	...	Dr. Günther
Gloria Piedimonte	...	Inga
Gianfranca Dionisi
Rita Moscatelli	...	Elsa - prostitute at the nazi-brothel
Piero Caretto
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Gota Gobert	...	Blonde Nazi Doctor (uncredited)
Alessandro Tedeschi	...	Old SS General (uncredited)

Directed by
Mario Caiano		(as William Hawkins)

Writing credits
Gianfranco Clerici		(story) &
Sandro Amati		(story)
Gianfranco Clerici		(screenplay) &
Mario Caiano		(screenplay)

Original Music by
Francesco De Masi

Cinematography by
Sergio Martinelli		(director of photography)

Film Editing by
Gianmaria Messeri		(as Gian M. Messeri)

Art Direction by
Luciano Spadoni

Set Decoration by
Mario Sertoli

Makeup Department
Gloria Fava	....	assistant makeup artist
Raul Ranieri	....	makeup artist
Nerea Rosmanit	....	hair stylist

Production Management
Cecilia Bigazzi	....	production manager
Viero Spadoni	....	unit manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Eduardo Salerno	....	assistant director

Sound Department
Ugo Celani	....	sound recordist
Armando Janota	....	boom operator
Renato Marinelli	....	sound effects
Romano Pampaloni	....	sound re-recordist

Camera and Electrical Department
Giorgio Garibaldi Schwarze	....	still photographer (as Giorgio Schwarze)
Marco Sperduti	....	assistant camera
Gaetano Valle	....	camera operator

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Fiorella De Simone	....	seamstress
Andrea Viotti	....	costumes

Editorial Department
Antonio Proia	....	first assistant editor
Aurelio Tirimagni	....	second assistant editor

Other crew
Rosanna Seregni	....	continuity

Production Companies

• Filmes

Distributors

• Group 1 International Distribution Organization Ltd. (1977) (USA) (theatrical) (dubbed)
• France Film (1978) (Canada) (theatrical) (Québec)
• Video City Productions (1986) (USA) (VHS)
• Astral Films (????) (Canada) (theatrical)
• Sonoro Filme (????) (Portugal) (theatrical)
• Number One Video (????) (Italy) (VHS)
• Taboo Video (????) (USA) (VHS)
• Tokuma Communications Company (TCC) (Japan) (VHS)
• Video Screen (19??) (Netherlands) (VHS)
• Video Search of Miami (2009) (USA) (DVD) (dubbed) (hardcore version)

Also Known As:

"La svastica nel ventre" - Italy (original title)

Runtime:

Australia:86 min | France:85 min | Portugal:85 min | Canada:85 min (Québec)

Country:

Italy

Language:

Italian

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Finland:(Banned) (1979) | New Zealand:(Banned) | Sweden:15 (cut version) | Canada:18+ (Québec) | Canada:R (Ontario) | France:-16 | Portugal:M/18 | USA:R | Australia:(Banned) | UK:(Banned)

Filming Locations:

Dobbiaco, Bolzano, Trentino - Alto Adige, Italy

Company:

Filmes

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 1 (1996) (V)

Rather drama than exploitation

Despite its exploiting English title "Nazi Love Camp 27" and despite the fact that this film belongs to the so-called "Nazi Camp films" (or, even worse, "Nazi porn films", although these films are all not pornographic) that were made in Italy following the success of both "Ilsa - She-Wolf of the SS" by Don Edmonds and Pier Paolo Pasolini's shocking masterpiece "Salo o le 120 Giornate di Sodoma", it is rather an anti-war drama than an exploitation movie.

Unlike the other films of this notorious genre - like e.g. Bruno Mattei's "KZ9 - Lager di Sterminio" or the outrageous "Le Ultime Orgie del Terzo Reich", it focuses on a very depressing story about a young Jewish woman that gets captured by the Gestapo and deported in a concentration camp, only to be taken home by a influential Nazi general with masochist tendencies (of course he only shows these tendencies towards the Jewish woman when they're alone). He makes her the boss of a brothel for Nazi officers, and at first, she accepts the job because it's her only way to stay alive. Needless to say that the story doesn't offer a happy end.

Although there are some scenes of Nazi war atrocities during the scenes in the concentration camp, but unlike similar scenes in other such films, they are never exploiting, but just show up the unbelievable crimes Nazi Germany committed during World War II. The end of the film, which is a very realistic approach to this difficult topic, is pure tragedy and kicks the viewer unpleasantly in the stomach, because director Caiano manages to make one feel and hope with the tragic Jewish woman.

"The swastika in the stomach", how the title translates literally, is an intriguing and depressing film, but also a very powerful one that is much too rare. In my opinion, it should have a status just alongside Pasolini's far more grotesque "Salo", because it's one of the most impressing anti-war dramas that won't let you forget the terrible things that had happened in Europe during World War II.