The Ape Woman

The Ape Woman
Directed by Marco Ferreri
Produced by Carlo Ponti
Written by Rafael Azcona
Marco Ferreri
Starring Ugo Tognazzi
Cinematography Aldo Tonti
Editing by Mario Serandrei
Release date(s) 1964
Running time 100 minutes
Country Italy
France
Language Italian
French

The Ape Woman (Italian: La donna scimmia, French: Le Mari de la femme à barbe) is a 1964 Italian-French drama film directed by Marco Ferreri. It was entered into the 1964 Cannes Film Festival.[1] The movie was inspired by the real-life story of Julia Pastrana a 19th-century woman exploited as a freak show attraction by her manager Theodore Lent.

Contents

Plot

The "Ape Woman" is Annie Girardot, completely covered with hair; the entrepreneur Tognazzi discovers her in a convent in Naples; he marries her (a condition imposed by the nuns) and begins exhibiting her to the public. He tries to sell her to a funny guy who insist on her virginity, but she is a little reluctant. After tasting success in Paris, she dies during childbirth. Tognazzi recovers her mummy from the museum of natural history and exhibits it in Naples. The subject looks a little camp, but the film is considered one of the most touching of Ferreri's.

Cast

References

External links