THE SPINNING BED OF "FIVE DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON" (1970)

 
 
 

So - regrettable as it is - this is the final post for the Five Dolls for an August Moon (5 Bambole per la luna augusto) marathon. I said I had a lot to post, and I didn't lie. Hope you have enjoyed.

For this dispatch: two more glimpses of that swell villa where Bava shot the film back in 1970.  And both feature one of the more amusing details of the production: a large, round, spinning bed. Honestly, I've always found the "novelty bed" to be a little off, a little tacky. There is (or was?) a round bed available at IKEA and every time I pass it, I think, god-that's-really-horrible-where-the-hell-would-you-get-decent-sheets-for-it-anyway?  IKEA? Probably not decent sheets...

But the thing of it is, it's a big, wide world with room for all sorts of people and all sorts of things.  And sometimes what might be an anxiety-provoking nightmare in your home is perfectly fun in someone else's.  And what really helps integrate a big, spinning bed into an interior isn't so much an arrangement of throw pillows, really, so much as a vixen...

Above, vixen #1: the fabulous euro scream-queen Edwige Fenech in the red bra and panties. 1970 was a very good year for Edwige: with the eye-liner and the big, sexy hair and all those great clothes, what a swell time to be a beautiful, swingin' young woman.  It should be noted that Edwige Fenech, who did not suffer from excessive modesty and would happily go topless for her art, had remarkably perfect breasts. And this is when a perfect breast was grown, not implanted. Maybe she still does.



Here's another clip, ending again with the spinning bed. Only this time it's not topped with the frivolous and sexy Edwige character in red bra and panties, but rather it's the calculating and bisexual Ira von Furstenberg character in red silk pajamas. Yes, a bit of a plot spoiler, this scene, but not entirely. And who cares anyway, since the plot is the least interesting thing about this film? What is very interesting is that terrific spiral staircase. Film critics have noted it's symbolic dollar sign appearance in a film very much about money. I'll just say it's hot.

Another architectural detail that intrigues: those great sliding doors, with the black lacquered frames and the semi-translucent grid panel. Goodbye privacy, hello fabulous! Though I will say I can seriously do without the recurrent use of putti in the hallway.  By putti (singular: putto) I mean the frolicky little statues of angelic babes, like cherubs without wings, that always seem piled up on one another for no easily discernable reason.  It's not that I don't understand the designer's intention: to juxtapose the Renaissance/Baroque ornateness of the statuary against the architectural modernity of the villa. I just tend to be highly unresponsive to statues of angels and babes and children.  

And finally, more of that great Piero Umiliani soundtrack...

SEXY BEDROOM FROM "FIVE DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON" (1970)

     
   

#19: ONE MAN'S CAMP IS ANOTHER MAN'S PORN

So when I posted all these clips from Mario Bava's Five Dolls for an August Moon on YouTube, I also included the very short one above, just because I thought it was kind of a hoot and was having a "why not?" moment. Well, as it turns out, some of the other videos posted at the same time have had less than 100 hits - and yet this one has had over 6,000...

Apparently footage of smoking from a pretty lady's foot plays better than mod Italian interiors and swingin' organ music. Especially in the Middle East, as this video has been most viewed in Syria, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates respectively.  Maybe it has something to do with the feet being very dirty and insulting in Arabic culture. This video might very well be completely obscene over there! I don't really know, though, anyone is welcome to chime in and explain the appeal...

Well, fortunately I'm the kind of person who gets hotter from mod Italian interiors and swingin' organ music than foot smokin'. And I rather liked the rest of the scene, as well:

 

There's that great Umiliani soundtrack, for starters - this time integrated into the scene as music from the radio.  And then, really, why not get out of bed feelin' fabulous? So fabulous in fact you want to dance around a little in your pleated chiffon caftan? Well I'd probably do the same if I had a zebra skin rug like that, too. Or maybe a big beefcake in bikini briefs and gold chains. Or again, really more so the zebra skin rug...





PIERO UMILIANI FOR "FIVE DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON" (1970)

 
 

 

As I've written before, Mario Bava, who directed Five Dolls for an August Moon (5 bambole per la luna d'agosto), historically discounted the film. In fact, apparently he cited it as his worst.  Well, whether or not that's the case, it was definitely the best work of Piero Umiliani, who composed the film's very groovy, mostly upbeat soundtrack.  Full of swingin' electric organ and very engaging and diverse percussion, it's a terrific exercise in theme and variation.  I personally put this on par with the soundtrack from Jesus Franco's Vampiros Lesbos of 1971. They're terrific in their own right, and both exceed in quality the film for which they were composed.

Above, a scene from the film when Professor Farrell burns his secret formula everyone is hot to get their murderous little hands on - and the organ goes crazy! Well, I won't lie - from Ray Manzarek's keyboard work for The Doors, to Italian cinematic jazz, and everything in between - electric organ from the '60s and '70s fascinates me. Then of course and somewhat sadly the synthesizer came to the fore and the organ pretty much died away in pop and cinematic applications. And though it did retain a small niche in jazz, to me it will always be the sound of an era, really.

Here, more tracks - breezier, sexier, probably more typical of the album. Listen to these when you drive your car at night in the summertime, with the sunroof open and all the windows down...



The Five Dolls/5 Bambole soundtrack is available from iTunes in 22 tracks, but eMusic.com, while cheaper, is also offering a 34 track version, with even more variation on Umiliani's catchy riffs.



IRA FURSTENBERG IN "FIVE DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON" (1970)

 
 

 

#17:  BORED? CONSIDER A FILM CAREER.

Five Dolls for an August Moon mania continues! Another great clip featuring more of the main living room interior. I'm still loving the predominantly neutral scheme peppered throughout with accents of color. Of course I've written of the virtue of the red accent, but I'm going to extend that deference to the orange accent as well. Hello, look at those floor pillows! Actually I've historically lived for the orange accent more, but found examples for posting of the red accent before the orange. Still, they are both fabulous.

Something else fabulous in this scene?  Let's talk about the character of Trudy making that dire reel-to-reel tape.  Of course in the U.S. when you hear the name von Furstenberg pretty much one person comes to mind: Belgian-born fashion designer Diane von Furstenberg, creator of the iconic 70s wrap-dress. But Trudy here is being played by I think an even more interesting von Furstenberg: Ira, the sister of Diane's princely ex-husband, Egon.

Born Her Serene Highness Princess Virginia Carolina Theresa Pancrazia Galdina of Fürstenberg, Princess Ira is an inspiration and role model to anyone looking to break free from the gilded-ghetto hell of privileged aristocracry and really make something - oh, you know - more sensational! of themselves...

Ira Furstenberg by Iriving Penn, for Vogue, 1968

Princess Ira zu Furstenberg was born a princess.  Her mother was also a Fiat heiress, sister of the legendarily dapper Gianni Agnelli.  At fifteen she wed Prince Alfonso von Hohenlohe, then aged 31. When (hmmm, surprisingly) that relationship didn't last for the long haul, she married the Brazilian industrialist Francisco "Baby" Pignatari.  It pleases me oddly to say that they were wed in Reno and divorced in Vegas.  And then at some point Ira decided to become a film star.  So, living in Rome, she naturally begins an acting career at Cinecittá, the product of which includes the very fabulous Five Folls for an August Moon (5 Bambole per la luna d'agosto) of 1970, directed by Mario Bava, as well as many others.

Later Ira Furstenberg was romantically linked with Prince Ranier III of Monaco after the death of Grace Kelly, and was apparently assumed to be the next Princess of Monaco until speculative media attention dashed the odds. Well, who cares when you already are a princess?

Ira Furstenberg, closer to today, still working it.

Today Ira Furstenberg creates some very opulent, borderline over-the-top knick-knacks. Objets d'art, if you will.  She works predominantly in gilt-mounted rock crystal, such as this rock crystal bowl with crab ornament:

Or this rock crystal bunny wearing a gold top hat...

I know I'd truly like to use that to bludgeon someone to death in an Italian giallo film.  No idea how much these little treasures run but likely not cheap.  Maybe you can find something to your own taste on Ira's website: http://www.irafurstenberg.com 



LOUNGING A LA "FIVE DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON" (1970)

Another scene from the fabulous Five Dolls for an August Moon (5 bambole per la luna d'agosto)!

One thing about this gorgeous film: the villa in which it's filmed is another character in itself. So compelling architecturally and in its furnishings, a lot of which stand up quite well today (Look at the lines on those club chairs!). So this is a very short clip, yes, but relevant here on two counts - firstly that it shows off said fabulous interior, and secondly, it features some really premium lounging, which of course we love...

#10: UPHOLSTER YOUR PAD WITH LOUNGING, SMOKING DISCO HIPPIES.

So says the tenth principle. And though technically these aren't disco hippies (they are in fact rich Italian bon vivants), the spirit is the same. Lounging makes for good times. Lounging makes for an opulent accent. Few things signal having it good more effectively than easy leisure and an unhurried sense of time. Anyone can buy the latest conspicuous status symbol, but of course the one who isn't working to pay for it hardly needs it at all. People speak of "effortless chic". Well, I am talking about chic effortlessness...

Enjoy.

COCKTAIL PARTY SCENE FROM "FIVE DOLLS FOR AN AUGUST MOON" (1970)

  
  
  

 #16: EXHIBITIONISM AND CUTTING GLANCES: ENNUI'S NATURAL ANTIDOTE.

I mean really, how much lounging around a villa is one possibly expected to endure? Sometimes the very best you can do is - oh - spontaneously erupt into wild, unbridled dancing.  It never hurts to make yourself the center of attention, provided of course you're already gorgeous and put together.  But if that's not your style, consider the potential of heavy and intriguing eye-play...

A great cocktail party scene from the film "Five Dolls for an August Moon" (5 bambole per la luna d'agosto, and also known, rather unfortunately, as "Island of Terror").  That's fabulous euro scream-queen Edwige Fenech in the heavy eyeliner and big, sexy hair letting you know who's the belle of this ball.

A great favorite of mine among the Italian stabby films.  Mario Bava directed this film in 1970, and though it is often written that he was not proud of the final result (it was hastily produced, the cast was already hired before he signed on to direct, et cetera), it is still a stunningly delicious piece of eye (and ear) candy.  Like most giallo films, the plot is thin and basically beside the point - it's more a less a variant on Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians" - but who cares?  Otherwise it's rich with a masterful use of gorgeous, saturated color and features a fabulous Italian modern villa, some great clothes, a charismatic cast, and a very, very groovy soundtrack from my absolute favorite of the Italian cinematic composers, Piero Umiliani.  I ask you then, what's not to love?

From a strictly interiors standpoint, note the sparing and effective use of red to accent the otherwise fairly neutral interior, harkening of course back to #12: IT'S ALL ABOUT THE RED ACCENT PIECE.  I have quite a bit more to post on Five Dolls, interior and otherwise.  I hope you enjoy as much as I do!
 
 
 

DISCOTHEQUE SCENE FROM "DEATH WALKS AT MIDNIGHT" (1972)

#11: THERE IS SELDOM ANYTHING GREAT ABOUT YOUR NATURAL HAIR COLOR.

From Luciano Ercoli's 1972 giallo thriller "Death Walks at Midnight" ( La morte accarezza a mezzanotte). Actress Nieves Navarro (then working under the name Susan Scott) plays beautiful model Valentina, who takes some experimental psychedelics and psychically witnesses a brutal murder. In this scene she's laying low from the killer in a swingin' discotheque. And really, I ask you, what better way is there than in a highly, highly conspicuous silver wig?  Well, Valentina is smart, 'cause with all these disco hippies and the groovy organ music, the only thing gettin' killed in here is conventionality.


  

PARTY SCENE FROM "DEATH WALKS AT MIDNIGHT" (1972)

#10: UPHOLSTER YOUR PAD WITH LOUNGING, SMOKING DISCO HIPPIES.

OK, so we're going to see a lot of disco hippies on this blog. A lot of them. Hash-smoking, face-painting, fabulous disco hippies. The kind of disco hippies that come with only two functions: discotheque dancing and languid lounging. The latter is well featured in this scene from Luciano Ercoli's giallo thriller "Death Walks at Midnight" ( La morte accarezza a mezzanotte) of 1972. Here, actress Susan Scott (nee Nieves Navarro) comes back to her queeny friend's pad for a chic lounging party after the discotheque.  You can't even see the furniture for all the lounging hippies and night people. Special details: daisy-age face paint, great use of grouped candles, a quick hint of the giallo-ubiquitous J&B bottle.

  

STRIPTEASE SCENE FROM "DEATH WALKS ON HIGH HEELS" (1971)

#9: BLACKFACE IS A RISKY PROPOSITION AT BEST.

From Luciano Ercoli's 1971 giallo thriller "Death Walks on High Heels" (or, La morte cammina con i tacchi alti). In this mostly hilarious scene, actress Nieves Navarro, then working under the name Susan Scott, either tantalizes - or possibly offends - her audience with a glamorous striptease. The tools of her trade: feathers, diamonds, tits, skin bronzer, and an afro wig. Yeah, this lady ain't black. But she is living in 1971. And clearly making the most of what she's got to work with. And then some...

The sexy-breezy song is "Night Club Girl" by Italian cinematic composer Stelvio Cipriani, from the La morte cammina con i tacchi alti soundtrack, available on iTunes and the much cheaper eMusic.com.

COCKTAIL PARTY FROM "AMUCK" (1972)

#3:  WHEN ENTERTAINING, SPIKE YOUR GUESTS' DRINKS WITH PILLS AND PLAY WHIMSICAL PORNOGRAPHIC FILMS.

From the 1972 Italian Giallo thriller "Amuck", Rosalba Neri makes the scene again in her chic Op-Art separates. Yes, it's another decadent night in crumbling old Venice - in case you weren't sure, hubby spells it out clearly and overdramatically to the attendant Barbara Bouchet: "I'm just a composite of what they are... decadent, corrupt, lost in the myriad facades of a doomed city..." Good thing she's his secretary. You really do have to pay people to listen when you talk like that. Rosalba mixes up one of her signature cocktails: one part scotch, one part pill. Then it's on to a little dancing and a film.

THE OP-ART CHIC OF "AMUCK" (1972)

#1:  USE GRAPHIC OP-ART PRINTS TO ENLIVEN AND CONTEMPORIZE AN INTERIOR, EVEN IF YOU HAVE TO WEAR THEM YOURSELF...

From the 1972 Italian giallo film "Amuck", Rosalba Neri looks very chic for dinner in her eye-popping black and white.  It's a great contrast to her traditional Venetian background setting, and the effect says uniquivocally, "Hey there. Look at me."  Uniformed domestic staff always heighten the chic, so apply to taste...

#2:  ACCESSORIZE WITH A WHITE-GLOVED MANSERVANT WHENEVER POSSIBLE.