Screw on the Screen (1975)

This is not a comment I often do when I talk about an adult film, but what a waste of my time ... I have no difficulty to imagine the speed at which the room emptied when the film appeared. It is simply annoying and pretentious. This is a representation of Screw magazine on the screen and if the magazine is what you see on the screen (which is surely the case since Jim Buckley and Al Goldstein's are the producers of it), I must really thank heaven for having been a reader of High Society. We go from not-funny skits to the sad burlesque act of Honeysuckle Divine (her act blewing-off matches, pitching powder, doing sounds, and much more with her vagina. Believe me this is more interesting to read than watching) to an old loop from the fifties to a man who is getting a tattoo on his penis... Quite enjoyable and exciting as a program right? But I must welcome the inclusion in the film of a scene of fellatio between men (this certainly scares away the last remaining spectators in the theatre). The only saving grace of this film is the end (and no it is not the end credits) with a talk show segment in which Jody Maxwell demonstrates her oral skills. As you can easilly guess this movie isn't available on dvd, VXP talked about releasing it since some time. But unless Steve announce that it will come with an autographed picture of Jody Maxwell (an interview will do also) or  that the four missing minutes are awesome, I'm sure not interested to rewatch that again...

Debbie Does 'Em All (1984)

If you own 42nd Street Forever XXX-treme edition you have probably already watched the trailer for this movie (not to mention the awful ripoff of Holliday who plays in it). You know already that this is a vehicle for Angel which is certainly not a problem because you have to admit that she has a great natural charm. So in this movie Debbie (Angel) is a stewardess who leaves her boyfriend (Rod Grant) who is a pilot at home for her first job. This is more or less the movie since we follow this flight and its stop overs (a very long one who goes from San Francisco to Miami to Chicago to Dallas and ends at New Orleans). I will not say it's a great movie and the scenes are often inadequate (Shanna McCullough, Lynx Canon and Lili Marlene are wasted in this film). But a moment saves this movie from total boredom, the meeting between Debbie and Antone (Jamie Gillis) in a club in Miami where we finally get something erotic and fun to watch. The film itself is well shot by Charles Gray and we have no trouble believing that we are on a plane until the moment we see the cockpit (it's pretty obvious that the whole instrument panel is a photo). If you are a fan of Angel you'll definitely appreciate this film as she is in most of the scenes. If not forget about this film....

This film is available through Excalibur Films and Adult DVD Marketplace among others.

Odyssey: The Ultimate Trip (1977)

Gerard Damiano was certainly one of the most talented director of this period, if not the most talented. But most of what is on the market does not do him justice, since more often than not we are entitled to vhs transfert on dvd. It is sad to say, but the lovers of cinema that we are is a minority and the U.S. industry isn't too concerned with of us (of course there are exceptions, but they can count on the fingers of one hand). So I turned to Europe to get this film which is part of a series of classic movies that will be released by  the french label Wild Side Video throughout this year.

This film is an anthology in three parts but there are no apparent links between each story and each of them is not of equal interest. The anthology starts well with The Beginning about a couple (Robert Kerman and Nancy Dare) whose union is at its breaking point, what we quickly realize in the discussions between them and another couple (Michael Gaunt and Crystal Sync) from the beginning. Following the advice of his friend, the husband will visit Madame Zenobia to help his marriage. What happens next is a series of fantastic images and superb staging (the mixing of genders scene between Sharon Mitchell and Tony Mansfield is particularly successful), all this accompanied by a soundtrack of classical and romantic music until the grand finale.

The second part entitled The Middle is for me the least interesting and presents a series of meeting between a psychiatrist (Sue Bright) and her clients (Samantha Fox, Gloria Leonard and Linda Maidstone). The scenes are rather short and not sufficiently developed. Personally I believe that this segment would have benefited from focusing solely on the culpability issues of the character played by Samantha Fox.

The last and most successful part entitled The End follows Nicole (Susan McBain), a New York model from one job to another. This story is depressing and ends on a sombre note (hence the film title). The mix between the outdoor scenes that expresses the optimism (superb old New York footage by the way) and the apartment of Nicole who represents everything that goes wrong in her life  is particularly successful. 

Between these times we live in the imagination of Nicole as a spectator of her fantasies. These are a beautifully filmed orgy (usually I do not like them really) with Wade Nichols, Vanessa del Rio and CJ Laing among others as participants and a romantic scene between Nicole and an unknown man (Peter Andrews).

A high quality Gerard Damiano's production (like Portrait, Devil in Miss Jones and The Story of Joanna) that I highly recommend despite the fact that you need to import it from France and at a  not so low price if we count the shipping cost.

The film is available on Amazon France like all the other films who are part of this collection.

China Sisters (1978)

A film that I consider to be medium. Not a bad film as such, but nothing to be considered a classic. This is a film of Anthony Spinelli  who usually is a good director (I even appreciate his DTV productions such as the Catalina Five-O serie), but the format used didn't succeed to keep my interest. The story is narrated by a woman (Vicky Lyon) who dictates her memoirs on tape. Her memories are quite interesting as it includes an incestuous relationship with her younger sister (China Leigh), the seduction of one of her underage students (Don Fernando) and a threesome between the two sisters and Jack Wrangler that reminds me the most arousing scene in Misty Beethoven (a little bit cheaper, but at least Jack Wrangler doesn't use a stunt double). John Leslie also appeared in the film in a rather bizarre scene thank you. As I said an okay film but not really an essantial classic. Doesn't really worth the trouble of searching to find it.

This film like most of the Essex Video's Catalog is not available on DVD.

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).