Muppet Heaven and Hell

Did you know that the Muppet's hit song 'Mah-Na Mah-Na' was originally part of the soundtrack of the notorious 1968 mondo movie Sweden: Heaven and Hell? It was composed by Piero Umiliani, (who also scored another Luigi Scattini directed mondo, Angeli Bianchi, Angeli Neri, which I wrote about at length last week), to accompany a sauna sequence. Suddenly Kermit the Frog doesn't seem so innocent does he? Admit it, you are now wondering about Jim Henson's movie viewing habits in the sixties and wondering if Sesame Street and the Muppet Show are actually full of hidden filth inspired by seedy sexploitation films. Should children be exposed to this kind of depraved smut? It does make you wonder whether Jim Henson turned up at the studios one day and announced, "Hey guys, I was watching this erotic fake documentary about Swedish sexual depravity over the weekend and heard this piece of music I thought would be perfect for Kermit and the other Muppets to perform."

Sweden: Heaven and Hell is another example of the fascination Italian exploitation film makers in the sixties and seventies had with the supposed sexual permissiveness of other European countries. As I mentioned when covering Angeli Bianchi, Angeli Neri, they seemed to think England exotic, which seems bizarre to a resident like myself. But that's the thing, familiarity makes our everyday surroundings seem commonplace - most people here in the UK find Italy 'exotic' compared to Britain, but I daresay that for Italians it seems mundane. Perhaps not so bizarre is the Italian mondo movie fascination with Sweden, which, to this day, is viewed here in the UK as being a synonym for sexual permissiveness. In 1960s Catholic Italy it must have seemed even more exotic. Indeed, as the film's title indicates, the intent is clearly to appeal both to those Italians seeking the thrill of glimpsing a permissive sexual paradise, and those horrified by the thought of all that sin. The film's box-office receipts would indicate that this strategy of appealing to the prejudices of both the repressed and the repressors was highly effective. I have to admit that, so far, my knowledge of the film is largely academic, based on reviews, excerpts and trailers. Indeed, mondo movies as a whole aren't a genre I'm hugely familiar with - they can be difficult to obtain on DVD these days and, when they are available, are often pretty expensive. However, at the moment I'm trying to track down some examples on line (starting with Sweden: Heaven and Hell) with a view to producing an edition of the Sleazecast on the subject later this year. Until then, just have a think about what Jim Henson had that Swedish chef getting up to between shows...