Elsa Fräulein SS

Elsa Fräulein SS was very likely shot on a shoestring budget, which is a real pity because the story definitely had something going for it. The war is turning on Germany, and Hitler decides to send a train of pleasure to the eastern front. Cunningly, it's actually a spying mission on officers who are suspected of being disloyal to the regime. Off course these are to be executed on the spot, without any form of trial or remorse being shown.

The premise could have made for a dark, grim exploitation movie with a message. However what we do get is relatively mild in abuse and violence, which makes it all rather tame (if not lame). Yes there is nudity to be seen, and some scenes are quite brutal but it never gets to a point where it is really upsetting.

People have vowed for a remake, which should then focus on the plot planned by Liselotte in my opinion. As she gains support against Elsa, we should be in for a much better finale than the film actually has now.

All aboard the sleaze-train! Hitler's latest invention to boost the moral among his exhausted and unmotivated SS-officers. Led by killer shrew Elsa, a former prostitute and overly fanatic patriot, a train filled with ravishing ladies rides to the war fronts and the girls offer sexual services in their carriages. "Salon Kitty" on rails, in other words, and that about summarizes the whole movie. "Elsa Fräulein SS" is a complete rip-off of "Salon Kitty" (they even unmask betrayers and deserters the same way) and "Ilsa – She Wolf of the SS". Elsa has many vile characteristics in common with Ilsa, only she lacks the arrogance and the self-complacency. Also, unlike the above mentioned titles, "Fräulein SS" is boring, tame and it doesn't contain one sequence that qualifies as shocking or even unsettling. There's a lot of nudity, of course, but no obscene sex-scenes or graphic violence. Nazi-exploitation is already a totally redundant horror sub genre as it is, so what's the point of watching another one if there aren't any memorable moments of sickness?? The yodel music is utterly annoying and the scenery looks like secondhand attributes, used in other exploitation movies already. Total turkey! Avoid, unless of course you're on a pointless mission to watch every crappy 70's exploitation movie ever made.

The Nazi sexpolitation film was one of the most tasteless genres in film history. This is is one of the most palatable entries because it was obviously inspired by Tinto Brass' "Salon Kitty" and, like that film, focuses on German girls working as prostitutes in "joy division"-type Nazi brothels as opposed to Jewish girls working as sex slaves or being tortured to death in extermination camps. It's also a French production rather than an Italian one, so it's not particularly graphic (at least as far as the violence goes). Unfortunately, since it's a cheap-jack Eurocine production it's not particularly good either. It even laughably tries to incorporate actual WWII footage into its ludicrous plot.

This is basically the same movie as Eurocine's earlier "Hell Train". It involves a brothel on the rails that is being used to ostensibly to service war-weary officers, but actually to spy on them (a la "Salon Kitty")in case they say something against the Fuhrer. Naturally, a lot of them do--treason I guess is a good subject for post-coital pillow talk--and they are taken off the train and summarily executed. Malisa Longo plays the evil Nazi madam of the brothel, Elsa. Patizia Gorzi plays the spy who steals Elsa's man and undermines her operation.

Naturally, this is not in the class of "Salon Kitty" and (for better or worse) really doesn't begin to compare to the more infamous Nazi death camp movies. It is a minor improvement over "Hell Train" mainly because Longo is far more attractive than Monica Swinn, the villainess in that one, and Patrizia Gorzi gets a lot more naked than Sandra Mazurowsky, her counterpart in "Hell Train" (there's one especially memorable scene of her being tied up naked and very gently whipped). Fulfilling the porno skank quota, French hardcore star Claudine Beccairie appears in in a cameo role (as she did in "Hell Train"). And if you look closely, you might spot Jess Franco-regular Pamela Stanford and Eurocine-regular Nadine Pascal in the supporting cast. It's not a good movie by any means, but at least you probably won't need to take a long, hot shower when its over.

With the war effort going against them and talk of a possible coup against Adolf Hitler, the SS seizes upon the idea of using prostitutes to cavort with officers serving on the front lines in order to determine whether they are loyal to the Fuhrer or not. To do that they appoint a prostitute named "Elsa Ackermann" (Malisa Longo) to the rank of an SS colonel and recruit several nubile young women to assist her. They also give her a train to take them to the Western Front and to use for their sexual activities. Although Colonel Ackermann does indeed catch several disloyal officers, she has to contend with a spy within her group who causes her serious problems as well. Now rather than reveal any more of the plot and risk ruining the film for those who haven't seen it I will just say that, while this movie had a good premise, the low budget accompanied by poor direction caused everything to seem dull and plodding. As a matter of fact, other than the presence of Malisa Longo and Patrizia Gori (as "Liselotte Richter") there really wasn't anything that remarkable about this film. Because of that I rate it as below average.

The featured video trailer on this page claims it is from ELSA, FRAULEIN SS (which stars Malisa Longo and Patrizia Gori) but it is NOT. It is from HELL TRAIN, starring Monika Swinn. Whoever put the title on the trailer is mistaken.

The movies are similar, but ELSA (a.k.a FRAULEIN DEVIL) is superior to HELL TRAIN, largely because Ms. Longo and Ms. Gori are much easier to look at than Ms. Swinn.

ELSA seems better photographed than HELL TRAIN also.

Patrizia Gori and Malisa Longo play similar characters in SHE-WOLF OF SPILBERG.