Burlexxx (1984)

Speaking of buslesque so much in my previous entry made me want to watch this movie. In fact it's hard to present it as a film since it's mostly a 80 minutes burlesque show. Of course it does not compare to those you could have seen through the Something Weird Video dvds, but it has the same quality and the same defects they have. I'll start with the positive: the sketchs are fun and contain the usual innuendo of this kind of humor (the first one with Bobby Astyr really made me laugh, but Astyr is a funny guy), the penises wrestling match between Astyr and Ron Jeremy is funny and sure bizarre and the Samantha Fox's striptease act is nice although a little short. But I could do without Jeremy as the master of ceremony (I don't find him funny at all), the recreation of the Lili St. Cyr's act (the on-stage bubble bath) by Dixi Dew and the George Payne's two scenes taking place during the spectacle which has the effect of breaking the flow of the burlesque show. A pleasant entertainment, but nothing particularly memorable ... Oh yes I forgot. Like all good burlesque show there is a female impersonator ...

This film is not currently available on dvd.

The Divine Obsession (1976)

This film is the last production for adults directed by Lloyd Kaufman. The name sounds probably familliar to you since he is the president and co-owner of Troma Studios. Like many other famous directors Kauffman  worked in the flourishing New York adult industry during the seventies, he directed two other films (The New Comers and Sweet & Sour) in addition to this, he was producer and He was also a director of photography. This film is rather interesting and the best way to describe it is that it's about a burlesque star,  who reminds herself the events of her life since her arrival at New York during her last performance. The film  mood constantly alternates between comedy and drama, we must admit that the life of our heroine (April Sumers) has not been easy. She was a loops actress, an erotic photography model,  a  first rate pornographic film star,  a luxury call girl, a street prostitute and a burlesque dancer. There are many moments when you find yourself laughing while watching, which is an evident quality proof of this production (another is to not see the 90 minutes of the film pass). It is also interesting to note the subtle messages that Kauffman passes on the industry (I know that subtle is not really the first word that comes to mind when one thinks of Lloyd Kaufman). A film that is quite difficult to find, but worth the efforts to find it. You will find several familiar faces like Teri Hall, Bree Anthony, Alan Marlowe, Levi Richards and Eric Edwards among others in this film. If you are looking for some odd moment this film will also meet your expectations with an enema sceances with cream and a new and messy way to use the pastries.

As mentioned earlier this film is rather rare and therefore not available on dvd, it was by cons released on VHS by Alpha Blue Archives some years ago. I am also looking for Sweet & Sour and The New Comers, the two other films directed by Kauffman so if someone could directed me in the right direction it would be greatly appreciated.

Sexual Customs of Scandinavia (1972)

With this film we are really in the beginnings of the adult cinema. So the good old method of the doctor / narrator is used (here this is a psychologist) to demonstrate the moral values and the good taste of the film. To my amazement this is the case, this film discusses the issue seriously, is instructive and certainly less boring than The Language of Love (a swedish film included in a british boxset of Christina Lindberg's movies). Of course the whole aspect "this film is Scandinavian" is entirely false since the doctor that we see frequently helping the clients referred by the psychologist is Daniel Harin (he also plays a doctor in The Debauchers) and among those clients we can recognize Tina Russell, Jean Parker, Jason Russell and Shaun Costello hiding behind aliases sounding vaguely Scandinavian (Judy Gringer, Jan Rinkberg, Sven Stroebye and Neil Almebor). The film is built around three segments representing three cases of clients with sexual dysfunctions who consulted the psychologist (Ingrid Petersen, probably an alias but I have no idea of who she is) and the solution of their problems. The fourth and final segments of the film is different because it is the visual representation of some sexual positions demonstrated by a couple (Dolly Sharp and Jamie Gillis). It is also interesting to note that Sidney Knight the director of this movie will direct The Debauchers and The Morning After (two films that I enjoy and  highly recommend) after this pseudo-documentary. Strangely, despite the obvious talent of Knight as a director those two movies will be his lasts (unless we count Rings of Passion  for which he was the editor).

This film is available as a stand alone dvd or in a four movies set (I already mentioned this one previously and it's the option I recommend) through the Video-X-Pix website. The DVD also contains the trailers of Misbeavin' which seems interesting and Hot Honey a Bill Lustig's film I appreciate (I will probably talk more about this one later this year).

Cheryl Hansson : Cover Girl (1981)

Usually for me a film by Alex De Renzy is either extraordinary or poor. I like his real movies like Pretty Peaches, Babyface or Femmes de Sade, but I'm not a big fan of his loop carrier like Dirty Girls and Wild Things. The good news, at least for me is that Cheryl Hansson is a movie. From the poster you might think it's a film about the fashion world, but it's not really the case. It is more a detective story about the murder of a model's agent. Another thing Cherryl Hansson is not really the main personage of this film, this title belongs to Nicole Black, who plays one of the top models and steals the show at each of her appearances on the screen. The crime is discover when Cheryl Hansson goes at the agent office to sign a contract and decides to use her charms to convince him to sign her, but what she ignores is that the agent is dead and that she interacts with her murderer. She is the only one who can identify the murderer, a difficult task since she has never seen his face but only a tattoo he wears on the top of his thigh. She will therefore assist the inspector Horn (Joey Silvera) in its investigation. As the film revolves around the fashion world we get many photo shooting session scenes and training sceances at the gym. I really enjoyed the scenes in the gym since Herschel Savage plays the handyman of the place and plays the role in a rather amusing way. Without mentionning that the best scene of the film takes place at this location when Nicole Black catch Herschel Savage spying on her while she is in the bath. Without being a great detective story the film is still enjoyable to listen to because of the "watching a movie" feeling we got.  Like all the Alex De Renzy 's films the cast is not credited (except Cheryl Hansson), but many familiar faces made their appearance in the film. In addition to those already mentioned, you will easily recognize John Leslie, Paul Thomas, Michael Morrison, Kathy Harcourt, Phaery Burd, Misty Regan, Starr Wood and the murderer that I obviously did not name.

Unfortunately like many other titles distributed by Essex Video this movie is not available on dvd. I really wonder who owns their catalog which includes many good film like Baby Rosemary, The Joy of Letting Go, Scandalous Simone or Exposed.

The Defiance of Good (1974)

I wanted to watch this movie since I read about it in The Other Hollywood: The Uncensored Oral History of the Porn Film Industry and the many good recommendations that I received about this film. For a rare occasion despite the high expectations that I had the film worked perfectly with me. I can't say anything else except that I place this one in the same category that The Opening of Misty Beethoven, Through the Looking Glass and The Taking of Christina are in which for me are movie masterpieces. What makes the greatness of this film is how the subject is treated, I don't think I make a big revelation by stating that this film deals with the sadomasochism. This theme appears frequently in many works of the seventies, but usually there is nothing erotic in what we see on the screen (which is not a critic as I like these movies occasionally). The act of gradually inserting this element in the scenario is what allows us to immerse ourselves gradually in the story and identify ourselves with the character of Cathy (Jean Jennings). From the beginning we feel that there is a problem in the familly dynamics with a mother who is a strict religious fanatic and a father who has no backbone (what is inferred because the family is not really referenced ). The problems started when Cathy was surprised by her mother while using cocaine with a friend (Day Jason) and she will be placed under obvervation in a clinic for a fortnight (which is certainly an overreaction but this is another story). This clinic is especially strange either with the inmates (the scene in the community hall is particularly weird and creepy) or its employees. So when after a night rape by a trio of inmates (Alan Marlowe, Jason Russell and someone I don't know), Cathy left the clinic and is transferred at the Dr. Gabriel's (Fred Lincoln) private clinic we breathe a little and we are confident that everything will now be for the best. It will not take long to realize that we are in the wrong and the worst is yet to come for Cathy. I will say no more except that more surprises are in store for the viewer... I must confess that I was impressed by the performance of Jean Jennings (I don't particularly like her usually since her voice irritates me), but for a first real role this is a tour de force. Fred Lincoln's gives a performance all in nuance and I must admit that it's his best performance I have seen. Without major role Jamie Gillis, Sonny Landham, Day Jason, Turk Turpin (he is the creepy nurse from the first clinic) and a multitude of characters actors (except for Sandi Foxx and Mark Stevens I know none of the others) give also good performance. This is really an important work very well written and acted with a particullary good musical score composed by Jack Justis (he is responsible for the score of many Joe Sarno's films).

An highly recommended film that you can buy on the Excalibur Films website or on AdultDVDMarketplace.

Rollerbabies (1976)

As usual with the films of Carter Stevens we have another winner with this one. The story is set in a future where  the sexual relations has become illegal (not a really funny future if you ask me), but where by cons pornography is present on television and endorsed by the government. The scenario is not very complicated, but two scenes certainly compensate for the simplistic story. Firstly the one between Alan Marlowe and Terri Hall probably the most messy fellatio I've ever seen with a huge amount of yogurt and whipped cream used. But the second is probably what made the movie for me... the telepathic fellatio. I have no idea how this was done, but it's certainly the strangest thing I ever saw in an adult movie. Strangely the roller skates sex which is the main point of the movie did nothing for me. It is also interesting to see Susan McBain in a too rare starring role, another film in which she is the star is Candy lips but I sure not recommend this film in any way. If you have watched The Opening of Misty Beethoven the music will be certainly familiar to your ears and it will be hard to not think at it while watching.

 

This film is available on the website of Barely Used DVD for a very low price. But I sure hope to see it released by After Hour Cinema on another collection of Carter Stevens' films (the two they did at this date are top quality).

Let's Talk Sex (1983)

The film begins rather well with a nurse (Bridgette Monet) returning from her day's work through an area that can easily be described as somewhat recommendable. After a few encounters with drunks and shady characters (which includes Paul Vatelli the director of this movie), she finally reach her home safely. Of course this does not last long since an intruder wait for her in the shadows and who is the intruder? David Cannon which of course was not really difficult to guess since they were a couple at that time and they turned exclusively together (to the best of my knowledge they are still married). So it seems we are gone for a crime thriller ride wich I would have liked, but after this scene we see that Cannon is on the phone with an erotic call service. This gives us an uneven mix of scenes using the customers calling the hotline to connect them. Not that the film is bad either, but after a good introduction like that I was sure disappointed. This film is one of the adult film in which appear Kitten Natividad (Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens) in a very average scene with Becky Savage. Equally interesting is the fact that this is the first film of Laurien Wilde (she is great in Alexandra a movie that I strongly recommend) who had died way too early the following year in an automobile accident. Also this is one of the first film of Julia Parton who has been for several years the reason why I bought High Society every month since she was the magazine editor after Gloria Leonard. This film is  also one of the first Tom Biron's movie and it's amazing how he may seem young, it looks like he is 16 years old and, of course, he plays a young teenager who use the telephone service to help him to lose his virginity with his girlfriend (Melanie Scott). This film is not the greatest ever made, but for the price it is an easy recommendation.

This film is available on the website of Excalibur Films and at Adult DVD Marketplace for less than $10.

Tongue (1976)

One of the few adult blacksploitation films I own and it had something in common with Lialeh (the only other one that I own) : a good soundtrack. A chance since it is certainly not a memorable film for anything. I  had particularly a great difficulty to believe that this film was made in 1976, seriously Brigitte Maier is the star of Sensations (one of the best adult production ever made) in 1975 and the following year appears in a production with zero budget... Not to mention that her performance is more than ordinary and without much enthusiasm. Which is a shame as she appears in at least the three quarters of this film. In fact the poor visual quality of the film didn't help, most of the time we can discern nothing but the color of the participants. I had great difficulty to keep my interest in the history or the action while I watched the film. The synopsis seemed interesting at first sight, but the lack of budget is really too obvious. Only at the end we can see that the director had some talent with the scene where Quasi surprises his wife and her lover on the beach.

If anyone has more information about the production of this film (particularly the production date and the real identity of the director behind the name KB) Please feel free to use the comment section.

This film is available on the website of Alpha Blue Archive in a 3 movies collection. I don't want to make a pub since I'm not paid for this, but they actually had a sale on their Porno Superstars collection something that could interest some of you.

Sleepy Head (1973)

First hardcore movie directed by Joe Sarno which I must confess is one of my favorite director with Radley Metzger all genre mingled.  So it is not easy to write that I have not really appreciated the movie. It starts well with the presentation of Bernice (Georgina Spelvin) who is a writer with a sexual life problem (in fact she doesn't had one) which occasionally meets a mysterious personage (Davey Jones) in the park near where she lives. Moreover Bernice shares her apartment with her sister (Tina Russell) who is a religious fanatic. The elements are all present for another successful Sarno's movie. But everything deteriorates rapidly with the introduction of Judith Hamilton in this film, from this moment one has the impression that the whole film is about her. Judith Hamilton is not, to be honest, a great actress (not to mention that she does absolutely nothing to me sexually speaking) and with all the talent in this distribution it is hard to understand. Without forgetting the precence of an endless orgy at the end of the movie (it lasts more than 30 minutes) who is very boring, even though Tina Russell is in it. It seems that Joe Sarno was not interest more than necessary when making this film, at least that's what I perceive. A disappointing first try, but Sarno will do better later with A Touch of Genie and The Trouble with Young Stuff among others ...

This film is available individually or in a box set with 3 other Tina Russell's films (A Time to Love that I reviewed recently is included in it also) on the website of Video-X-Pix.

Heavenly Desires (1979)

After my long absence of almost 2 weeks I decided to come back with a comedy of Jourdan Alexander (Little Orphan Dusty) starring Seka and Serena. So in this movie they are two ghosts recruited by the devil (Johnnie Keyes) to help two students (Hillary Summers and Dani Williams) to lose their virginity. If they succeed the gates of hell will open for them, but if they fail the destination will be the Heaven and the boring harp performances for eternity. As I am not a big fan of Seka (I do not understand  what was so special about her) my expectations were low. Luckily she is not the focus of the film and it's for the better. So the film focus primarily on the two students and their boyfriend (Mike Ranger and Jon Martin). Aubrey Nichols, Eileen Wells and Liza Dwyer are also part of the female cast, Johnny Hardin has a dual role rather amusing and Jamie Gillis has a short role. If you are observant you will see Lisa De Leeuw among the students. I found this movie rather enjoyable, but the final orgy is ridiculously long and badly filmed (which makes the scene rather boring). I am lucky enough to have a full version of this film who is no longer available since a long time. What has been cut, even on the second release on video, is a fisting scene between Serena and Eileen Wells, Dani Williams (scene very successfully done).

This film is available through Excalibur Films and even incomplete the film is still interesting.