Review of Salon Kitty (1976) by Stuart K — 16 Apr 2013

Directed by Tinto Brass, (Dropout (1970) La vacanza (1971), Caligula (1979)), this is an erotic drama which is based on a real life incident that took place in Nazi Germany during World War 2. It plays like a softcore-porn version of Caberet (1972), but it has some staggering sets by Ken Adam, and even a compelling story which moves it along, which is uncommon for a film like this, but Brass has a good visual eye.

Salon Kitty was a brothel used in Berlin, and taken over by the SS security branch, the Sicherheitsdienst. Where it's used for espionage purposes, the brother is ran by Madame Kitty Kellerman (Ingrid Thulin), but the Sicherheitsdienst wire the place with microphones, and the prostitutes are replaced by trained spies, all of whom are instructed to get any information they can from members of the Nazi party and foreign dignitaries who visit Salon Kitty.

The operation is seen to by SS Officer Helmut Wallenberg (Helmut Berger), who has kept Madame Kitty secret from what they are doing, that is until prostitute Margherita (Teresa Ann Savoy) finds out what's really going on.

It's a very lurid film, but it's brilliantly filmed, despite it's subject matter. But, Brass has fun with the proceedings, but he also aimed to keep it historically accurate, but this also put Brass in good stead to do Caligula (1979) and further success, or so he thought at the time.