Casanova & Co. (1977)

Director:

Franz Antel

Writers:

Tom Priman (writer)
Joshua Sinclair (writer)

Release Date:

March 1979 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy

Tagline:

That man from "Some Like It Hot" is back doing it again . . . and again . . . and again . . .

Plot:

While hiding from the royal authorities, Jacomo Casanova, the famous romancer, encounters his look-alike: Jacomino...

Plot Keywords:

Bath | Lesbian Sex | Adultery | Sex | Lesbianism

Cast

Tony Curtis	...	Giacomo / Casanova
Marisa Berenson	...	The Caliph's Wife
Marisa Mell	...	Duchess of Cornaro
Jean Lefebvre	...	The Sergeant
Andréa Ferréol	...	The Baker's Wife
Sylva Koscina	...	The Prefect's Wife
Victor Spinetti	...	The Prefect
Umberto Orsini	...	Count Tiretta
Jenny Arasse	...	Cecilia
Jacques Herlin	...	Senator Dell'Acqua
Jeannie Bell	...	Fatme
Lillian Müller	...	Beata
Olivia Pascal	...	Angela
Hugh Griffith	...	The Caliph
Britt Ekland	...	Countess Trivulzi

Also Known As:

Casanova & Company (Italy)
Sex on the Run (USA) (reissue title)
Some Like It Cool (USA)
The Amorous Mis-Adventures of Casanova (USA) (video title)
The Rise and Rise of Casanova (UK)
Treize femmes pour Casanova (France)

Runtime:

Germany:104 min | USA:100 min

Country:

Austria | France | Italy

Language:

German

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Iceland:16 | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:R | West Germany:18 (nf)

Filming Locations:

Venice, Veneto, Italy

Company:

C.O.F.C.I.

Incoherent

One might think the life and legend of Casanova would have given the soft porn crazed 1970s European exploitation film industry ample opportunity to produce numerous films on that topic. However, there are surprisingly few. The reason is this film, partly producing the definitive version, and partly showing that the subject is not such a sure-fire winner after all.

The humour is very low brow, sometimes typically Italian, sometimes typically German, and in neither case of the kind that travels very well. Some attempts at inserting contemporary humour went disastrously wrong, because they drag the viewer's mind right out of the picture without being especially funny in the first place. There is also a distinct lack of coherence, the film and especially the acting is underdirected. Some members of the cast are guilty of extreme over-acting (e.g. Jacques Herlin, as usual), others play it much too straight (Marisa Mell). Tony Curtis is more like a spectator who just happens to wander into the picture most of the time. Still, some cast members do find the right tone for this sort of picture: Victor Spinetti, Sylva Koscina (with the most extensive topless scenes of her career) and Marisa Berenson.

But one can enjoy the film on the so-bad-it's good level, with so many faces well known to followers of 70s eurotrash constantly popping up and embarrassing themselves.

The heavily cut US versions (cable TV & video) should be avoided.