Schulmadchen
Schoolgirl Report and Other Music From Sexy German Films (1968 - 1972)
"Before every recording session I have the same dream, a million green men in the orchestra pit playing a million wrong notes." --Gert Wilden
Sax Rohmer's super-villian Fu Manchu, German pulp novel hero Rolf Torring, James Feninmore Cooper's Leatherstocking and Gunther Hunold's schoolgirls: when their German movie incarnations premiered on the big screen, they were all accompanied by the music of one man: Gert Wilden.
Born April 15, 1923 in Mahrisch Trubau, Chechoslovakia, he studied composition and conduction at the Prague conservatorium under George Szell, Fritz Rieger and Fidelio Fincke. In the late '40s, Wilden composed and arranged for most German radio stations and worked as a "ghost-writer" in collaboration with Michael Jary, H.M. Majewski, Alfred Newman and Victor Young.
Beginning 1956, Wilden worked as a free-lanced film composer and his music has
complimented more than 50 feature films of all genres. From 1961 to '64, he spearheaded the orchestra of the Bavarian Television Orchestra responsible for countless music shows and cabaret broadcasts. He was supervisor and arranger for recording by such artists as Hildegard Knef, Zarah Leander, Elke Sommer, Hans Albers, and Heinz Ruhmann.
Although several of his soundtracks have been released on singles, here for the first time Wilden gets a proper overview of his cinema music (in this case the erotic cinema) in full digital quality. His music for the German erotic flicks of the '70s proves to be as uncomplicated and joyful as the man himself. When asked by a colleague why he accepted composing for such suggestive films, Wilden answered with his unmistakable charm: "If these actors can fake sex naked on the big screen, why can't I compose for them fully dressed?"
PARENTS! DO YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR CHILDREN ARE LISTENING TO?
Perhaps you remember visiting the drive-in during your own reckless youth, 20 years ago, when roadside marquees boasted such titles as CAMPUS SWINGERS, LOVE UNDER 17, THE YOUNG SEDUCERS, THE GAMES SCHOOLGIRLS PLAY and SECRETS OF SIXTEEN? You may also recall the aptly-named "Coming Attraction" trailers that preceded them, in which various test audience members were interviewedas they left the cinema in excitement: "I've never seen anything so disgusting in my whole life", a bespectacled young man grumbled. "Well," a middle-aged woman confessed, "I didn't expect to enjoy a movie with so much sex and total nudity, but to tell you the truth..." "I liked it very much," admitted a stern-looking man, "but if I ever caught my kids watching stuff like that, I'd break their necks!"
Of course, it was a very effective campaign, and being foolish teenagers with a little hemp in the pockets of our bellbottoms and the keys to our parents cars, we all went. It maybe surprises some of you to learn that each of the above mentioned titles belonged to a series of West German productions known as the "Schoolgirl Report" films. I have no doubt that these movies are best remembered, if at all, for their happy-go-lucky mixture of Volkswagens,shower scenes, ABBA-influenced fashions, and the voluptuous figures of series regulars Christina Lindberg, Astrid Frank and Ingrid Steeger.
But young intellectuals like myself, we honked our horns with delight when the male actors (whoever they were) got under the sweaters and skirts of these budding young actresses, while quoting 19th Century philosophers like Arthur Schoppenhaur ("Why should a woman's honor be held in such esteem when it's located just two inches from her anus?") Thanks to these films, we took permanent notice of Ernst Hofbauer and Walter Boos, two titans of teen libido, who directed all 13 original Schoolgirl Reports (not to mention a few Housewife and Au Pair Reports on the side). Gert Wilden was another key contributor to this '70s phenomenon whose music balanced the series' tongue-in-cheek cautionary approach with the merry sounds of youth and experimentation. Wilden's wholesome brand of psychedelia made sexual activity seem adventurous and healthy. To listen to his music celebrates the frredom of exploring the minds and bodies God gave us...not to mention a superb way of making one's own anatomical adventures feel like the centerpiece of a German sex farce.
So, while your music-loving children are away at school, why not act as a responsible parent and examine this recording for yourself? To quote another great 19th Century philosopher, "You have nothing to loose but your cherry."
Dr. Tim R. Lucas
Scientific Center for Watchdog Studies
Cincinnati, OH
March, 1996
With their crazy hairdos, wild fashion extravaganzas, bizarre humor and Gert Wilden's stunning beat music, the German soft-erotic films of the '70s are very much a product of their time. A product which audiences continue to enjoy (occasional TV airings boast surprisingly high ratings), which only a few hold in high esteem. They are an important part of what American film buffs call "Trash Culture." In Germany, the negative connotations to the term "Schundfilm" complete ignore the efforts by Hofbauer and company to make their films look good, and, most importantly, make people feel good. Times have not really changed, countless German boulevard magazines and talk shows depict the same interest in exploitative subjects and nudity without confessing it. The only difference lies in the style of those '70s soft-sex films, a unique quality and a touch of humanity which made them entertaining and loveable. If you were a schoolboy or schoolgirl in the '70s, the stunning music contained on this CD might bring back memories from the time of free love and long, sleepless night of groovy music. If not, you may find out you are not too late to pick up a satchel and join the party.
---Peter Blumenstock, March 1996
Back in 1970, more than 7 million Germans saw the first SCHULMADCHEN REPORT - an unbelievable success for the producer, even by today's standards.
The film gave way to a whole wave of sequels and rip-offs, which was no surprise, as those apparently "serious" film buffs were talking about the sexual growing up of the teen generation based on strictly scientific studies by Gunther Hunold. In each film of the series - consisting of 13 parts on the whole - six up to eight examples of modern youth were examined. Subjects were forbidden love, relationships between pupil and teacher, incest, prostitution, rape and undesired pregnancy - told by means of a somewhat threadbare framing plot. However, the numerous sex scenes, which previously had not been seen in such graphic detail, were only one element which led to the success of the series and its imitations. Sometimes serious, sometimes tongue-in-cheek, but never heavy with conservative moral values, the films presented anecdotes of "modern" youth (or what the producer's tried to sell as such) which wasn't hesitant to undress without restraint and to enjoy life right here and right now. "This youth knows where it's at," the adult spectators thought at the time, "much more than the generation of their parents ever did."
Secret desires, such as peeping through the keyhole of the daughter's room, or watching the 16 year old neighbor's daughter while making love, were directly addressed, the alibi of science was abandoned after part 3 at the latest. The so-called "Report Films" had become established, a justification was no longer required.
LIEBE UNTER 17 ("Love Under 17"), HAUSFRQUEN REPORT ("Housewife Report"), HOCHZEITSNACHT REPORT ("Honeymoon Report"), SCHLUSSELLOCH REPORT ("Keyhole Report"), URLAUBS REPORT ("Holiday Report"), JUNGFRAUEN REPORT ("Virgin Report"), or SCHULER REPORT ("Schoolboy Report") were only some of the numerous theatrical features which hit German cinemas in subsequent years. They all combined short spicy stories about the sexual life of more or less juvenile citizens with a supporting plot and the obligatory street interviews.
The SHULMADCHEN REPORT films still enjoy their revival. Although more than 25 years have passed sine the creation of the original, those films still manage to fascinate. Pseudo-realistic scenes full of eroticism, young bodies and fresh faces of boys and girls. The fashion and music of the '70s, which was rediscovered by the mid-90s Easy Listening trend. Miniskirts, flamboyant post-hippy clothing and driving beat music, psychedelic orgies and acid pop.
--Graf Haufen/VIDEOROM Berlin March, 1996
