Salon Kitty (film)

Salon Kitty
Directed by Tinto Brass
Produced by Ermanno Donati
Giulio Sbarigia
Written by Tinto Brass
Ennio De Concini
Maria Pia Fusco
Antonio Colantuoni
Starring Helmut Berger
Ingrid Thulin
Music by Fiorenzo Carpi
Cinematography Silvano Ippoliti
Edited by Tinto Brass
Release dates
  • 1976
Country Italy
West Germany
France
Language Italian

Salon Kitty is a 1976 erotic-drama film directed by Tinto Brass. The film was coproduced by Italy, France and West Germany. It is based on the novel of the same name by Peter Norden,[1] covering the real life events of the Salon Kitty Incident, where the Sicherheitsdienst took over an expensive brothel in Berlin, had the place wire tapped and all the prostitutes replaced with trained spies in order to gather data on various members of the Nazi party and foreign dignitaries.

It is considered among the progenitors of Nazisploitation genre.[2][3]

In the U.S., the film was edited to lighten the political overtones for an easier marketing as a sexploitation film and released under the title Madam Kitty with an "X" rating. Blue Underground Video, for the uncut version, has surrendered the "X" rating for an unrated DVD and Blu-ray release.

Cast

Production

Salon Kitty was filmed mostly at Dear Studios in Rome, with some additional location filming in Germany. Production designer Ken Adam had recently suffered a nervous breakdown while working on Barry Lyndon, and he described his participation in this film as a creatively regenerative one. He has stated that the production was an enjoyable one, and that he feels Salon Kitty is "underrated."[4] Adam based his design of Wallenberg's apartment on his own memories of his family's apartment in World War II-era Berlin. Wallenberg's enormous office, though a set, allegedly features a real marble floor, as it was cheaper to use real marble than create a mock-up version.[5]

Costumes and uniforms for the film were designed by Ugo Pericoli and Jost Jacob, and were constructed by Tirelli Costumi of Rome. Adam credited Jacob with the design of the 'kinky' uniforms that Wallenberg wears throughout the film.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Zavattini, Cesare. L'ultimo schérmo: cinema di guerra, cinema di pace. EDIZIONI DEDALO, 1984.
  2. ↑ Stéphane François. Le nazisme revisité. Berg International, 2008.
  3. ↑ Cult Cinema. Cult Cinema. John Wiley and Sons, 2011.
  4. ↑ Frayling, Christopher. Ken Adam and the Art of Production Design. London: Farber & Farber. p 207. Web February 4. 2015. ISBN 0-571-23109-8
  5. ↑ Frayling, Christopher. Ken Adam and the Art of Production Design. London: Farber & Farber. p 205. Web February 4. 2015. ISBN 0-571-23109-8
  6. ↑ Frayling, Christopher. Ken Adam and the Art of Production Design. London: Farber & Farber. p 205. Web February 4. 2015. ISBN 0-571-23109-8

External links