La Donna Scimmia on AllMovie

Predating David Lynch's The Elephant Man by 16 years, this similar tale is played for cruel satire by a cast of comedy veterans. Ugo Tognazzi plays Antonio, a cynical showman who meets a freakishly hirsute woman, Maria (Annie Girardot), and exploits her at fairs and carnivals. Much to Antonio's surprise, he finds himself falling in love with the hairy attraction, but continues to exploit her condition in traveling sideshows even after she dies during childbirth. An alternate ending, rarely shown, has Maria giving birth to a healthy baby and losing her unnatural hair, living happily ever after with Antonio, now an honest man.