The Lickerish Quartet (1970)

A jaded, wealthy couple watch a blue movie in their castle home along with her adult son. The son is testy, so they go into town and watch a circus-like thrill ride. The daredevil woman in ... See full summary »

Director:

Radley Metzger

Writers:

Michael DeForrest (screenplay), Michael DeForrest (story)

Stars:

Silvana Venturelli, Frank Wolff, Erika Remberg

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Silvana Venturelli	...	The visitor
Frank Wolff	...	Father
Erika Remberg	...	Mother
Paolo Turco	...	Son

Storyline

A jaded, wealthy couple watch a blue movie in their castle home along with her adult son. The son is testy, so they go into town and watch a circus-like thrill ride. The daredevil woman in the show looks exactly like one of the women in the movie, so the man invites her to join them for a nightcap. Tensions among the family seem to rise. She stays overnight, and during her 24 hours in the castle, each of its three residents involves her in a fantasy. She, in turn, keeps asking, "Who has the gun?" Will there be violence before it's over?

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Plot Keywords:

female pubic hair | female full frontal nudity | voyeur | voyeurism | woman washing vagina on bidet | 

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Taglines:

An erotic duet for four players.

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Did You Know?

Trivia

Almost all of the dialogue was rerecorded in post-production. Moreover, Frank Wolff and Erika Remberg dubbed their own voices.

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Goofs

In the library scene, the castle owner throws the same set of books on the floor twice. After he does it the first time, the books are clearly back on the shelf, next to the statues, with none on the floor before he throws them down the second time.

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Connections

Featured in Girls Who Like Girls (2001)

User Reviews

"Reality's Hard"

Opening with a quote by Luigi Pirandello regarding the elusive and illusory nature of reality, Radley Metzger's 1970 soft-core, art-house offering, "The Lickerish Quartet," is indeed one mind-twisting film. In it, a stepfather, wife and son watch a stag film one night in their sumptuous castle, and later go to a carnival and see a motorcycle stunt performance. They bring home the beautiful blond cycler, who bears an uncanny resemblance to one of the hotties in that stag film, and she proceeds to seduce all three in turn. The end. But wait a minute...why is that stag film subtly altered now, and why do the family and the hotty start emulating the action IN that film? Apparently, Metzger & Co. have some comments they'd like to make regarding art imitating life, or life imitating art, or the mutability of reality, or how film alters our perception of truth, or how time plays tricks on memory. After two viewings, I'm still trying to figure the darn thing out. But the picture does provide other pleasures, besides its baffling themes. The four principals are all quite good, especially the gorgeous Silvana Venturelli as the blond (or is it brunette?) temptress. The location of the film, the Piccolomini Castle in Balsorano, Italy (also the location, BTW, of the 1965 Italian horror film "The Bloody Pit of Horror"), is equally gorgeous, and Enrico Sabbatini's set decor of the castle's chambers (especially that library!) is also a feast for the eyes. Perhaps best of all, Stephen Cipriani has provided a Morricone-like score for the film that is exceptionally beautiful, and certainly deserving of a soundtrack CD. This score is especially lovely when used as a backdrop for Silvana's prancing through a sunlit field. Still, "The Lickerish Quartet" remains a trippy head-scratcher, at best. Lines such as "Isn't everyone in movies?" and "Reality's hard" might clue in potential viewers to prepare themselves for one brow-furrowing evening....

Details

Country:

Italy West Germany USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

13 October 1970 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hide and Seek

Filming Locations:

Castello Piccolomini, Via Pianillo, 2, 67052 Balsorano, AQ, Italy

Company Credits

Production Co:

Carstein, Cinemar, Peter Carsten Produktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1