''Messalina, Messalina!'', also known as ''Caligula II: Messalina, Messalina'' and ''Caligula:sins of Rome'', is a 1977 Italian
sex comedy
Sex comedy, erotic comedy or more broadly sexual comedy is a genre in which comedy is motivated by sexual situations and love affairs. Although "sex comedy" is primarily a description of dramatic forms such as theatre and film, literary works such ...
and
sword-and-sandal spoof.
Background
The film is not in fact a sequel nor a prequel to
Tinto Brass
Giovanni "Tinto" Brass (born 26 March 1933) is an Italian film director and screenwriter. In the 1960s and 1970s, he directed many critically acclaimed avant-garde films of various genres. Today, he is mainly known for his later work in the er ...
' 1979 film ''
Caligula
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...
''. During the time that ''Caligula'' spent in post-production, the film's co-producer Franco Rossellini wanted to get usage from the $20,000,000 of sets and costumes used in ''Caligula'', fearing that the film would never be released.
The sets and costumes, as noted in the film's opening credits, were those from ''
Caligula
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...
'', designed by
Danilo Donati
Danilo Donati (6 April 1926 - 1 December 2001) was an Italian costume designer and production designer. He won the Academy Award for Best Costume Design twice: the first time for his work in ''Romeo and Juliet'' (1968), the second time for his w ...
and used without his consent. Anneka Di Lorenzo, who plays the title role of Messalina, had played the same role in ''Caligula''. Lori Wagner, who played Agrippina in Tinto Brass' film, also reprises her role.
Synopsis
The film begins with
Messalina
Valeria Messalina (; ) was the third wife of Roman emperor Claudius. She was a paternal cousin of Emperor Nero, a second cousin of Emperor Caligula, and a great-grandniece of Emperor Augustus. A powerful and influential woman with a reputation ...
(Anneka Di Lorenzo), the wife of
Claudius
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...
(Vittorio Caprioli), who is now Emperor succeeding
Caligula
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (31 August 12 – 24 January 41), better known by his nickname Caligula (), was the third Roman emperor, ruling from 37 until his assassination in 41. He was the son of the popular Roman general Germanicu ...
.
Most of the film revolves around Messalina's adulterous behavior, while Claudius remains blissfully unaware. Empress Messalina is having sex with every man in Rome except her husband Claudius, a traveler who has come to Rome looking for a good time, and a Roman con-man. It all ends in a comedic and gory bloodbath when Claudius comes home early and finds an orgy taking place in the palace. Claudius and his soldiers kill Messalina and all of the orgy participants.
Cast
*
Anneka Di Lorenzo
Anneka Di Lorenzo, later Anneka Vasta (born Marjorie Lee Thoreson; September 6, 1952 – January 4, 2011) was an American exploitation film star and nude model.
Life
Thoreson was born in St. Paul, Minnesota. When her parents divorced in 1965, the ...
...
Messalina
Valeria Messalina (; ) was the third wife of Roman emperor Claudius. She was a paternal cousin of Emperor Nero, a second cousin of Emperor Caligula, and a great-grandniece of Emperor Augustus. A powerful and influential woman with a reputation ...
*
Vittorio Caprioli
Vittorio Caprioli (15 August 1921 – 2 October 1989) was an Italian actor, film director and screenwriter. He appeared in 109 films between 1946 and 1990, mostly in French productions.
Biography
Caprioli was born in Naples. Having graduated fr ...
...
Claudius
Tiberius Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus (; 1 August 10 BC – 13 October AD 54) was the fourth Roman emperor, ruling from AD 41 to 54. A member of the Julio-Claudian dynasty, Claudius was born to Nero Claudius Drusus, Drusu ...
*
Giancarlo Prete
Giancarlo Prete (5 February 1943 – 9 March 2001) was an Italian actor.
After he worked in the cinema
Cinema may refer to:
Film
* Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography
* Film or movie, a series of still images that create t ...
...
Gaius Silius
Gaius Silius (died AD 24) was a Roman senator who achieved successes as a general over German barbarians following the disaster of the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest. For this achievement he was appointed consul in AD 13 with Lucius Munatius Planc ...
*
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 (Venice), shortly after his debut he moved to Milan where he obtained his first successe ...
... Giulio Nelio, the Man from Venice
*
Tomas Milian
Tomas Milian (born Tomás Quintín Rodríguez-Varona Milián Salinas de la Fé y Álvarez de la Campa; 3 March 1933 – 22 March 2017) was a Cuban-born actor and singer with American and Italian citizenship, known for the emotional intensity and ...
... Baba
*Lori Wagner ...
Agrippina (as Lory Kay Wagner)
*Raf Luca ...
*
Bombolo
Franco Lechner, best known as Bombolo (22 May 1931 – 21 August 1987), was an Italian character actor and comedian.
Life and career
Born in Rome into a humble family, a former peddler of dishes, Lechner was discovered in a tavern by Franco ...
... Zenturio Bisone
*
Pino Ferrara
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 alphabetical ...
...
*
Salvatore Borghese
Sal Borgese (born 5 March 1937, in Rome) is an Italian film actor. He is sometimes credited as Salvatore Borghese or Mark Trevor. He is noted for extensive work in the Italian film industry from the 1960s to present day, and for his work as a st ...
... Mevius (as Sal Borgese)
*Alessandra Cardini ... Calpurnia
*
Luca Sportelli
Luca Sportelli (11 March 1927 - 29 August 1999) was an Italian actor who appeared in more than one hundred films from 1964 to 1991.
Selected filmography
References
External links
*
1927 births
1999 deaths
Italian male film actors< ...
...
*Ombretta De Carlo ...
*
Marco Tulli
Marco Tulli (20 November 1920 – 20 March 1982) was an Italian character actor, probably best known in the role of "Smilzo" in the Don Camillo film series.
Born in Rome, Tulli debuted as actor while he was still a university student, at the end ...
... Senofonte (as Primo Marco Tulli)
Release
The film was released in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
on August 25, 1977.
Notes
External links
*
1970s sex comedy films
1970s adventure comedy films
1977 films
Italian adventure comedy films
Films set in ancient Rome
Films set in the Roman Empire
Films set in the 1st century
Films shot in Italy
Commedia sexy all'italiana
1970s Italian-language films
Films directed by Bruno Corbucci
Films scored by Guido & Maurizio De Angelis
Italian parody films
1970s parody films
Cultural depictions of Messalina
Cultural depictions of Claudius
Cultural depictions of Agrippina the Younger
1977 comedy films
Films with screenplays by Mario Amendola
1970s Italian films
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