MENAGE ALL’ITALIANA [MENAGE ITALIAN STYLE] (1965)
Menage all’Italiana is a 1960s Italian sex and relationship comedy, directed by Franco Indovina and produced by the great Dino De Laurentiis, one of the first films he made in his long career. It stars Udo Tognazzi and, really, could only have been made in Europe in that era – Tognazzi plays lothario and man-about-town Carlo Valdesi, and all the comedy derives from the fact that he is a cheerful bigamist, struggling to keep his numerous wives and girlfriends happy and unaware of each other’s existence. The women, by the way, range from a famous opera singer (Anna Moffo) to an under-age girl (Romina Power), who is so young that Carlo must lie to her parents and pretend to be her doctor so he doesn’t get arrested!
Morricone’s score for the film is typical of Euro-comedies of the period, and anchored by a series of light pop and jazz instrumentals that get the toes tapping and fingers snapping. “La Moglie Assassina” is a groovy piece for especially rambunctious pianos, “Fermateli!” is a groovy Beach Boys-esque rock instrumental for electric guitars, and so on. The main title track “Menage all’Italiana” uses swirling, twisty cello chords and plucked pizzicato violins in what sounds like a dry run for the theme he would write for Investigation of a Citizen Under Suspicion in 1970.
There’s also a really quite beautiful song, “In Fondo Ai Miei Occhi,” written by Morricone and lyricist Sergio Bardotti and performed by the aforementioned Italian chanteuse Anna Moffo, which receives several gorgeous instrumental renditions later in score, including one for solo violin, piano, guitar, and swooning romantic strings that it simply stunning. Another swingin’ song, “Ho Messo Gli Occhi Su Di Te,” is performed by the gravel-throated one-named Dino, and also gets an instrumental statement featuring a sultry bass flute melody accompanied Hammond organ.
Other cues of note include “1+1+1=4” which arranges Mendelssohn’s famous Wedding March for a pipe organ; “Funerale Stronato,” which arranges Chopin’s famous Funeral March for off-kilter brass, snares, and the same swirling, twisty cello chords from the main title; “La Moglie Calabrese” and “La Bionda Svedese,” both of which engage in some pseudo-Godfather tones for mandolin; and the surprisingly modernistic jazzy suspense music for bass flute, organ, and shimmering chimes in “Giallo è Arrancione”.
The soundtrack for Menage all’Italia has been released numerous times over the years; I personally own the 1999 RCA Records CD release which pairs the score with music from the 1967 film Ad Ogni Costo, but the most complete edition appears to be the 2016 GDM Music release, which features a re-mastered version of the score and a couple of bonus tracks.
Track Listing: 1. In Fondo Ai Miei Occhi (written by Ennio Morricone and Sergio Bardotti, performed by Anna Moffo) (3:23), 2. Ho Messo Gli Occhi Su Di Te (1:43), 3. 1+1+1=4 (1:38), 4. La Moglie Assassina (3:17), 5. Menage All’Italiana – In Fondo Ai Miei Occhi (1:38), 6. Fermateli! (2:44), 7. Ho Messo Gli Occhi Su Di Te (written by Ennio Morricone and Sergio Bardotti, performed by Dino) (2:54), 8. In Fondo Ai Miei Occhi (2:23), 9. Un Fiore è Nato (written by Gino Paoli, performed by Anna Moffo) (3:52), 10. La Moglie Calabrese (1:42), 11. La Moglie Bambina (2:09), 12. Giallo è Arrancione (3:00), 13. La Moglie Tardona (2:09), 14. Funerale Stonato (2:28), 15. Matrimonio Felice (2:00), 16. La Bionda Svedese (2:13). GDM Music 4405, 39 minutes 07 seconds.
