The Chastity Belt [La cintura di castità] * (1967, Tony Curtis, Monica Vitti, Hugh Griffith, Ivo Garrani) – Classic Movie Review 9283

Director Pasquale Festa Campanile’s 1967 Italian comedy The Chastity Belt stars Tony Curtis, Monica Vitti and Hugh Griffith, and is a film with a very broad sense of humour.

Curtis stars as black-bearded husband knight Guerrando da Montone, who locks his beautiful new wife Boccadoro (Vitti) in the titular chastity belt and heads for the 11th-century Crusades without even having had time to consummate their marriage on wedding night. Naturally she follows him, dressed in armour, but he can’t find the key when they try to escape the treacherous, lecherous Ibn-el-Rascid (Griffith), the Sultan of Bari.

Co-writer Larry Gelbart (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, TV’s M*A*S*H) might just have been the man to make this bawdy Italian job for Curtis funny. But, alas, it isn’t.

Boccadoro roughly translates as Golden mouth and Guerrando da Montone as Fighting mutton.

US cut versions run at 95 minutes and only 73 minutes.

Curtis alleged: ‘The director had big problems, one of which was that you couldn’t show Monica any way except full face. She had a big nose and would never turn in profile. She was also very difficult to get along with. She started having an affair with the cameraman, and they almost kicked her off the picture, but I said: ‘No, let her stay.”‘

It is also known as On My Way to the Crusades, I Met a Girl Who… and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Crusades.

Also in the cast are John Richardson, Nino Castelnuovo, Ivo Garrani, Leopoldo Trieste, Lauro Gazzolo, Francesco Mulè, Franco Sportelli and Umberto Raho.

The Chastity Belt [La cintura di castità] is directed by Pasquale Festa Campanile, runs 110 minutes, is made by Julia Film, is released by Titanus (1967) (Italy), Warner-Pathé Distributors (1968) (UK) and Warner Bros/Seven Arts (1969) (US), is written by Luigi Magni and Larry Gelbart, based on a story by Ugo Liberatore, is shot in Technicolor by Carlo Di Palma, is produced by Francesco Mazzei and is scored by Riz Ortolani, with Art Direction by Piero Poletto.

It was released on DVD by Warner Archive Collection (2018) (US).

Nino Castelnuovo is best remembered for The Umbrellas of Cherbourg.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 9283

Check out more reviews on http://derekwinnert.com