"Downtown - Die nackten Puppen der Unterwelt" or "Schwarze Nylons, wilde Engel" or just "Downtown" is a Swiss, German-language film from 1975, so this one had its 40th anniversary last year. The man behind this film is Jésús Franco, who also plays the main character in here and the way he wrote this character shows how little he takes himself seriously. It is a private eye who constantly runs into a dark-haired woman and her lesbian lover and they use him on several occasions to do what they want and get what the want. At least he gets some sexual favors in return for his stupidity. Franco is actually fairly famous and he made films in all kinds of countries. Here we have him in the German-speaking regions. This is not a good film by any means. At best, you can enjoy this as a guilty pleasure (or for sexual pleasure), but it's really all about the very graphic and very close shots of female genitalia that keeps this from being anything other than porn. Oh well, at least the women are beautiful and that includes Franco's partner and muse Lina Romay in her early 20s. As a whole, I just cannot recommend the watch. The story is way too weak for that and I give it a thumbs-down and I am glad it is a pretty short film, barely makes it past the 80-minute mark. watch something else instead.

It's always amusing to watch Jess Franco convert the elements of any film genre into a confused, sleazy spectacle, and Downtown: Die Nackten Puppen der Underwelt is no exception. As if the genre of film noir wasn't already replete with clichéd scenarios, here comes Jess Franco's interpretation, a furiously banal, incredibly sloppy, crotch-shot-filled piece of cinematic madness that's overall worth watching.Downtown tells the story of a private detective and two con-women strippers, one of whom sings hilarious showtunes in English, even though it's clear she doesn't understand a word of what she's saying. It stars Franco, no less, in the main role, and features much of the cast of other Franco/Dietrich collaborations, including the scrumptious Martine Stedil and of course, Lina Romay. The latter two partake in ample nude squirming, in an admirable attempt to portray sexual activity.The story of Downtown doesn't so much unfold before your eyes as it is babbled at you in rapid-fire, bullet-speed dubbed German narration and dialog spoken by a bunch of naked non-German-speaking actors. There's much talk about what's taking place and why, but not much action to depict it on screen, with most of the non-narrated footage devoted to the aforementioned nude squirming and occasional night club music acts. However, to Franco's credit, Downtown's storyline, though confusing and at times insane, is more developed than in most of his other flicks. I recommend Downtown over other Franco/Dietrich features like Sexy Sisters or Rolls-Royce Baby, but definitely not over Barbed Wire Dolls.

I am a self-confessed Franco fan, but this little number from his mid period (in my view his most creative) does not rank up there with his best.He wheels out the "Barbed Wire Dolls"/"Women in Prison" team for a less edgy exercise than these WIP outings. Yes, Lina Romay, Monika Swinn and Martine Stedile are all there- and yes they get naked (a lot). However it is all curiously unerotic and the plot and love scenes are all painted by numbers. There is none of the sharp edges of his WIP flicks-and frankly it is less fun for that. Just a lot of hotel bedrooms, interior and close-up gynae shots.Franco himself stars as Al Perreira (a private detective) in this one. He doesn't get naked. At least we are all thankful for that .....

This film with Jesús Franco himself in the main role as a sleazy hitman is a slow but sensual experience. The music in the film feels like a summer's breeze: the oh-so-relaxing kind of jazz soundtrack Jess Franco is famous for. Then there are the beautiful women: Lina Romay and Martine Stedil are a bisexual killer couple. The many arousing erotic scenes show extreme close-ups of their private parts. These scenes are very much 'pornographic' yet the nudity in this film is so peaceful, not as in Hollywood film where they always make a too big point out of a nude scene: Here women go to bath without wrapping themselves in big towels. They sleep naked when it's hot, and they don't hide behind anything when they wake and stand up. Lina Romay in particular plays a very hot and sexy femme-fatale. The character played by Franco is like a comic character. He's small, looks funny, thinks he's smart but makes a mess out of everything. The entire film is covered in a very seventies decor. The colors, the people, the designs. A fine film for lovers of sexy seventies cinema and a must-see for Franco fans.