Graf Porno und seine Mädchen (3 Stars)

This is the first film that the actor Rinaldo Talamonti appeared in. It's remarkable that he was given the leading role in his first film, especially since he had no previous acting experience. He went to an audition for a television commercial. He didn't get the job, but he was noticed in the crowd of 300 people, and he was invited for an interview. He was hired on the basis of his looks alone. The film producer Alois Brummer was looking for a small Italian immigrant. Rinaldo was only 5'2", the perfect height for the job. Over the next 10 years he made more than 40 films in which he was typecast as "the stupid little Italian" (those are his own words). He knew he was being exploited, but he didn't mind, because he made a lot of money. In an interview that he gave in 2013 he claims to have been the highest earning actor in Germany in the 1970's. I find that difficult to believe, but I'm certain that he earned a lot of money.

Rinaldo has little good to say about Alois Brummer, who produced and directed his first films. He calls him a butcher in the way he treated his actors. I think I understand what he means. He claims that he went along with it, because he didn't mind being the stupid little Italian, but there were actresses who committed suicide. He doesn't name any names in the interview, but he said he wants to write an autobiography in which he reveals everything. That was eight years ago, and there's still no book. He should start writing it soon. I want to read it!

The film's title means "Count Porno and his girls". Rinaldo Talamonti plays the private detective Harry Holtz. In the introductory scenes he's portrayed as a James-Bond-like character, suave and elegant, dressed in a suit as he shoots multiple assailants. And he always gets the girl!

He's searching for the master criminal Graf Porno. Nobody knows what he looks like, but Harry has a stroke of luck. He's hired to investigate a girl called Gina. She's 17 and lives in a boarding school after the death of her parents. Her uncle wants to adopt her, but first he wants to find out if she'll cause him any trouble. Harry follows Gina and passes on the message that she's an innocent young girl, but he's not secretive enough. One of the other girls, Elsie, notices him following Gina around and finds out who Harry is. She warns him that there are criminal activities in the school.

There are sex parties to which rich men are invited. While the men are undressed their wallets are stolen by one of the girls. She gives the money to Graf Porno, who's posing as one of the guests.

Does stealing cash from wallets make someone a master criminal? It's a bit of a let-down. The real James Bond chases men who want to conquer the world. Harry Holtz is a few numbers smaller. After all, he's only a stupid little Italian.

The film is directed by Günter Hendel, who also directed the second film in the series. Günter appears in several roles in the film. He's so well disguised that I stared at some of the characters and still couldn't figure out whether or not it was him. The plot is confusing. I sat puzzling over what was happening, and by the time I figured it out there were more things happening. So much of the film is a series of random events, rather than detective work. The film is moderately funny, but not very erotic. Rinaldo's later films were better.

Rinaldo Talamonti in 2013