The Goddesses of Underground Cinema: UTA ERICKSON

Uta Erickson is the second entry into my Goddesses of Underground Cinema feature; I hope to add many more audacious, alluring, ambrosial, adorable and accomplished actress to this feature before year’s end. Ms. Erickson has much in common with my first recipient Darlene Bennett. Like so many of the women who acted in underground cinema through the sixties little is known about either actresses personal life and shortly after the decade was over they both disappeared from filmmaking. Bennett and Erickson worked with many of the same directors, although I don’t think their paths ever intersected role-speaking. Uta Erickson has thirty-nine acting credits to her name; or more accurately her many names. Ms. Erickson may hold a world record for the amount of pseudonyms she used in her eight years of acting in underground cinema. Her aliases included Arti Jane, Artie Giovanni, Sharon Spitz, Tia Trevino, Artimidia Grillet, Jennie Reeves, Carla Costa, Artemida Diannini, Marion Shelton, Carla Erikson, Jo-Ann Perry, Gia Nina, Rose Dunn, Willa Mist, Dyana Alicia and Britt Hansen. Erickson worked with many of my favourite directors of the period including Doris Wishman, Michael Findlay, Joe Sarno and John and Lem Amero. Erickson’s natural beauty and ease in front of the camera made her a real stand-out among her peers. Uta brings a perfect balance of sexy, sweet and shy with intelligence, intensity and strength. Many of Uta’s roles have been dubbed over and others like the excellent Love Toy she speaks very little. Much can be relayed without speaking a word as is the case with so many of Uta’s memorable performances. For a solid representation of Uta Erickson’s work I would recommend checking out Lem and John Amero’s beautiful 1970 film Bacchanale, Michael Findlay’s drug-induced 1969 odyssey of insanity The Ultimate Degenerate, Doris Wishman’s deliciously sleazy 1973 film Love Toy, Joe Sarno’s mesmerizing melodrama Passion in Hot Hollows and the quirky, satan-worshipping, cat-fighting shenanigans of Olga’s Dance Hall Girls whose director is unknown. Below are several pictures of the lovely and talented Uta Erickson as well as her complete film resume.

Uta (credited as Artimida Grillet) is Maria in Michael Findlay’s The Ultimate Degenerate.

Uta (credited as Britt Hansen) is Jean in Joe Sarno’s Passion in Hot Hollows.

Uta (uncredited) is noted as “blonde Sitting on couch” in Olga’s Dance Hall Girls. Despite receiving more screen time than practically any of the other film’s cast, Uta’s character never gets a name and the actress is not credited.

Uta (credited as Dyana Alicia) is Maria in Michael Findlay’s The Kiss of her Flesh. Pictured also is Earl Hindman (credited as Leo Heinz) who plays Don. Picture courtesy of My Kind of Images.

Uta in her final film appearance (credited as Willa Mist) is Mary in Doris Wishman’s Love Toy.

Uta in another uncredited role in Andy Milligan’s Seeds of Sin.

Uta (credited as Carla Costa) is Monika in Peter Woodcock’s Daughters of Lesbos.

Uta in another uncredited role as a hooker in Barry Mahon’s The Sex Killer.

Uta (credited as Rose Dunn) is Lola in Kenny and Ray Wells’ Wendy’s Palace.

Uta plays Ruth in Lem and John Amero’s Bacchanale. This was the first film I seen Uta in and her appearance and performance left a lasting impression on me. Picture courtesy of My Kind of Images.

***Uta Erickson was often cast alongside the seriously sassy Linda Boyce; the two had some sizzling chemistry together. Below are images from a selection of Ms. Erickson and Ms. Boyce’s onscreen appearances.***

Uta (credited as Carla Costa) is Phyllis and Linda (credited as Claudia Cheer) is Babette in Peter Woodcock’s Return of the Secret Society (aka Babette)

Uta (credited as Rose Dunn) is Lola and Linda (credited as Mary Poey) plays Wendy in Kenny and Ray Wells Wendy’s Palace.

Uta (credited as Artemidia Grillet) is Maggie and Linda (credited as Linda Mactavish) is Jackie in Michael Findlay’s A Thousand Pleasures. Picture courtesy of My Kind of Images.

Uta is uncredited playing the stage partner to Linda Boyce’s (credited as Lena Brice) character Stella in Michael Findlay’s The Curse of her Flesh. Picture courtesy of My Kind of Images.

Love Toy (1973)
Love Me… Please! (1972)
Dynamite (1972)
Lovers by Appointment (1970)
Torture Me, Kiss Me (1970)
Wendy’s Palace (1970)
Women Women Women Moira (1970)
Only in My Dreams (1970)
Interplay (1970)
Bacchanale (1970)
The Amazing Transplant (1970)
The Good, the Bad and the Beautiful (1970)
Yellow Bird (1970)
Mnasidika (1969)
She’s Doing It Again (1969)
Passion in Hot Hollows (1969)
Monique, My Love (1969)
Marcy (1969)
She Came on the Bus (1969)
Sex Circus (1969)
Donna and Lisa (1969)
Anything Once (1969)
Olga’s Dance Hall Girls (1969)
The Ultimate Degenerate (1969)
Return of the Secret Society (1968)
The Kiss of Her Flesh (1968)
The Curse of Her Flesh (1968)
See How They Come (1968)
Daughters of Lesbos (1968)
Seeds of Sin (1968)
Private Relations (1968)
Beware the Black Widow (1968)
The New Life Style (Just to Be Love) (1968)
A Thousand Pleasures (1968)
The Sex Killer (1967)
Unholy Matrimony (1966)
Sin in the City (1966)
Electronic Lover (1966)
The Love Cult (1966)

Favourite Five Series: Something Weird Video Double Features

Something Weird Video offers dozens of double features in their catalog. Most of their DVD double features cost about $14.95; a very fair price even for one film. Obviously if you can find a solid and enjoyable duo all the better. It wasn’t really intentional but the vast majority of the 75 films I watched for Stepping Into Something Weird were part of a double or triple feature. This favourite five is also a guilty pleasure post that allows me to talk about some of the films I thoroughly enjoyed that did not make it into my top ten. Below my little blurbs I included detailed information from The Something Weird Video Website. The special features included with every last one of these duos are absolutely superb and alone practically make these sets worth owning!

***Select pictures courtesy of my co-host David Arrate***

Bad Girls Go to Hell/Another Day Another Man

Something Weird Video offers several Doris Wishman double features. My dream duo would have been Indecent Desires and Another Day Another Man; both films I gave a perfect rating to but this pair is definitely the next best thing! Another Day Another Man and Bad Girls Go To Hell are both mighty fine example of Doris Wishman’s work. That Gigi Darlene is always getting her blonde ass in trouble! In Bad Girls Go to Hell Ms. Darlene as Ellen/Meg really does go through hell and is roughed up and/or raped by nearly everyone she meets! The extra special highlights were Dawn Bennett playing Della a body stalking wearing lesbian and my man (and Wishman regular) Sam Stewart playing Ed a kind hearted fella who takes in the misguided blonde; kind hearted that is until he falls off the wagon and goes berserk! Helluva finale too! In Another Day Another Man Barbara Kemp as Ann and her hubby fall on some hard times and Ann if forced to prostitute herself to pay the bills. And it could not be easy keeping your chin up with that tower of hair! Once again Sam Stewart is a huge highlight as Bert the pimp and Mary O’Hara is fab as Barbara’s best friend Tess. Both these films made my favourite five Doris Wishman list; check it out here.

For more images from Bad Girls Go To Hell click here.

For more images from Another Day Another Man click here.

Taken from the Something Weird Video Website:

Gigi Darlene learns that BAD GIRLS GO TO HELL when she’s attacked by a janitor with bad teeth, accidentally kills the guy, then flees to New York…where her troubles really begin! With its crazed plot, rampant nudity, and predatory sex maniacs BAD GIRLS GO TO HELL is one of director Doris Wishman’s wildest “roughies” which, amazingly, was theatrically re released in 1998!

Plus: Ann, a “Miss Prim” with a giant hairdo, doesn’t approve of her friend tess’s employer, Bert the pimp. But when Ann’s Husband suddenly gets a mystery illness, Ann has to find some way to pay the bills and, yup, quickly becomes one of Bert’s girls…With a hoarsely tragic ending and Wishman’s trademark camera work that seems to be constantly distracted by inanimate objects, ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER MAN also stars Gigi Darlene as a hooker whose hayseed boyfriend gets manhandled by sexy twins Rita and Darlene Bennett.

Two lunatic masterpieces from the woman who gave the world Deadly Weapons and Double Agent 73!

SPECIAL FEATURES
• Digitally Remastered
• Original Theatrical Trailers for Doris Wishman’s Bad Girls Go To Hell, Another Day Another Man, Indecent Desires, My Brother’s Wife, Too Much Too Often and A Taste Of Flesh
• “Let’s o to the Drive-In!” – An Interactive Feature Allowing Uninterrupted Playback of Almost Three Hours Worth of Doris Wishman Drive-In Madness
• Drive-In Adult Book Pitch
• Classic Drive-In Intermission Shorts
• Doris Wishman Gallery of Exploitation Art

The Psycho Lover/Heat of Madness

I’ve talked the hell out of The Psycho Lover; I gave it a full review and it made my ultimate top five favourite Something Weird films. The Psycho Lover is a thoroughly perfect, well-executed bit of horror and a must see for seventies genre fans. Though the Heat of Madness definitely has a completely different vibe and feel; I think it is fair to say that both film’s antagonists are bat-shit crazy. In Heat of Madness Kevin Scott plays photographer and artist John Wilright. Wilright is a talented but moody loner. He makes ends meet by snapping nude shots for calendars; work he is not proud of. He is instantly smitten when he meets the conservative Susan (Jennifer Laird) and the two start dating. It isn’t long before Wilright’s lesser personality traits begin showing themselves. Wilright slowly descends into madness over the course of the film. Meanwhile Susan is the heiress to a large fortune and Wilright is being investigated in accordance with her father’s will. Heat of Madness is a slow boil with two excellent performances from its leads Scott and Laird. The pace is a touch slow but I didn’t find it bothersome. A neat little film and character study and a marvelous finale. While just about anything in my mind would be inferior to The Psycho Lover I very much enjoyed Heat of Madness and thought it was a solid pairing.

For more images from The Psycho Lover click here.

For more images from Heat of Madness click here.

Taken from the Something Weird Video Website:

The only thing worse than being a homicidal maniac is being treated by a doctor who’s just as crazy! Marco, a PSYCHO LOVER who strangles women that “threaten his maleness,” becomes a patient of lizard-like Dr. Kenneth Alden, who uses wacky nightmares to brainwash Marco into killing the doc’s nasty wife who won’t give him a divorce. A gaudy mix of sex, violence, pop-psych, and even some quick necrophilia, this drive-in shocker (a.k.a. “The Loving Touch”) is a fun descent into B-movie psychosis.

PLUS: Oddball photographer, Johnny’s dismissive attitude to sex radically changes when he’s hired to illustrate a book called “Great Sex Murders” and soon has models staging mock whippings, robberies and assaults. Trouble is, all the fake violence fuels the poor guy with the HEAT OF MADNESS, and pretty soon he thinks one of his naughty models is actually his fiancée and promptly goes berserk…

Two twisted sickies, proving once again that romance is always more exciting with a deranged lunatic.

Special Features
• Sex-Psycho Trailers for “The Psycho Lover,” “Aroused,” “The Exquisite Cadaver,” “The Flesh and Blood Show,” “Poor Albert and Little Annie,” “Scream Bloody Murder,” “Twisted Nerve” and “The Woman Hunt”
• Obsessions leads to Murder in the Twisted Psycho-Sexual Short, “The Naked Flower”
• Teens become Targets of Pervert Predators in the Sid Davis Classroom Scare Short, “Name Unknown”
• Kink-O-Rama Short Subject, “Captain Bondage vs. Women’s Lib”
• Gallery of Underground Sexploitation Movie-Magazine Covers with Audio Oddities

Sin in the Suburbs/The Swap and How They Make It

Of the three Sarno double features Something Weird video offers Sin in the Suburbs and The Swap and How They make It is my favourite by a wide margin; this duo in fact received the highest combined rating of this list earning a 5/5 and 4.5/5 respectively (and my undying love). The other two offerings are Passion in Hot Hollows/Flesh and Lace and The Layout/The Love Merchant. Like The Psycho Lover, I have talked the hell out of Sin in the Suburbs giving it a full review and along side the aforementioned it was awarded a place on my ultimate five favourite Something Weird films. I found Sin in the Suburbs’s story and characters particularly compelling and the performances are among the best you will find in Sarno’s work. Better accompaniment could not possibly be found than the similarly themed The Swap and How They Make It. Two couples new to a suburban neighborhood are introduced to a circle of swingers who change their lives and relationships irreversibly. While The Swap and How They Make It is definitely an ensemble piece it is Mona played by the lovely Patricia McNair (as Lorraine Claire) that gets special focus. It is also McNair’s character and performance that lingered most in my mind afterwards. The Swap and How They Make It is a fantastic looking film with a strong story, smart dialog and some outstanding performances. A perfect duo and a highly recommended way to start your Sarno viewing if you are so inclined.

For more images from Sin in the Suburbs click here.

For more images from The Swap and How They Make It click here.

Taken from the Something Weird Video Website:

Yes, before they made their marks as pop-culture dominatrices Audrey “Olga” Campbell – as well as her two costars from Olgas’s House of Shame – starred with Dyanne “Ilsa” Thorne (billed here as “Lahna Monroe”) in one of the greatest sexploitation films of the sixties: director Joe Sarno’s wild and witty SIN IN THE SUBURBS! Eager the make money off the rampant sexual shenanigans sweeping through their neighborhood, Yvette Talman (Miss Thorne) and her creepy brother Lou organize a sex club in which Mrs. Lewis (Miss Campbell) and other lust-loving suburbanites pay to participate in anonymous sex while wearing cloaks and masks: “If you’ll direct your attention to the center of the ring, the greatest animal act on earth!” But what Mrs. Lewis doesn’t know is that her teenage daughter is also a member of the club. Oops…

PLUS: With Mona’s husband too busy for love, and after Karen’s fling with a college kid fizzles, they decide to take a neighbor’s advice and “trade the old model for a newer one” when they join a group of wife-swappers called “The Exchange.” But when that college kid threatens to expose THE SWAP AND HOW THEY MAKE IT, he’s allowed to join the club until a cruel joke makes his swap especially sick…So be the first on your block to savor these scintillating, stylish and surprisingly intelligent skinflicks from director Joe Sarno….And be sure to invite the neighbors!

SPECIAL FEATURES
• Digitally Remastered!
• Audio Commentary by director Joe Sarno, Peggy Sarno (Miss “Cleo Nova”) and special guest David F. Friedman!
• Original Theatrical Trailer for THE SWAP AND HOW THEY MAKE IT!
• Bonus Joe Sarno Theatrical Short: A Sneak Peek at Strip Poker!
• Extra Swingin’ Suburban Trailers for: The Case of the Stripping Wives, Drop Out Wife, Matinee Wives, Suburban Wives, Suburbia Confidential and Swedish Wife Exchange Club!
• Gallery of Something Weird Sixties Sexploitation Art!
• total Running Time: Over 3 1/2 Hours of Suburban Roulette!

A Thousand Pleasures/Take Me Naked

I had seen Take Me Naked for the first and only time during a sixties feature I did November 2012. I enjoyed the wonderfully warped Take Me Naked and gave it a fair rating of 3.5/5. On this recent re-watch I felt more warmly about it and upgraded it to a 4/5. Take Me Naked features Roberta Findlay, and it is probably going to make me terribly unpopular to say it, but another lead actress (my vote would have to be Linda Boyce) could have earned the film a perfect rating. The crazy perverted bum plot is outrageous and the film is a shitload of sleazy skidrow fun. What tipped the scales to get this duo added to the list however was A Thousand Pleasures. Michael Findlay’s character Richard Davis picks up two hitchhiking broads named Jackie (Linda Boyce) and Maggie (Uta Erickson). Jackie unzips Richard in preparation for a blowjob. Richard nervously looks toward the backseat stating “You Can’t do that here”. Boyce basically poo-poos him and adds “Besides, I haven’t had lunch yet.” I almost sprayed my vodka and orange juice on my monitor! Richard ends up becoming their prisoner. Boyce and Erickson play lesbians who are repulsed by men but want to have a child of their own. They kidnap Findlay’s Davis with the intention of using him for his seed. In the interim they have a grown woman they refer to as “baby” who…well…she acts like a baby. Baby walks around in nothing but a cloth diaper, sucking her thumb and sleeping in a crib! Although sometimes she does things a baby should not be doing; like masturbating with a candle?! And then there is the quietly mental Belle (Janet Banzet) who plays the nanny(?), Donna Stone who plays Boobarella(?) and John Amero who plays the house muscle Bruno. A Thousand Pleasures is packed full of wacky dialog and the premise, as has been the case with all the Findlay features I have seen thus far is equally as insane. I laughed constantly from beginning to end of its short runtime. I loved it so much I ordered it for my collection immediately after watching it; it’ll be at my door any day now. The ultimate must have Findlay collection will be featured on my triple feature list (and many of you can guess what that is) Take Me Naked with A Thousand Pleasures is a fantastically entertaining duo that is well worth owning!

“These two must have escaped from a fruit cake.”

For more images from A Thousand Pleasures click here.

For more images from Take Me Naked click here.

Taken from the Something Weird Video Website:

Yes, Michael and Roberta Findlay – the outrageous auteurs of the infamous “Flesh” trilogy (The Touch of Her Flesh, The Curse of Her Flesh, The Kiss of Her Flesh) – continue their bizarre Battle of the Sexes with this utterly deranged, diseased and degenerate double feature!

Peeping out the window of his skid row room, a Bowery bum in the becomes obsessed with Elaine “a living tomb of flesh” who lives in the building next door (and who’s played by Roberta Findlay in a rare starring role). But when his sexual fantasies are invaded by “a twisted mental hunchback” (director Michael Findlay, of course), the bum snaps, goes into a homicidal rage and, completely bonkers, brings Elaine a carving knife he thinks is a bouquet of flowers…Another maniacally morbid masterpiece, TAKE ME NAKED is a foaming-at-the-mouth mix of art film lyricism and horror movie excess as only the Findlay’s made ’em!

PLUS: Wife-murderer Richard Davis (director Michael Findlay again) picks up deranged hitchikers Maggie and Jackie, takes them to their house of A THOUSAND PLEASURES and meets their brain-damaged adopted daughter, “Little Baby,” a full-grown woman in a diaper. Maggie and Jackie, however, want a real child, but because they’re “true lesbians” who “hate the filthy touch of men,” decide to turn Davis into their very own sperm bank….

But please consult your doctor after viewing. These films are so sick, they might be contagious.

Special Features
• Digitally Remastered!
• Original Theatrical Trailer for TAKE ME NAKED!
• Additional Freaky-Findlay Trailers for: The Curse of Her Flesh, Satan’s Bed, The Sin Syndicate, The Touch of Her Flesh, and The Ultimate Degenerate!
• A Sex-Crazed Schoolgirl is Turned-On by Murder in a psychotic sequence from Janie, photographed and narrated by Roberta Findlay!
• Bonus Featurette: Michael Findlay Runs Amok in Ancient Greece in a 30-minute Lesbian-laced excerpt from Mnasidika!
• Gallery of Sick sixties Sex Stills with Audio Oddities!
• Total Running Time: Over 3 and 1/2 Hours of Pleasure & Perversion!

Scum of the Earth/The Defilers

One of the first double features I watched for Stepping Into Something Weird was Scum of the Earth and The Defilers. It was really the ideal way to kick off the feature. Two absolutely classic Something Weird Video flicks from Herschell Gordon Lewis and David F. Friedman; friends and collaborators and two men who make up the cornerstones of SWV’s collection! Scum of the Earth focuses on the sleazy business of modelling where women are drawn in by the lure of easy cash and next thing they know they are posing with their tits out. Kim Sherwood is one such young woman in need of funds. Initially she poses for cutesy shots in dresses and bathing suits but is soon being blackmailed into posing nude. Generally considered to be one of the first roughies it is captivating viewing with an especially great performance from William Kerwin as photographer Harmon Johnson (looking pretty handsome with a beard). Scum of the Earth is one of Lewis’s most esthetically pleasing films too. A delicious slice of exploitative pie well worth taking a bite of. David F. Friedman only directed five films during his career and is better known in the industry as a producer. The Defilers stars one of Friedman’s frequent collaborators Byron Mabe who would direct several films he produced. Carl Walker Jr. (Byron Mabe) is a spoiled rich kid who spends his days and nights hanging about looking for a way to get “kicks” with his friend Jameison (Jerome Eden). Jameison is well-known as a womanizer but Carl has earned a reputation as a rough and unsavory partner among their lady friends. Carl is looking for the ultimate thrill and upon meeting Jane a young woman new to town has an epiphany. Carl and Jameison will kidnap Jane and keep her in one of his father’s abandon storage rooms. Carl does not want to kidnap Jane for money but power; the power to rape and rough up the unfortunate woman whenever he feels like. The plan inevitably results in dire consequences for all three. The Defilers is a pretty mean little film. A competently made and acted mean little film. Jamieson is pathetic; he agrees with pretty much anything Carl suggests so he can have access to a vehicle. Carl for his part is a psychotic sonofabitch. Mabe and Eden do a top drawer job as hipster assholes who should be beaten mercilessly. This is a great early roughie duo; two classics that are must-have’s for anyone interested in the birthing of the exploitation film.

For more images from Scum of the Earth click here.

For more images from The Defilers click here.

Taken from the Something Weird Video Website:

Here’s a double dose of drive-in depravity with two kinky classicks from producer David F Friedman!

THE DEFILERS are two hedonistic young men who, just for kicks, abduct a sexy blonde (Mai Jansson, “Mouth-Watering 20-Year-Old Scandinavian Screen Find!”) as their own personal sex toy. Directed by R. Lee Frost (Love Camp 7), this shattering story of the shameless “sick set” is the quintessential “roughie”: downright nasty but you can’t look away!

Plus: Trying to earn money for college, wholesome cutie Kim (Vickie Miles) is sucked into the degenerate world of the dirty picture racket when she agrees to model for the SCUM OF THE EARTH. Under the tutelage of a sleazy photographer, Kim is soon posing topless, before being blackmailed into appearing in raunchier shots where she’s mauled by a muscle-bound moron named Ajax. Worse, she’s soon embroiled in events which lead to a police raid, two murders and sucicide… Featuring most of the cast of Blood Feast, SCUM OF THE EARTH, is slick grindhouse exploitation from cult director Herschell Gordon Lewis (Two Thousand Maniacs) and a hilariously outrageous expose’ of sixties-style smut. And remember, “Deep down inside you’re dirty! Do you hear? Dirty!”

Special Features
• Digitally Remastered
• Audio Commentary by Producer David F. Friedman!
• Two Theatrical Trailers for THE DEFILERS
• Trailers for other Twisted Sixties Sexploitation Classicks: All Women Are Bad, The Curse of Her Flesh, The Pick-Up, Sex Killer, Sock It to Me Baby, and Ultimate Degenerate!
• Archival Short Subject #1: Sandy and Ajax together again in Intimate Diary of Artists’ Models!
• Archival Short Subject #2: The Bennett twins in Barry Mahon’s Naked Fury
• Classic Drive-In Intermission Shorts!
• Gallery of Drive-In Exploitation Art
• Audio Sex-Hygiene Book Pitch from the Projection Booth!
• “Let’s Go To the Drive-In!” – An interactive feature allowing uninterrupted playback for three hours worth of exploitation drive-in madness!

Goregirl’s Dungeon on YouTube: COFFY (1973) x 2

Dee Dee Bridgewater/Roy Ayers/Wayne Garfield – Coffy is the Color

Music and images from Coffy (1973) directed by Jack Hill; Coffy is the Color – Dee Dee Bridgewater/Roy Ayers/Wayne Garfield

Dee Dee Bridgewater – Coffy Baby

Music and images from Coffy (1973) directed by Jack Hill; Coffy Baby vocals Dee Dee Bridgewater.

Next week will see the finale of Stepping into Something Weird. it will be five full days of Something Weird Video posts as I summarize my favourite watches of the feature, my favourite double and triple features and my favourite performances!

Have a GORETACULAR weekend and see you here Sunday night for my Favourite Five Something Weird Video films!

Favourite Five Series: DORIS WISHMAN

Doris Wishman, or Queen Doris as I like to call her was almost fifty when she directed her first film Hideout in the Sun in 1960 and she continued to make films until her death in 2002 at the age of ninety! Ninety years old and still directing sleaze; this is why I call her Queen Doris! Over the course of her career Wishman directed and produced thirty, wrote twenty-two and acted in nine films. She took a lengthy hiatus after her only straight up horror film A Night to Dismember (1983) failed to attract an audience. She made a return to filmmaking in 2001 with Satan Was a Lady. I was surprised to learn that Queen Doris was the cousin of Max Rosenberg, one of the founders of the UK production company Amicus Productions (The Beast Must Die, The Skull, Dr. Terror’s House of Horror, Torture Garden, etc). Doris embarked on her filmmaking career solo however and borrowed some money from her sister to make the nudie cutie Hideout in the Sun. Her next nudie flick was the aptly named Nude on the Moon which was banned in New York. Despite legislation being passed that allowed nudity in films set in nudist resorts/colonies apparently if those nudist colonies were on the moon they were forbidden. Apparently it was the science-fiction theme the state had issue with. Wishman made a handful more nudie cuties before getting into meatier territory with The Sex Perils of Paulette in 1965. This was the beginning of my favourite era of Wishman filmmaking. Although I had an overwhelming urge to royally rough up the titular whiny wishy-washy Paulette, I loved the hell out of the supporting characters in the film! Four of my five favourite films on this list are from 1965 to 1968 period and I had two more short-listed; My Brother’s Wife (1966) and Too Much Too Often (1968). I particularly enjoyed My Brother’s Wife which had two of my very favourite characters to appear in any Wishman film; the wickedly wanton and narcissistic Zena played by Darlene Bennett and the slippery and sleazilicous Frankie played by Sam Stewart. Wishman focused more often on female characters but My Brother’s Wife gives equal screen time to both sexes. Too Much Too Often is one of the few films in Wishman’s resume that focuses on a male character’s story; bad-ass hustler Mike Torson played by Buck Starr messes with a lot of folks lives without pity.

I was a little apprehensive about diving into Wishman’s post sixties resume after checking out Deadly Weapons (1974) featuring Chesty Morgan. The plot for Deadly Weapons (if you are familiar with Chesty Morgan you can figure out what the film’s “deadly weapons” are) sounded pretty damn fun but it just was not very much fun at all. As it turns out there was no need to worry about Wishman post 60s output at all! I enjoyed several of Queen Doris’s films from the 70s and one even made my list! It was an incredibly difficult decision to leave The Immoral Three (1975) off of this list! I enjoyed the hell out of that movie! It’s sleazy, funny, wacky, violent, sexy and tremendous fun! Let Me Die a Woman (1977) is Wishman’s documentary about sex change patients. The documentary included a few tidbits that had me squirming a little but it was actually quite interesting. The completely cat-shit crazy The Amazing transplant is without a doubt, Wishman’s dumbest plot but I have to admit, it provided tons of unintentional laughs and it was great to see Uta Erickson, Larry Hunter and Bernard Marcel from Love Toy reunited! Also making an appearance in The Amazing Transplant is Wishman mainstay Sam Stewart and three of Michael Findlay’s regulars Linda Boyce, Janet Banzet and Suzzan Landau. I had been working from a very simplistic laptop for the last several months which was a huge pain in the ass. I finally got myself set up with a beautiful new home computer and sweet big-ass monitor just a few short days ago! I mention this because I have had some friends and co-workers helping me out with some computer related stuff as of late. A guy I work with offered several times to download this movie and that, as he is constantly downloading movies himself. Well, I finally took him up on the offer. Thinking Doris Wishman’s Come with Me My Love was going to be along the same lines as Love Toy and Immoral Three I had a co-worker burn it onto a DVD for me. When he handed it to me, he said, “You know this is a porn film right?” I chuckled (knowing absolutely nothing whatsoever about the film) and said; “I’m sure there’s lots of nudity and sex but I doubt its graphic. I’ve seen several of Doris Wishman’s films and they are not porn.” I really should have read up on this film. This was porn. Real hairy hard-core, hairy faces in hairy asses, cocks in hairy vaginas seventies porn. It has a vaguely horror oriented plot with a dead husband back for revenge, but it is mostly a hairy fuck flick. Really hairy in case you haven’t caught that already. The only good thing I can say about the film was it was sorta neat when the dead husband walked out of the tacky seventies wallpaper. Oh! And the film also features Annie Sprinkle, who is kinda cute. The final film I feel I should mention is A Night To Dismember. It actually is not a Something Weird Video film, but since I knew I would be covering Doris Wishman during this feature it was one of the first films I watched. I found it on YouTube on New Years Eve and decided to re-watch it. Perhaps it is because I’ve seen a lot more of Doris Wishman’s work at this point but I definitely felt warmer towards the film on a second viewing. Flawed? Oh you bet! But it sure as hell has its memorable moments and its opening scene is pretty damn awesome!

There are a few distinct details about Wishman’s films that take some getting accustom to. The big one is the dubbing. No one speaks in a Wishman film; voices are added afterwards or the story is narrated. Wishman reuses locations and never bothers to change the decor or anything else in the room. You will find the same drapes, couch, pictures etc from film to film. Not only is the carpet and the drapes the same but sometimes Ms. Wishman recycles a snippet from a previous movie and adds it into another as filler. Queen Doris is also fond of her irrelevant inanimate objects; which her camera lingers on longingly and often. I was shocked to see an actual location shoot was used in The Immoral Three. One of the main characters travels to Las Vegas and stays in the worst room in the city. It could have been footage the actress took on an actual vacation to Vegas that Wishman spliced into the film but it is still a location. Queen Doris also loves her cutaways! According to wikipedia “A cutaway shot is the interruption of a continuously filmed action by inserting a view of something else. It is usually, although not always, followed by a cut back to the first shot, when the cutaway avoids a jump cut. The cutaway shot does not necessarily contribute any dramatic content of its own, but is used to help the editor assemble a longer sequence. For this reason, editors choose cutaway shots related to the main action, such as another action or object in the same location. For example, if the main shot is of a man walking down an alley, possible cutaways may include a shot of a cat on a nearby dumpster or a shot of a person watching from a window overhead.” We have all seen cutaway shots in films, but Ms. Wishman uses them more often than most. Ever since Richard Brandt pointed it out to me I can’t help but notice now. Damn you Brandt. Like many directors Ms. Wishman uses many of the same actresses and actors. This just makes sense to me. You like the actress or actor’s work and they understand what you want from them it makes for the perfect union. And Ms. Wishman and her mainstays are a delightful union indeed; Darlene Bennett, Dawn Bennett, Sam Stewart, Buck Starr, Bob Oran, Michael Alaimo, Sharon Kent, Uta Erickson, Bernard Marcel and Larry Hunter. Before October 2013 I had seen just one Doris Wishman film; Bad Girls Go To Hell. I have now seen twenty-three of Doris Wishman’s thirty directorial efforts. I am addicted to Queen Doris like crack and I can say without a doubt her films have not only been one of my favourite Something Weird Video discoveries but one of my favourite film discoveries period. A female director is a rare bird and a female exploitation director is rarer still; all hail Queen Doris! Roll out the red carpet! My Favourite Five Doris Wishman films…

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INDECENT DESIRES (1968)

Starring: Sharon Kent, Trom Little, Michael Alaimo, Jackie Richards, Buck Starr

An awkward loner named Zeb finds a ring and a doll in a garbage can and takes them home as found treasures. We than meet Ann an office clerk who meets her co-worker Babs each morning so they can walk together to the office. On this particular morning Zeb passes by the two ladies and envisions Ann as a giant version of the doll he found in the garbage. This is the beginning of strange and supernatural shenanigans! Somehow this vision causes a voodoo-esque connection between Ann and the doll and anything that Zeb does to the doll happens to Ann. Initially Zeb spends his time feeling the doll up. As he caresses dolly’s breasts Ann feels the sensation as well. Zeb begins stalking Ann and discovers she has a fiance. The odd young man’s feelings of sexuality eventually turn to bitterness. Indecent Desires’s story is bordering on a horror premise and is the most unusual of all Wishman’s sixties output. The reasoning behind the occurences in the film are never explained, but it by no means diminishes the enjoyment factor. I love the imagery in this film. The doll is a major focus and Ann played by the beautiful Sharon Kent actually looks like a real live doll! Ann is adorable and sexy and spends most of her screen time in underwear, lingerie or naked, involuntarily feeling herself up. Ms. Kent does a fantastic job as Ann. Kent gives a convincing performance of a woman who is not in control of her own movements and is slowly losing her mind. Pretty much silent the entire film but a huge highlight is Michael Alaimo who plays Zeb. We learn little if anything about Zeb’s life but from his actions he is clearly not in his right mind. He spends all his time alone, picks through the garbage and is a stalker. When Zeb first finds the doll he takes it home and sets up a table to place her on so he can admire her. He then grooms her and poses her which is a pretty peculiar thing for a fella to do isn’t it? What would compel a man to pick a doll out of the garbage and take it home in the first place? Indecent desires perhaps? Perhaps Zeb was already aware of his awesome powers of voodoo? Also along for the ride is Ann’s chum Babs who seems to be put in for more sex appeal. She makes out with her reflection and has a sassy sex scene with her new boyfriend. Babs was a lot of frisky fun! I think Indecent Desires is Ms. Wishman’s most creative and esthetically pleasing film. Indecent Desires has a fabulously fun plot, top-notch performances and is my personal favourite from Queen Doris!

For more images from Indecent Desires click here.

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ANOTHER DAY ANOTHER MAN (1966)

Starring: Agustin Mayor, Barbara Kemp, Sam Stewart, Mary O’Hara, Bob Oran, Darlene Bennett, John B. Brandt, Dawn Bennett, Darlene Cotton, Gigi Darlene, Alan Feinstein, Tracy Lee, Joni Roberts, June Roberts, Louis Silverman, Marlene Starr

Ann’s new hubby Steve is suddenly taken ill and Ann is forced to come up with money to pay the bills. Ann calls on the help of her former roommate Tess to set her up with the escort service she works for which inevitably has dire consequences. Another Day, Another Man is more dialog driven than a lot of Wishman’s films from this period and the visuals are especially memorable. The film features the song used in Something Weird Video’s promo reel played before all of their films; the appropriately chosen The Hellraisers by Syd Dale. It is a great opening tune for this delightfully seedy little film. The hair in this one is as large as it gets! The tower on Ann’s (Barbara Kemp) head is beyond belief! How does one even get hair to stand that tall?! It is seriously fabulous! Barbara Kemp is a fascination to watch; I think she may have been on Valium as she seems to have but one emotion.

Here she is shocked…

Here she is chatting with a friend…

Shocked and chatting with a friend look remarkably similar. Oh Barb, you made me smile often. Ann is a good woman though, and bad things often happen to good women in Ms. Wishman’s films. Of course, Ann could have gotten a job in an office or a store but who was going to hire her with that hair? Of course Ann was aware of the potential considerable income prostitution could offer and there were a lot of medical bills to pay. Ann’s friend Tess is a great character. A bold woman who does what needs to be done and takes no shit. Lately however business has not been so good and she is beginning to feel less confident. Mary O’Hara is perfect as the hustling and headstrong Tess. Sam Stewart puts in another memorable Wishman performance with his pimp character Bert and his flashback scene is one of the film’s best moments. Funny, sexy, tragic and sleazy; Another Day, Another Man was the second Wishman film I seen and it was the one that really started my Wishman fever.

For more images from Another Day, Another Man click here.

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LOVE TOY (1973)

Starring: Bernard Marcel, Pat Happel, Uta Erickson, Larry Hunter

In Love Toy a man named Marcus loses everything in a card game to a creep named Alex who agrees to let him off the hook if he will allow him to spend a night with his teenage daughter Chris. Marcus hesitantly agrees but has second thoughts at which time Alex and his wife Mary tie Marcus up while Alex has his way with his daughter. Poor Chris will never be the same after this night of depravity and sexual merriment. Alex, played with sleazy perfection by Bernard Marcel is a messed up cat who has the young Chris pretend she is his pet, his daughter, his wife, his mother and his mistress. Mary, Alex’s quiet as a mouse wife is played with a beautiful, subtle insanity by the talented and lovely Uta Erickson; she is as screwy as hubby with her mother issues and tendencies towards violence. The unfortunate Chris played by the impossibly young-looking Pat Happel must have been disturbed six ways after playing this role; but she does it so very well. Her emotions from disgust to horror to shock and ecstasy are precisely relayed. Bad dad Marcus is played by Larry Hunter with a quiet but disturbing conviction. The performances are great! The entire film takes place in two rooms that are filled to capacity with seedy and sordid goings-on. Love Toy is a film that lives up to it exploitative promises! A truly delicious salacious piece of seventies cinema! To read my full review click here.

For more images from Love Toy click here.

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A TASTE OF FLESH (1967)

Starring: Michael Alaimo, Darlene Bennett, Layla Peters, Buck Starr, Peggy Steffans

Hannah a woman Bobi befriended while travelling through Europe shows up in the U.S. out of the blue. Hannah calls Bobi to tell her she is unable to find a room in town and naturally Bobi invites Hannah to stay with herself and roommate Carol. Bobi has a massive crush on Hannah and wastes no time hitting on her much to Hannah’s dismay. Suddenly two men knock on the door claiming to be plumbers and push their way into the apartment. The two men have an agenda and they have been following Hannah since she disboarded the plane. Hannah it turns out is not who she claims and is part of a plan that was hatched months previous when Bobi was visiting Europe. The cat is let out of the bag 25 minutes into the film, but this is a 70ish minute film so I figured telling you about Hannah was a bit too spoily. Hannah is adorable and I loved her cute little Eastern European accent. I learned from David that Peggy Steffans was married to director Joe Sarno; another favourite director I’ve discovered during this Something Weird Video feature! You can count on one review at very least for a Mr. Joseph W. Sarno film before the end of the month. Lovely Darlene Bennett has a feature role as Carol, a sassy, sexy and frightfully easy young woman who makes plans to go away with one of the kidnappers/criminals after a three-minute conversation! Too funny. Frankie, the criminal Carol gets down with is way too slick for his own good. Frankie doesn’t know when to shut up. He is a terrible criminal and is a little too fond of the dames. Buck Starr is well-suited for the role of Frankie; the guy just kinda has a gigalo vibe. The excellent Layla Peters plays Bobi. Bobi’s lesbian dream sequence is definitely one of the films most awesome highlights. It is sexy, romantic, sweet and trippy. Bobi and Hannah have great chemistry; unfortunately for Bobi the awake Hannah has no inkling towards the ladies. Layla Peters as Bobi is a likable albeit frustrated gal. Last but certainly not least is Michael Alaimo who plays no-nonsense Nick. How Nick came to find himself partnered up with a flake like Frankie is a mystery. There is no way an organized bad-ass like Nick would hook up with a dumb-ass like Frankie but this is Doris Wishman’s world and anything goes. Nick plays hardball and he is the one that does most of the roughing up of the ladies in the film; and he does it convincingly too. Alaimo is one of several highlights in A Taste of Flesh. Another nifty looking film full of Wishman regulars with some wonderful creative shots, and a solid premise; perhaps Wishman’s most solid? It is definitely one of my favourite Wishman finales that is a definite. A Taste of Flesh is more of a crime thing than sexploitation and almost borders on a roughie but it is pure Doris Wishman any way you cut it.

For more images from A Taste of Flesh click here.

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BAD GIRLS GO TO HELL (1965)

Starring: Gigi Darlene, Charles E. Mazin, Sam Stewart, Gertrude Cross, Alan Feinstein, Barnard L. Sackett, Darlene Bennett, Marlene Starr, Harold Key

Bad Girls go to Hell was the only Doris Wishman film I had seen prior to this year. I barely remembered it beyond recalling that I liked it. I rented the double feature Bad Girls Go to Hell and Another Day, Another Man from my DVD rental oulet Zip and it was what set off the Doris domino effect. I liked Bad Girls go to Hell but I didn’t love it; I much preferred Another Day, Another Man. After watching twenty-three Wishman films I decided I should go back and re-watch Bad Girls go to Hell. I am so glad I did. As I said, I enjoyed it, but on a re-watch I found so much more to love! Of all Wishman’s films this is as close to a roughie as they get. This unfortunate gal really gets fucked with; literally! It is a ridiculously efficient film clocking in just a smidge over an hour; it is actually a little too short for my liking. The saucy and ridiculously cute Meg played by Gigi Darlene reprimands her husband for working on a Saturday and leaving her all alone. He promises to take her dancing that night to make up for it. Her day however takes an immediate turn for the worst when their building’s janitor attempts to rape her and she kills him in self-defense. She flees after the death of the janitor and continues to meet and part from a veritable parade of folks with intentions of doing her wrong. Poor Meg! Ms. Wishman does put her ladies through some heavy nasty shit! The parade of perverts and malcontents are pretty entertaining and I enjoyed looking back on this one especially for Sam Stewart and Darlene and Dawn’s appearances! Meg meets Sam’s character Ed in the park and he seems like such a nice man. That being said going home with a strange man you meet in the park (especially one in New York) is probably ill-advised. They play house for a while and everything seems to be going honky-dory until she finds a hidden bottle of liquor that is. Me thinketh Ed was on the wagon. After a good beating she moves on to the next situation. That next situation involves the aforementioned Bennett sister’s who play Ellen and Della. Dawn plays Della; a lesbian looking for a roommate and she is freaking hilarious! Everyone is top-notch in this and there is plenty of neat shots, crazy characters, sex and violence and Doris charm to warrant repeat viewings! And the ending? Best Doris Wishman ending EVER.

For more images from Bad Girls Go To Hell click here.

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The Weirdness Continues! HAPPY NEW YEAR 2014!

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Stepping into Something Weird will continue through the month of January! I have far too much to cover still! Coming Soon to the Dungeon! Andy Milligan! Ray Dennis Steckler! Joseph W. Sarno! Joseph P. Mawra! My favourite five Doris Wishman films! My Favourite five Something Weird Double Features! And MUCH MUCH more! Also upcoming! My co-host David’s fabulous feature on the man who put the “rough” in “rougie” the multiply talented Michael Findlay; director, actor, writer, cinematographer, producer and editor. David is awaiting on a bit of information that may prove to be essential to the project! Stay tuned!

I hope you will step into 2014 with me and discover more of the hidden gems in the treasure trove that is Something Weird Video’s library!

Just a note, I will be back to posting five days a week (Sunday night to Thursday night); Goregirl needs some rest!

HAPPY NEW YEAR and THANK YOU for supporting what I do here with your kind, funny and clever comments, your reblogs and likes on Tumblr, your retweets and favourites on Twitter and your likes on YouTube! I am passionate about what I do and I appreciate immensely each and every one of those nods you give. All the best to you and your families in 2014 and always!

With Gory Gratitude,
Goregirl (aka Terri)