The Story
Frivolous Senta (Ulrike
Butz) is thrown out of her residence for a reason we will later find out. Owning just a suitcase and the clothes on
her back (a raincoat) she decides to hitch a ride. To help achieve her goal she flashes her naked body to an
unsuspecting driver, who crashes his car in disbelieve - yes, she's thát
gorgeous!
This little stunt lands her
in court, but since she has no money to pay for the damages and her shrewd
'double nip-slip' can't sway the conservative judge, she is sentenced to......write down her memoirs!
Inspired by classic erotic literature, Senta's writings predominantly feature her past sexual encounters - presented as flashbacks - up to the point which led her into court.
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| The soon to be famous 'double nipple slip' |
The Movie
Fans of the genre will be
pleased as they are presented the usual German sex-romp ingredients: men
sitting in trees (for whatever reason), uncomfortable sexual positions, a ton
of nudity, sped up slapstick gags and the omnipresent Italian immigrant (not
played by Rinaldo Talamonti this time).
However, it's apparent that
director Hubert Frank was an in ambitious mood because he eagerly attempts to
push this cinematic experience to a higher level.
His camera angles and
framing are slightly atypical yet always intentional, with a fine eye for
composition. Many shots contain loads
of deep space and depth, sometimes achieved by the use of mirrors, which vastly
increases the production value.
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| Director Hubert Frank's ode to "Vertigo" |
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| High angles = high production value |
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| Deep space at low cost |
Sophomoric symbolism can be found throughout in tower bells, fire hoses and a shot of simulated fellatio followed by a man blowing a trumpet. More clever and amusing is a scene where Senta is eating a banana with a brown ripe spot on it, which is mirrored by her boyfriend burning his erection on a candle.
Director Frank even lets
Ulrike break the 4th wall by deliberately having her stare and talk right into
the camera for a split second.
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| A composite of the burnt banana(s) gag |
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| Inconspicuously breaking the 4th wall |
The sex scenes also tend to go a bit further than usual with plenty of full frontal male nudity and a rather explicit masturbation scene only topped by a giant close-up of Ulrike's 'muschi'.
If you haven't figured it
out by now: "Muschimaus mag's grad heraus" is without a doubt one of
the better efforts to come out of the 'Aufklärungsfilme' sub-genre era.
Ulrike Butz
Ulrike portrays Senta as a
flirtatious free spirit, ostensibly naïve, always sticking up for herself and
landing on her feet. While at first
glance she's casually exploring life, sexuality and their boundaries, deep
inside she's yearning for true love.
Sounds like a huge cliché, but Ulrike's stunning presence, contagious
enthusiasm and fine thespian skills make you actually care for her and secretly wish
you'd met someone equally enchanting on your way to adolescence.
She's practically in every
scene and carries the movie effortlessly.
Everything combined, "Muschimaus mag's grad heraus" is
definitely one of my personal favorites within the Butz canon.
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| How many 'bells' do you count? |
Technical Mumbo-Jumbo
The film is presented in
its correct aspect ratio of 1:1,85. The
print used for this transfer sports some minor scratches and blemishes (mostly
during reel change sections) but the colors are vibrant and the image is sharp.
Overall, the quality is much better than to
be expected for a film this old and rare. It's highly watchable and the few minor flaws never distract or take
away from viewing pleasure.
The audio is pretty clean
with its German (dubbed) dialogue comprehensible throughout.
In addition to a few missing frames (the source is a used positive print) it seems the title card
is m.i.a. as well. To fill in this gap
we are shown a still taken from the "Jagdzeit für Naschkatzen" poster followed
by a still containing the "Muschimaus mag's grad heraus" title. It must be noted though, that things like
this are subject to change before the actual DVD release.
The
rest of the credits are original and complete, superimposed over the first
scene.
NOTE:
At the time of writing, a specific release date hasn't been announced yet, but I will let you know the moment it's official.
Many thanks go to Michael Rüdel and Walter Potganski from moviemax GmbH München.