''Il merlo maschio'' (''The Male Blackbird''), known as ''The Naked Cello'' in the United Kingdom or ''Secret Fantasy'' in the United States, is an Italian film in the ''

commedia sexy all'italiana The ''commedia sexy all'italiana'' (, lit. "sex comedy Italian style"), also known as ''commedia scollacciata'' ("low-cut comedy") or ''commedia erotica all'italiana'', is a subgenre of the Italian ''commedia all'italiana'' film genre. Style '' ...

'' style, and presents a theme of

candaulism Candaulism, also called candaulesism, is a paraphilic sexual practice or fantasy in which one person exposes their naked partner, or images of their naked partner, to other people for their voyeuristic pleasure or the pleasure of their partner. C ...

, which was very rare at the time. It was filmed in 1971 by director

Pasquale Festa Campanile Pasquale Festa Campanile (28 July 1927 – 25 February 1986) was an Italian screenwriter, film director and novelist, best known as a prominent exponent of the ''commedia all'italiana'' genre. Life and career Born at Melfi, in the prov ...

, and starred

Laura Antonelli Laura Antonelli (née Antonaz; 28 November 1941 – 22 June 2015) was an Italian film actress who appeared in 45 films between 1964 and 1991. Early years Antonelli was born Laura Antonaz in Pula, Pola, Kingdom of Italy (in Croatian, Pula), ...

and

Lando Buzzanca Gerlando "Lando" Buzzanca (24 August 1935 – 18 December 2022) was an Italian stage, film, and television actor whose career spanned 65 years. Life and career Early years Born in Palermo the son of a cinema projectionist, at 16 years old Buzz ...

Synopsis

Niccolò Vivaldi is a frustrated

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

player whose career has stalled and who is unappreciated by his

orchestra director A music director, musical director or director of music is a person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert ...

. He discovers that the beauty of his wife Costanza arouses in him admiration for her, and reflects on him. From then on, he decides to show it in public in order to gain personal glory. He takes photographs of her in poses that gradually became pornographic, and he begins to show the images to his friend and colleague Cavalmoretti and in a moment of madness to all the other members of the orchestra. Eventually, in a crescendo of

exhibitionism Exhibitionism is the act of exposing in a public or semi-public context one's intimate parts – for example, the breasts, genitals or buttocks. As used in psychology and psychiatry, it is substantially different. It refers to an uncontrolla ...

, she playfully encourages him to photograph her nude in sensual poses, such as the screenshot below, and finally he exposes her completely nude (by an apparent accident with her dress) in front of everyone at

Verona Verona ( ; ; or ) is a city on the Adige, River Adige in Veneto, Italy, with 255,131 inhabitants. It is one of the seven provincial capitals of the region, and is the largest city Comune, municipality in the region and in Northeast Italy, nor ...

Arena An arena is a large enclosed venue, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, Music, musical performances or Sport, sporting events. It comprises a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for specta ...

during the showing of ''

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is a tragic opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 De ...

''. Niccolò ends up in a mental institution.

Cast

as Costanza Vivaldi *

as Niccolò Vivaldi *

Gianrico Tedeschi Gianrico Tedeschi (20 April 1920 – 27 July 2020) was an Italian actor and voice actor. Life and career Born in Milan in April 1920, Tedeschi got a degree in pedagogy before enrolling at the Silvio D'Amico National Academy of Dramatic Art, wh ...

as the Orchestra conductor *

Lino Toffolo Lino Toffolo (31 December 1934 – 16 May 2016) was an Italian actor, singer-songwriter, author, and television presenter. Life and career Born in Murano, shortly after his debut Toffolo moved to Milan where he obtained his first successes a ...

as Cavalmoretti *

Luciano Bianciardi Luciano Bianciardi (; 14 December 1922 – 14 November 1971) was an Italian writer, journalist, translator and librarian. He contributed significantly to the cultural ferment in post-war Italy, working actively with various publishing houses, m ...

as Mazzacurati *

Gino Cavalieri Gino Cavalieri (25 July 1895 – 15 October 1992) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in more than 20 films between 1937 and 1983. Filmography External links

* 1895 births 1992 deaths Italian male film actors 20th-century Italian m ...

as Costanza's father * Elsa Vazzoler as Costanza's mother *

Ferruccio De Ceresa This is a list of male actors from Italy, which generally includes those who have resided in Italy or have largely appeared in Italian film productions. This list includes all actors from :Italian male actors. Persons are listed alphabetically ...

as the Psychoanalyst *

Aldo Puglisi Aldo Puglisi (12 April 1935 – 19 July 2024) was an Italian actor. Life and career Born in Catania, the son of two Sicilian language theatrical actors, Puglisi made his stage debut at very young age with the company of his parents. He made h ...

as the Pharmacist *

Pietro Tordi Pietro Tordi (12 July 1906 – 14 December 1990) was an Italian film actor. He appeared in 100 films between 1942 and 1988. He was born in Florence, Italy. Selected filmography * '' Doctor Antonio'' (1937) - L'altro conspiratore * '' Don C ...

as the Doctor

Reception

A contemporary review found the film bizarre.

Analysis

The film was shot in

, and it shows many situations in the environment of practicing

symphonic orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * String instruments, such as the violin, viola, cello, a ...

s that at certain moment of the year are allowed to play in

. ''Il Merlo Maschio'' represents the ''

Commedia all'italiana ''Commedia all'italiana'' () or Italian-style comedy is an Italian film genre born in Italy in the 1950s and developed in the 1960s and 1970s. It is widely considered to have started with Mario Monicelli's ''Big Deal on Madonna Street'' in 1958 ...

''. Unlike most Italian comedy films in that epoch, always repeating the storyboards of the first erotic dreams of the symbolic

teenager Adolescence () is a transitional stage of human physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated wi ...

Pierino, or the arousal reactions of secluded soldiers that watch for the first time the shapes of a beauty queen (

Gloria Guida Gloria Guida (; born 19 November 1955) is an Italian actress and model. She is best known for starring in ''commedia sexy all'italiana'', particularly the ''La liceale'' series, and also in erotic coming-of-age story, coming-of-age-drama films ...

, etc.), ''The Male Blackbird'' is also a light and discrete

sociological Sociology is the scientific study of human society that focuses on society, human social behavior, patterns of social relationships, social interaction, and aspects of culture associated with everyday life. The term sociology was coined in ...

presentation of the theme of

References

External links

*
''Il merlo maschio'' at AllMovie
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Merlo maschio, Il 1971 films Erotic fantasy films 1970s sex comedy films 1970s Italian-language films Commedia all'italiana Films directed by Pasquale Festa Campanile Commedia sexy all'italiana Films scored by Riz Ortolani 1971 comedy films 1970s Italian films