The Islands of the 'uncovering'

PalmIt was the Catalan journalist Àngel Casas who coined the term 'cinema ofuncover' to refer to the erotic genre that became popular after Franco's death in 1975. These were films, often comedies, starring women displaying their breasts and rear ends alongside less-than-attractive men who represented the prototype of the Iberian macho. Their most prominent figures were Antonio Ozores, Andrés Pajares, and Fernando Esteso, and, to a lesser extent, Alfredo Landa, José Sacristán, and José Luis López Vázquez.

In our country, the charismatic comedian from Palma, Xesc Forteza, also dared to explore this genre. He is remembered by Ibizan Javier Matesanz, author of the book A brief history of cinema (Leonard Muntaner, 2007): "In 1981 he had a small role in the film What a fucking family, filmed in Mallorca by Palma-born director Martín Garrido Ramis. He appears with a naked woman on top of him rubbing her breasts in his face. It's a horrible film."

Sexist scripts

In the Balearic Islands, there were also risqué foreign-produced films with Spanish participation. This is the case of Six hot Swedish women in Ibiza, filmed in 1981 on the largest of the Pitiusas. "I saw it 25 years ago for a project," the film critic comments. "I was scared by the script, completely absurd. It's about six Swedish friends who, while on vacation on the island, are victims of a robbery. Then a black woman offers them accommodation and they walk around her house naked."

The famous white island would also be the setting for other foreign productions such as Wild females in Ibiza (1980) and Ibiza in the nude (1982). "They were films that played with the myth of the Pitiusas as the paradise of sexual freedom that hippies made fashionable in the 1960s." For his research, Matesanz no longer had the desire to see another classic, The Spanish flyIt was filmed in Menorca in 1980. The plot revolves around an English resident on the island who tastes a wine that becomes an aphrodisiac upon contact with a fly. The film was aimed at one of the most sought-after actresses of the time, Nadiuska. Born in Germany and of Russian descent, she arrived in Spain in 1971, at the age of 19, and soon became a star.

In 1973 Nadiuska already appeared in Manolo at nightIt was a propaganda comedy for the tourist industry, but with Franco still alive, it revealed some distinctive features of the future genre of uncoverIts protagonist is a tour guide, played by Alfredo Landa, who, with his hairy chest exposed, dedicates himself to flirting with promiscuous foreigners on the Costa del Sol while his wife is away in Madrid. "They," Matesanz assures, "had sculpted physiques and were completely naive, capable of losing their minds over a rather ugly Spaniard. The reverse never happened. They were films serving the visual pleasure of heterosexual men and were in tune with the patriarchal Spain of the time."

Queens of 'Interviú'

In those films from the end of Franco's regime, censorship prevented the showing of nude bodies. Only women in bikinis appeared. The lasciviousness was unleashed with the dictator's death. The disappearance of censorship formally began in 1976, although it did not come into effect until the following year. "After four decades of sexual repression, the films of uncover They were an escape valve for men, who until then had to go to Perpignan to see some flesh. They were a far cry from the erotic films made in Europe, which were of much higher quality. This is the case Last Tango in Paris (1972) and Emmanuelle (1974)". Producers rubbed their hands with glee at the low-budget films that filled the movie theaters. There were women who, out of curiosity, didn't want to miss them either, despite their sexist content and their apology for male adultery – at that time, female adultery could be punished with sentences of up to, up to. In 1981, the sexist offering would be represented by The Benny Hill Show, with the veteran British actor always chasing young girls.

However, this vulgar eroticism was seen as a symbol of the new winds of freedom of the time. This was captured in the iconic photo of the Transition taken on February 14, 1978, during the Diario Pueblo awards ceremony. Actress Susana Estrada appears with her breast in the air as she accepts the award from Enrique Tierno Galván, who a year later would become Madrid's first democratic mayor. The magazine Interview, born in 1976, was in charge of promoting on its covers those new queens of uncover who left behind the role of 'angel of the home' promoted by Franco's regime. "It was a publication," Matesanz points out, "that combined investigative journalism with photos of female nudes, which served as a lure for the most testosterone-fueled readers. Sexual liberation, therefore, was only for men. Women were completely objectified." The nascent feminist movement of the time was not up in arms, while the Church, a former ally of Franco's regime, felt powerless in the face of this green wave.

Bread and Circuses of the Transition

Ass and udder films would be the bread and butter of the Transition years. They were classified as 'S' films, which also included films with violent content. The 'S' meant they could offend the viewer's sensibilities. In Palma, between 1976 and 1980, 855 were screened, according to data from historian Tomeu Canyelles, author of Stained with desire (Leonardo Muntaner, 2023). María José Cantudo, an 18-year-old girl, was the first actress to go completely nude on celluloid. It was in The back roomIt premiered in 1975, coinciding with Franco's death. The scene, which defied censorship, lasted only two seconds, but it left its mark on a sex-hungry society. It also caused a sensation in 1977. I feel strange, starring singer Rocío Dúrcal and Bárbara Rey, Miss Madrid 1970 and future lover of King Juan Carlos. It was the first film to depict a lesbian relationship. That same year, Ágata Lys, a former hostess on the television competition one two three, would also break the mold by playing a transgender woman in The transsexual.

In 1977 Lys also shared the set with the Mallorcan Simón Andreu in The uprootedThe one from Sa Pobla made his film debut in 1961, at the age of 20, with It's always SundayHe specialized in Spanish leading man roles, without leaving aside the industry of uncover with titles like Mouth, rich and... special (1976), It's a sin... but I like it (1977), Girls... in the living room! (1977) and Venus of fire (1978). He still had the freedom to choose. However, they didn't have many more options if they wanted to continue their artistic career. This was the case of the Catalan model Teresa Gimpera, the muse of the gauche divine, which became an object of desire in The esteemed, Last wish (1976) and Finer than chickens (1977).

Showgirl Norma Duval was also highly sought-after. She starred in films such as The bingo players (1979) by Andrés Pajares and Fernando Esteso, considered true national heroes. Some of these erotic celebrities would end up passing through Palma's Broadway theater. More sexually explicit was The orgy (1978), by Francesc Bellmunt. It was promoted as one of the first erotic films in Catalan. Its cast included Carme Elias and Sílvia Munt, as well as two Mallorcans, Eulàlia Segorb and Maria A. Luz (stage name Andrea Berti).

The Decline

In the early 1980s, audiences began to tire of the absurd scripts of those films that had aroused their sexual desire. The titles became increasingly less tasteful, such as The plumber, his wife… and other things to put (1981). Furthermore, the emergence of home video caused moviegoers to decline. However, the final blow to the genre came in 1983 with the famous Miró Law. It took its name from its promoter, Pilar Miró, director general of cinematography in the first socialist government of Felipe González. The law established a series of financial facilities to promote higher quality productions. Miró is famous for his phrase: "This business of making plumber movies is over."

With this new context, the uncover gave way to pornographic films that were already beginning to be marketed with an X rating. Some of its former muses were tempted by the new industry. But most fell into oblivion. There were those who lived through real personal dramas, victims of drugs and sexist violence. From objects of desire they became broken toys. "The uncover –Matesanz concludes– it must be understood within the context of the time. Now, however, we have films like Fifty Shades of Grey which supposedly presents a sexually empowered woman, although submissive to a handsome millionaire. It's equally sexist."