Il merlo maschio

The Naked Cello Secret Fantasy
Italian	Il merlo maschio
Directed by	Pasquale Festa Campanile
Based on	Il complesso di Loth by Luciano Bianciardi
Starring	Laura Antonelli
Cinematography	Silvano Ippoliti
Edited by	Mario Morra Sergio Montanari
Music by	Riz Ortolani
Release date	1971
Running time	112 min.
Language	Italian

Il merlo maschio (The Male Blackbird), known as The Naked Cello in the United Kingdom or Secret Fantasy in the United States, is an Italian film in the commedia sexy all'italiana style, and presents a theme of candaulism, which was very rare at the time. It was filmed in 1971 by director Pasquale Festa Campanile, and starred Laura Antonelli and Lando Buzzanca.

Synopsis

He discovers that the beauty of his wife Costanza arouses in him admiration for her, and reflects on him. From then on, he decides to show it in public in order to gain personal glory. He takes photographs of her in poses that gradually became pornographic, and he begins to show the images to his friend and colleague Cavalmoretti and in a moment of madness to all the other members of the orchestra. Eventually, in a crescendo of

Cast

• Laura Antonelli: Costanza Vivaldi
• Lando Buzzanca: Niccolò Vivaldi
• Gianrico Tedeschi: Orchestra conductor
• Lino Toffolo: Cavalmoretti
• Luciano Bianciardi: Mazzacurati
• Gino Cavalieri: Costanza's father
• Elsa Vazzoler: Costanza's mother
• Ferruccio De Ceresa
  : Psychoanalyst
• Aldo Puglisi: Pharmacist
• Pietro Tordi: Doctor

Reception

A contemporary review found the film bizarre.^[1]

Analysis

The film was shot in

External links

• Il merlo maschio at
  IMDb