The Lady Medic

Usually in a movie when someone wrecks a car staring at someone I usually think, “Well, that’s pretty ridiculous.” Then again, if it’s Edwige Fenech, that makes more sense to me.

In this film, she plays Dottoressa Elena Dogliozzi, a busty doctor who believes that all of the sick men in her military hospital are just trying to postpone being sent off to war.

Director Nando Cicero also made Due Volte Giuda and isn’t someone whose films I’ve sought out. It’s hard to judge someone’s abilities within the commedia sexy all’italiana genre. Cicero wrote the script with Franco Milizia and Marino Onorati who wrote a movie with one of my favourite titles of all time, Metti lo diavolo tuo ne lo mio inferno (Put Your Devil Into My Hell).

This would be followed by several sequels and connected movies, including the Karin Shubert-starring La dottoressa sotto il lenzuolo (Under the Sheets); the Fenech-starring La soldatessa alla visita militare (The Soldier On the MIlitary Visit) and La soldatessa alle grandi manovre (The Solder With Great Maneuvers); Nadia Cassini in L’infermiera nella corsia dei militari (The Nurse In the Military Madhouse) and La dottoressa ci sta col colonnello (The Doctor Is There with the Colonel); and Paola Senatore in La dottoressa preferisce i marinai (The Doctor Prefers Sailors). There’s also Che dottoressa ragazzi! (What a Doctor You Guys!) which is pretty much this same movie with Femi Benussi, Gloria Guida in L’infermiera di notte (Night Nurse) and Laura Gemser in Messo comunale praticamente spione (Communal Messenger Practically a Spy).

This humour alternates the gross comedy with the farce and the crazy tone. The best thing about the film, in addition to some successful moments of absurdity and its light narration, are the cartoon characterisations of Mario Carotenuto as the Colonel who runs the hospital, and that of the almost always peculiar Giangranco D'Angelo as Federico, the giddy doctor attended by the sexy Edwige Fenech.

The worst thing is that Edwige is very underused, being almost a secondary character stripped naked in fantasies; that the male lead character lacks spark and interest; and that much of the jokes boil down to easy tit and ass jokes.