MovieChat Forums > Topkapi (1964) Discussion > Risque moments?

Risque moments?

posted 13 years ago by muzilon
6 replies | jump to latest

A few moments struck me as surprisingly risque for 1964:

1. Melina saying she's a "nymphomaniac" and Max Schell replying "It's your most endearing feature". Is this the first Hollywood film to use that word?

2. The homo-erotic scene with the well-oiled wrestlers, and Melina the self-confessed nympho getting all worked up over them.

3. Akim Tamiroff twice calling someone a "Scheisskopf" (German for sh!thead) - at least that what the DVD subtitles said. I don't know why a Turk would be speaking German though.

[–] liscarkat-2 10 years ago

I used to know a Turkish woman. She frequently spoke English. I suppose a Turkish person might occasionally speak some German, too.

[–] muzilon 10 years ago

Perhaps we knew the same Turkish woman, she used to live next door to me.

But why would a Turkish character in an English-language movie set in Turkey be using German swear-words for no apparent reason?

[–] Rueiro 10 years ago

Because the insults are meant for Hans, who is a German. He and the cook hate each other's guts.

[–] muzilon 10 years ago

Ah, I must have missed the fact that he was addressing a German. Thanks for the clarification.

[–] spookyrat1 9 years ago

He and the cook hate each other's guts.

True! All the more reason to team them up.🐭

[–] eolloe 9 years ago

Yeah, both of the OP's point #1 & #2 crossed my mind as I was watching.

Considering that the film was made in the early '60s, those did seem very risque for the times, for what otherwise seems to be the spirit of this film.
(Of course, the times would change quite drastically just a few years later.)

On the other hand, despite this being an MGM release, the creative team was mostly European and it was filmed in Europe, so not really standard Hollywood fare at all.