Carmen, Baby Movie Review

Uta Levka gets the honors in this go-round to be Radley Metzger's oft-naked vamp. In this rendition of the classic opera and novel Carmen (dig the title), Carmen is a bit of a tramp who woos a cop who's trying to arrest her and then a rock star, despite the fact that she's married. Jealousy rears its head eventually, with disastrous consequences. (Hell, if you saw the way Carmen could dance -- it's just her and a long-necked Chianti bottle -- you'd feel the same!)

Metzger earns points for picking good source material, but in his typical fashion he meanders all over the place en route to telling his story. He gets around to it eventually, but there are so many cocked eyebrows and sultry glances that it's easy to miss the actual plot amidst all the sexy subtlety.

Shot in 1967, Carmen, Baby is an archetypal example of sweaty, acid-tinged '60s filmmaking, with just about every shot seen through a mirror or stained glass window, while synthish mod music seeps into everything. You'll either find it groovy or, well, you won't.

Available as part of the Radley Metzger Collection #3 box set with The Lickerish Quartet and The Princess & the Call Girl.