Pulp International

vintage and modern pulp fiction; noir, schlock and exploitation films; scandals, swindles and news

FEMI-NINITY AND STYLE

There are very few limits to how fur she'll go for fashion.

This shot of Italian actress Femi Benussi made by prolific lensman Angelo Frontoni is from a 1977 issue of Ciné-Revue, and shows her wrapped (sort of) in a fur vest, probably made of skunk, which was a trendy choice for coats at the time. Benussi appeared in more than eighty films, among them Tarzana sesso selvaggio and Nude per l’assassino, aka Strip Nude for Your Killer. At some point she became a fixture in commedie sexy all’italiane, a sub-genre of goofy titillation flicks, with humor so sophomoric you’ll beg for mercy. Well, you don’t have to beg to see Benussi back on Pulp Intl. There are a few more movies of hers we’d like to check out, so she’ll return.

Belgium, Italy, Ciné-Revue, Femi Benussi, Angelo Frontoni, nudity

WORTH A BUNDLE

Welch proves indispensable to yet another ’60s caper flick.


Above you see a promo poster for 大泥棒, or “Great Thief,” made for the 1968 Raquel Welch/Robert Wagner caper flick The Biggest Bundle of Them All. The U.S. poster was painted by master illustrator Robert McGinnis, but we decided to show you the Japanese art instead because it’s rare. There are two more Japanese promos below that are also rare. We’ll get to the McGinnis version later. In the film, Wagner and his henchmen kidnap an elderly Italian gangster played by Vittorio De Sica and hold him for ransom. Problem is he has no money. At first they don’t believe him, but when it finally becomes clear he’s broke, Wagner and Co. try to cut bait. But De Sica is terrified all Italy will find out he couldn’t pay his own ransom. His reputation would be ruined. So he convinces his kidnappers to join him in a swindle that will maintain his reputation, make him rich again, and earn the kidnappers more money than they ever imagined. De Sica becomes the boss of his own abductors.

For a crime-comedy, it’s an ingenious premise, which makes it a shame it wasn’t original. Another movie with an almost identical plot called The Happening was in production at Columbia, and when the studio got wind of The Biggest Bundle of Them All it threatened to sue. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer agreed to give Columbia a cut of Bundle’s profits and a legal bloodbath was avoided, but in the same way De Sica’s big caper doesn’t exactly play out perfectly, Bundle‘s profits didn’t blow the roof off MGM headquarters as planned. And no wonder. It wasn’t just the script that wasn’t original—the film falls into the same category as continental crime capers like Charade, To Catch a Thief, and Topkapi, and those make for crowded and treacherous cinematic waters. Bundle isn’t sophisticated enough, or exciting enough, or infused with enough sexual chemistry to compete with better films of its ilk.

Speaking of sexual chemistry, Welch is naturally the big attraction of any movie she’s in, and we’ve seen enough of her work now to understand that she was more of a persona than an actress during this mid- to late-’60s period. In film after film she basically played herself. Here she smiles and quips and poses, and it’s all very Welchian in that groovy way her fans had come to expect—bikinis, lingerie, go-go dancing and all. The movie would be worth far less without her. There are also supporting appearances by Edward G. Robinson and Femi Benussi, while future blaxploitation icon Godfrey Cambridge is one of the kidnappers, so there’s plenty for stargazers to enjoy here, but we can’t call the movie a success. If you have nothing to do some evening, it might give you a few smiles, but not a bundle of them. After premiering in the U.S. in 1968, The Biggest Bundle of Them All opened in Japan today in 1968.
Japan, Italy, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Columbia Pictures, The Biggest Bundle of Them All, The Happening, Vittorio De Sica, Raquel Welch, Robert Wagner, Godfrey Cambridge, Femi Benussi, Edward G. Robinson, poster art, cinema, movie review

TARZANA OF THE APES

Femi Benussi has a swinging time in the jungle.


The Italian lost world adventure Tarzana sesso selvaggio, known in English as Tarzana the Wild Girl, has one thing going for it—Femi Benussi as the titular vine swinger. As an infant she was lost in the jungle in a plane crash, but somehow survived thanks to the kindly local primates. About twenty-two years later (judging by her bodily development) an expedition is launched to find her, and of course she’s now queen of deepest, darkest Africa, jiggling gloriously about in nothing but a g-string loincloth. In fact the whole production is designed to display Benussi nearly naked, and there’s also a topless dance routine performed by Jamaican actress Beryl Cunningham, as well as shower time exposure from Franca Polesello. Interestingly, the movie was rated X when it played in the U.S. But don’t let that fool you. Around the time Tarzana was made, the X meant “persons under 16 not admitted.” Nothing pornographic happens here, except perhaps in the minds of U.S. movie censors.

Nudity was not unusual in 1969, so what’s with the rating? While Benussi never manages to be clothed, we suspect the X had more to do with Cunningham—a black woman—gyrating half naked in front of the expedition. Her dance even inspires one of the onlookers to punch another in the dick. Must be some Italian thing. She’s duly eaten by a leopard for daring to tempt the white man. MPAA censors must have been torn. On one hand they probably ached for America’s children to see that nature itself was segregationist, but after consideration they ditched the idea of a G rating, slapped an X on the film, then scuttled home for self-hating wank sessions. All things considered we wish the movie were better. No such luck, but it’s unintentionally uproarious, especially the ending, and Benussi is a vision, exploited to the max by Romana Film Co. and director Guido Malatesta. Tarzana, sesso selvaggio premiered in Italy today in 1969.

Italy, Jamaica, Romana Film, Tarzana the Wild Girl, Tarzana sesso selvaggio, Femi Benussi, Beryl Cunningham, Franca Polesello, Guido Malatesta, poster art, cinema, sexploitation, movie review, nudity

FEMI FATALE

I can see how excited I've made you. Pour this bowl of cold water on it and see if that helps.

In the promo photo above Femi Benussi appears in costume—in amazing costume—as Lola in the film Il domestico. Benussi was born in Rovigno, Italy, which is now Rovnij, Croatia, and debuted in 1965’s Il boia scarlatto, aka Bloody Pit of Horror. She went on to appear more than eighty films, including the giallo Nude per l’assassino, aka Strip Nude for Your Killer and the actioner Storia di sangue, aka Blood Story. The above image is from 1974, and just to make Benussi’s outfit complete it also came with a hat, shoes, and a bruise courtesy of the makeup department, below. As we continue to work our way through various 1970s schlock classics you can be sure that Benussi will show up here again.

Italy, Croatia, Rovigno, Il domestico, Il boia scarlatto, Bloody Pit of Horror, Nude per l'assassino, Strip Nude for Your Killer, Storia di sangue, Blood Story, Femi Benussi, giallo

THE NAKED AND THE DEAD

A killer in black stalks Rome's fashionista set.

In Nude per l’assassino, aka Strip Nude for Your Killer there’s a motorcycle helmeted serial killer on the loose and police have no idea who he is. The murderer first slaughtered a gynecologist whose most recent patient died of cardiac arrest during an abortion, but now the maniac is working his way through staff and talent at the Albatross Modeling Agency, killing women and men, catching many at their most vulnerable—i.e. naked. Suspects and clues are minimal. But hmm, let’s see, how does a botched abortion tie into the other killings? Could it be…. revenge? Very likely. And what often happens in giallo when killers wear face-obscuring motorcycle helmets? Could it be… Well, we won’t give it away, except to say the twist of who’s under that helmet isn’t a twist at all.

Near the end of the film there’s a radio broadcast during which an announcer talks about the most recent murder. But first he reports on the government’s “drastic new austerity measures.” We were fascinated to learn this was going on in Italy forty years ago. It didn’t work then, and it doesn’t work now. We can say the same about the movie. But while you won’t find Nude per l’assassino on any list of top giallo films, it has some charms: Edwige Fenech, Femi Benussi, Solvi Stubing, and Erna Schurer. We’ve been pretty lazy about the giallo genre over the years, but watching this movie made us decide to remedy that. We’re going to check out some of the better giallo flicks and report back. Nude per l’assassino premiered in Italy today in 1975.

Italy, Nude per l'assassino, Strip Nude for Your Killer, Edwige Fenech, Nino Castelnuovo, Femi Benussi, Solvi Stubing, Erna Schürer, Erna Schürer, poster art, cinema, sexploitation, giallo, nudity, movie review

MUDDY WATERS

Crocs around the clock.


Above, assorted scans from Adam magazine of January 1971, with cover art illustrating Ross Alexander’s story “Struggle for Survival,” about two kidnap victims in Northern Australia who decide after days of captivity that their only route to escape is across a crocodile infested river. Naturally, what began as obstacles become allies, as the crocs eventually chow down on the villains. You get lots of photos, including one of Croatian born actress Femi Benussi, three panels from the bottom. You can see forty-two more issues of Adam by clicking its keywords just below.

Australia, Croatia, Adam Magazine, Ross Alexander, Femi Benussi, magazine art, literature

THE LAST DAYS OF PINK

The National Police Gazette starts to lose that rosy glow.

The National Police Gazette shows signs of fatigue in this November 1969 issue that is tellingly thin, with just 32 pages, and offers no stories of great interest. It has a Femi Benussi cover, which is a plus, but Benussi is labeled Russian even though she was actually born in what is now Croatia and acted in Italy. Seems like Gazette editors weren’t trying very hard. Once a tentpole of the tabloid market, the magazine was 125 years old by this point and losing readers. After one more month it would change its trademark cover style slightly to this, but the magazine continued to decline. Downmarket tabloids like National Enquirer had sprinted past the Gazette in celeb and scandal coverage, and its sports coverage now looked woefully inadequate compared to the glossy sports mags that were on the newsstands. Gazette hung on for seven more years, then quietly folded. We have thirteen more scans below, and many issues of Gazette from all stages of its long life to share later. 

Italy, Croatia, Russia, Police Gazette, Femi Benussi, tabloid
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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

1967—Ché Executed in Bolivia

A day after being captured, Marxist revolutionary Ernesto “Che” Guevara is executed in Bolivia. In an attempt to make it appear as though he had been killed resisting Bolivian troops, the executioner shoots Guevara with a machine gun, wounding him nine times in the legs, arm, shoulder, throat, and chest.

1918—Sgt. York Becomes a Hero

During World War I, in the Argonne Forest in France, America Corporal Alvin C. York leads an attack on a German machine gun nest that kills 25 and captures 132. He is a corporal during the event, but is promoted to sergeant as a result. He also earns Medal of Honor from the U.S., the Croix de Guerre from the French Republic, and the Croce di Guerra from Italy and Montenegro. Stateside, he is celebrated as a hero, and Hollywood even makes a movie entitled Sergeant York, starring Gary Cooper.

1956—Larsen Pitches Perfect Game

The New York Yankees’ Don Larsen pitches a perfect game in the World Series against hated rivals the Brooklyn Dodgers. It is the only perfect game in World Series history, as well as the only no-hitter.

1959—Dark Side of Moon Revealed

The Soviet space probe Luna 3 transmits the first photographs of the far side of the moon. The photos generate great interest, and scientists are surprised to see mountainous terrain, very different from the near side, and only two seas, which the Soviets name Mare Moscovrae (Sea of Moscow) and Mare Desiderii (Sea of Desire).

1966—LSD Declared Illegal in U.S.

LSD, which was originally synthesized by a Swiss doctor and was later secretly used by the CIA on military personnel, prostitutes, the mentally ill, and members of the general public in a project code named MKULTRA, is designated a controlled substance in the United States.

  • FEATUREd PULP

BUTTERFACE

Classic science fiction from James Grazier with uncredited cover art.

COOL UNDER FIRE

Hammond Innes volcano tale features Italian intrigue and Mitchell Hooks cover art.

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