Salon Kitty/Review

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Madame Kitty (Ingrid Thulin) runs the most popular brothel in Berlin. But on the eve of WWII, Commandant Wallenberg (Helmut Berger) arranges to have Kitty turn SS agents into prostitutes for a newly constructed brothel where the only clients will be members of the Nazi Party. But the plan is to tape and overhear conversations between the officers and the prostitutes to find out if any secrets will be unveiled.

It's here where a young and defiant prostitute, Margherita (Teresa Ann Savoy), who is also Wallenberg's former lover, will eventually cause the downfall of the brothel.

Director Tinto Brass is perhaps best known for making exploitation epics, but damned if some fancy art can't be found among his works. Large, lavish production sets are used to great effect along with an abundance of striking costumes and set design. But thankfully it's also the characters and the acting which helps really pull this one through. Seriously, if you take away the film's most controversial (and banned) sequences, which include "experiment" scenes where the prostitutes engage in sex acts with mutilated/deformed men (No FX here. It's the real deal), you would still have a respected and well-acclaimed film from the higher ranks who are above Grindhouse material.

It seems that Brass could be the only guy in the world who could intertwine shocking sequences and follow them up with great, musical numbers performed by Madame Kitty and her dancers which appear throughout the movie.

For that reason alone, Salon Kitty remains one of the most unique and unforgettable experiences you'll ever come across.

Reviewed by Laydback