Secrets of a Call Girl
The mob shoots, the melodrama kills, and it would have been, in our
opinion, the right title. Carnimeo instead chooses one very ambiguous,
but in reality we are right, because this is a melodramatic story that
tries to find its explanation on the mob’s stories.
A very inspired Giuliano Carnimeo starts this movie in a very great
way. It seems a great noir of those years. Violence, action and
betrayals.
Unfortunately, after having captured our attention, he starts slowly,
putting some melodrama, which flank the story at first and then in the
second half became the main aspect, creating sickening moments with a
telenovela ending.
So the focus falls, the whole became boring and emerge the faults of a
cast of real stars. They are really good actors, they are all
beautiful, but their individual mask is not particularly suitable for
the characters they play. The Divine Edwige for example, who plays a
naive girl from Bergamo, misled and forced into prostitution, has
neither the look of a Bergamo’s girl or the one of a prostitute.
Corrado Pani, the depraved mob corruptor, refers directly to
Renè Vallanzasca, which looks like the glossy version (even
more!); he is only interested in haircuts and sports cars.
We can save, Richard Conte, although he spend the time playing golf is
naturally good as the chief of the gang and John Richardson in the role
of a beautiful and good doctor one of the symbols of melodrama.
We are therefore facing a movie not completely successful. A movie with
a great soundtrack that can’t manages two ideas that could create
an interesting story. The mob shoots, the melodrama kills.
"Secrets of a Call Girl" is still a movie that every fan of the genre
should see, because aside the errors Carnimeo behind the camera is good
and, needless to say, the Edwige Fenech is stunning and aside from
being exploited in a pointless scene in a shower her sex appeal greatly
raises the interest.
She is Anna of the original title. She works as cashier in a Bar in
Bergamo and one day she met Guido. He is a handsome man driving a
sports car, dress well, who has the right manners to conquer the girl.
But Guido works also for a criminal organization that has interest in
money laundering, gambling houses and prostitution.
Anna fall in love with Guido who drag her more into the mob, coming
then into prostitution to make favors to the beloved (and consequently
the organization).
Pregnant and tired of all, Anna finds the courage to escape and to
imply Guido. She starts a new life in Rome, where she works in a
bookshop growing her son Paul. The boy one day has a big health problem
and is saved in extremis by Lorenzo a handsome doctor, who falls in
love with Anna.
But on this affair there is the shadow of Guido, usual important for
the fate of the life of the beautiful former cashier of a bar in
Bergamo.
Technical Data Sheet
Original title: Secrets of a Call Girl
Alternative Titles: Anna: the Pleasure, the Torment, Secrets of a Call
Girl (International), among Asken til ilden - Hvid Slavehandel
(Denmark), Ana, ese Particular placer (Spain), L'emprise des sens
(France), Mia stin thesi amartia (Greece), Yilan soyu (Turkey)
Directed by: Julian Carnimeo
Year: 1973
Cast: Edwige Fenech, Corrado Pani, Richard Conte, John Richardson,
Laura Bonaparte, Ettore Manni, Corrado Gaipa, Antonio Casale, Umberto
Raho
Film production company Film Champion
