This is the second film in the historical comedy series about Susanne Delburg,
known as the innkeeper on the Lahn. I accidentally watched
the third film
out of order, but I'll be careful not to make any more mistakes. The film has
the unusual title which means "The innkeeper also has a Count", but the name
of the English release is even worse: "Sexy Susan sins again", giving the
impression that it's an erotic film.
The fictional events in the film are wrapped around recorded historical
events. I'm not an expert on the Napoleonic period, but from reading the
relevant Wikipedia pages it seems like the film takes place in 1809.
Susanne Delburg and her theatre troupe are performing a Shakespeare play on a
stage outside her inn. The performance is interrupted by French soldiers
marching through the town. They want to rape the beautiful women they see on
stage. That's something soldiers have been doing for thousands of years and
will always do. It's said that the biggest series of mass rapes was carried
out by the Russian army in Berlin in 1945. Rape isn't just about sexual
gratification; it's an act of aggression to punish the enemy people.
But let's not get off the subject. The French soldiers are stopped by a
nobleman in the audience. It's the Count of Lucca. That's his title, but he
says he's lost his position. When Napoleon invaded Italy he couldn't prove
that he was the rightful owner of the castle, so Napoleon gave the castle to
his sister Elisa and named her the Countess of Lucca. She resents this,
because she thinks Lucca is too small for her. The Count has travelled to
Giessen to collect the papers that prove his ownership of the castle, and he
wants Susanne to deliver the papers to the Countess.
I assume that this disputed ownership is historically correct, but a few
things confuse me. Would Napoleon really pay attention to documents of
ownership when he wants to give a castle to his sister? Wouldn't he just kill
the old Count and take the castle? Also, why are the documents in Giessen?
It's a different country, more than 8600 miles away.
The theatre troupe heads towards Lucca, pretending they want to perform in the
city, but at the border the legal documents are found, so they're not allowed
to enter Italy. To solve this problem, Susanne disguises herself as the
Count's brother. Please... is anyone stupid enough to think this is a man?
Susanne even convinces Elisa Bonaparte, who wants to get her into bed because
of his reputation as a great lover. Embarrassing. Fortunately, Susanne is
saved by a messenger telling her that Napoleon wants to see her in Giessen as
soon as possible. So off Elisa goes, 8600 miles to the north. How long does a
trip like that take in a horse-drawn carriage? Susanne reunites with her
troupe at the border and follows her to Giessen, still carrying the documents
proving the Count's ownership of the castle.
Susanne's inn is still a regular meeting place for the city's students. They've heard the
news of Napoleon's visit and plan to assassinate him. Susanne isn't a
supporter of Napoleon, but she tries to talk the students out of the
assassination. She says that the French soldiers would slaughter everyone in
Giessen as a reprisal. The students refuse to listen to her, but she's
determined to stop them.
How can Susanne prevent the assassination? She uses the weapons of a woman.
(That expression sounds better in German). Together with the women from her
theatre troupe and waitresses from her inn, she waits for Napoleon to appear
on the balcony of the palace in Giessen. They're all dressed in black robes.
As soon as Napoleon appears they drop their robes, revealing themselves to be
naked underneath.
The horny young students are too confused to shoot Napoleon.
"Look, girls, even Napoleon's soldiers are standing up straight for us".
The assassination is averted, and Napoleon never even finds out it was
planned. But there's another result of the nude appearance. Prior to the
presentation, Elisa complained that her brother never smiled. He promised her
that he would grant any request to a person who made him smile. Susanne's nude
body succeeded in putting a smile on his face. Susanne says that her request
was for the Count of Lucca to be given back his castle. Napoleon agrees, and
to compensate his sister he makes her Grand Duchess of Tuscany.
So they all live happily ever after. Or at least, until the next film. In the
third film it's said that Napoleon met Susanne Delburg
three months ago, which puts everything into context.
It's amazing that this film is marketed as an erotic comedy. There's very
little sexuality in the film. More is suggested than shown. The most nudity
that's shown is in the photos above. The film was made in 1968, and the
sexuality is very 1960's-ish. If you're as old as I am, you'll understand what
I mean.
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