The Ape Woman

1964 1h 32m IT

👍

7.3

SOLID

★7.3TMDB · 64

DramaComedy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

A modest Neapolitan man meets a young woman with excessive hairiness. He exhibits her at fairs and marries her. It is after marriage that he receives a tempting offer from a French manager.

“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”

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Cast

Ugo Tognazzi
Antonio Semola
Annie Girardot
Maria
Achille Majeroni
Majoroni
Filippo Pompa Marcelli
Bruno
Ermelinda De Felice
Sister Furgonicino
Elvira Paolini
Chambermaid in Paris
Ugo Rossi
Baron Rossi
Eva Belami

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Marco Ferreri
Writers: Rafael Azcona, Marco Ferreri
Languages: Italian, French
Countries: France, Italy

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

62 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Italian, French.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: France, Italy.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Marco Ferreri, shot by Aldo Tonti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Teo Usuelli. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Editor Mario Serandrei shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ugo Tognazzi and Annie Girardot and Achille Majeroni carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Marco Ferreri directs. Aldo Tonti behind the camera. Teo Usuelli scores. Mario Serandrei cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in France, Italy. Dialogue in Italian, French.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

162 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Italian, French.
3International production across 2 countries: France, Italy.
4Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
5Directed by Marco Ferreri, shot by Aldo Tonti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Teo Usuelli. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Mario Serandrei shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Ugo Tognazzi and Annie Girardot and Achille Majeroni carry the top of the cast.
9IMDB entry: tt0057006 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
10Only 64 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Aldo Tonti
Original score: Teo Usuelli
Editing: Mario Serandrei
Costume design: Piero Tosi
Runtime: 92 min · 1h 32m
Status: Released
Original language: IT
IMDB: The Ape Woman (1964)

Also by

Marco Ferreri

Community reviews

What people are saying

lasttimeisaw2017-02-11
* English Title: The Ape Woman * Original Title: La donna scimmia * Year: 1964 * Country: Italy, France * Language: Italian * Genre: Comedy, Drama * Director: Marco Ferreri * Writers: * Marco Ferrieri * Rafael Azcona * Music: Teo Usuelli * Cinematography: Aldo Tonti * Cast: * Ugo Tognazzi * Annie Girardot * Achille Majeroni * Ermelinda De Felice * Rating: 6.2/10 A competition entry in Cannes from Italy in 1964, this Marco Ferreri Black-and-White satire cashes in on the real-life story of Julia Pastrana (1834-1860), an indigenous woman from Mexico, whose face and body was covered with straight black hair due to an undiagnosed genetic condition, and was exploited in freak shows as a hybrid between an ape and a woman. The story is transposed to Naples, where Antonio (Tognazzi), a street-smart showman, alights on a hair-covered Maria (Girardot) in a convent (the script conveniently skates over her provenance by claiming her as an orphan), and takes her in for public exhibition as the so-called “ape woman", but what Maria is is nothing like an ape, she is simply an extra hirsute woman, no feral predisposition or mondo sauciness whatsoever, she is very aware of her unorthodox appearance and never expects a life of normalcy, at any rate, she tries to please Antonio in their act because it is their bread-and-butter, even reluctantly apes the behavior of a chimpanzee in the zoo. When a suspect rich man wants to study her and over-insists that she must retain her virginity, an upstanding Maria rebuffs the deal whilst Antonio is much interested in the financial gain. Imposed by the convent, the bachelor Antonio has to marry Maria to keep her with him, up till then Maria has developed a gentle affection (awakening sexuality in a more blunt language) towards Antonio whereas the latter still chastely intends to remain their relationship completely business-like, only to soon to surrender in sharing their tiny bed. A sortie in Paris, working their duo-act in a strip club, ensues and ends up with Maria becoming pregnant, after the struggle between abortion and otherwise, Pastrana’s sad denouement is faithfully imitated into the movie with an uninviting coda where stillborn, death and embalmment are the keywords, all of a sudden levity turns into a biting critique of humanity, Ferreri never compromised in that regard. Basically a two-hander, Tognazzi is well in his element with his slick impression and occasionally, considerable benevolence seeps through his non-threatening nonchalance. Girardot, on the other hand, is hampered in the slipshod make-up (understandably, the movie is half-an-century old), her hairy physiognomy is nonetheless non-too-startling so as to pander to a wider audience, not to mention a stripping sequence to gratifying male gaze. As a satire, we must admire Ferreri’s guts to preserve “the phenomenon is eternal” sting, but as a cinematic creation, THE APE WOMAN is a bog-standard treatment gussied up by an alluring premise it short-changes in realisation.

Production companies