MY TALE IS HOT (1964) – The Dungeon Review!

Peter Perry Jr. (aka Peter Perry, A.J. Gaylord, Seymour Tokus, Seymour Tuchus, Arthur P. Stootsberry) directed thirteen films of which I have seen three thus far; The Joys of Jezebel, Kiss Me Quick and today’s subject review My Tale is Hot. At this point I have watched fourteen Nudie Cuties from various directors for this feature; I decided I should do a review for at least one of them. I have mentioned in previous posts, the Nudie Cutie’s main objective is to show a lot of naked or partially naked broads. They are always light on story and usually loaded with cheesy humor. Many of the early Nudie Cutie flicks were set in nudist camps/resorts/colonies. Apparently in the early part of the sixties you could show nudity if you set your film in a nudist resort; there were exceptions to that rule. Doris Wishman claimed in an interview that she was not allowed to show nudity in her film Nude on the Moon (1961), which was about a nudist colony on the moon. Despite being set in a nudist colony it had a science fiction theme and therefore could not contain nudity?! Censorship loosened up considerably as the decade wore on. There was no doubt in my mind which Nudie Cutie I would be reviewing. My Tale is Hot has been my favourite by far thanks to the fact that it actually made me laugh regularly and the sets and costumes were absolutely out of this world! Also I am a total sucker for a man in a devil costume!

My Tale is Hot aka Always on Monday (1964).

Filmed in LIVING SKIN-A-SCOPE!

Lucifer is reading his favourite magazine The Ladies Book Companion while his wife Saturna prepares dinner. He reads the following text…

“Ben-Hur Ova the wealthy Arab leader in the United States on a business mission has been chosen by the editors of Ladies Book Companion as their man of the year. Ben, a model husband has been happily married for over twenty years. A successful tycoon in his forties, Ben always finds time for his home life as witnessed by the fact he has sixty-three grandchildren. But most important, Ben has won this award because in the unanimous decision of the selection board he is undoubtedly the world’s most faithful husband. No earthly temptation could possibly sway Ben-Hur Ova from his loving home. His beautiful…”

He stops here because the next page has been torn out. Saturna used it for kindling to get the fire under Hitler re-started.

Business has not been good for Lucifer and he needs a new sinner badly. He can not resist the challenge of tempting Ben-Hur Ova to come over to the dark side. Saturna’s taunts only spur him on.

“You haven’t had a faithful husband down here since Henry the Eighth.” -Saturna

“You know Henry the Eighth got a bad rap. Any man smart enough to cut off his wife’s head should be sainted.” -Lucifer

Lucifer pops up in Ben-Hur Ova’s backyard as Ben’s wife Miasis-Ova is doing some gardening. Just before Lucifer makes his appearance it gets extremely hot and Ben-Hur Ova’s wife strips down to her panties. Alarmed by the appearance of Lucifer in her backyard she runs to tell Ben.

Ben-Hur Ova and Lucifer meet. Lucifer hands him his hot to the touch business card made of asbestos:

Lucifer U. Devil
Collector of souls
Garbage disposal specialist
Furnace engineer
Evil Spirit
Magician
Short Order Cook
Undertaker
Caretaker
Takerunder

Lucifer begins his parade of temptation by materializing a swimming pool complete with a bathing beauty. “This is the pear-shaped model.” Another pair of women follow and Ben-Hur Ova refuses to make a deal with the devil. “How about putting my backyard back into a flower garden!”

Lucifer refuses to give up tempting Ben and introduces him to “Sinner-Vision” starring no other than the new French maid Ben-Hur Ova just hired.

“Where you going?” -Lucifer
“For a walk; and don’t follow me, I want to be alone.” -Ben-Hur Ova

Of course Lucifer has no intention of giving up on Ben-Hur Ova and the parade of women continues.

Lucifer and Ben-Hur Ova stop for a devil dog with some girly relish. Girly relish allows you to see through walls and get a glimpse of naked dames like this gal.

The girly relish upsets Ben-Hur Ova’s stomach and Lucifer gives him some Sexlax. The Sexlax causes Ben to blow a hole clear through the wall and get a gander at this bird. Just look at those feathers!

Ben-Hur Ova is parched from the Sexlax and Lucifer takes him to get a drink. Of course Lucifer continues his fruitless attempts to woo Ben with his sinfully lovely ladies.

Candy Barr’s Burlesque act interrupts Ben-Hur Ova’s favourite show; The Wonderful World of Disney. The Wonderful World of Disney is Ben-Hur Ova’s favourite show which he always watches on Monday; hence My Tale is Hot’s alternative title Always on Monday. To check out the rest of the images in this set click here.

There is a very good reason that Ben-Hur Ova was not tempted by Lucifer’s parade of Nudie Cuties.

Lucifer fails at his attempt to win Ben over to the dark side. He decides to pack a bag and invite himself to stay with Ben-Hur Ova. Saturna catches wind of this and goes to Ben’s to collect Lucifer much to his chagrin.

There are loads more Nudie Cuties to be found in My Tale is Hot! This is just a small sampling of the chicks, dames, babes and broads that offer up an eyeful! As you can see from the images I included the Something Weird Video print of My Tale is Hot is considerably less than perfect. There were multiple green lines that appeared regularly through the film and at no point is the picture sharp but it was watchable enough; it is never so blurry as to have you questioning what an image is. The colors are surprisingly vibrant considering the picture quality and the visuals are too spectacular not to admire. Every single set in the film is hand-painted. I am a huge fan of homemade set pieces and My Tale is Hot is packed full of them! The humor is definitely cheesy and there are more silly one-liners than you can shake a stick at. What can I say? A lot of it did make me chuckle. If it was not for the copious amount of nudity this film would by very PG. But of course there is copious nudity! There is an excessive amount of nudity that would have the prude in your house running from the room screaming. My Tale is Hot came as a double feature with a second Perry flick The Joys of Jezebel. I did not enjoy Joys nearly as much but it is definitely a visually pleasing film with its highlights. The package overall with the fabulous Something Weird special features which included a ton of Devil-inspired trailers (The Devil’s Garden, The Naked Witch, Olga’s Dance Hall Girls, The Soul Lover, Touch of Satan, and Up in Smoke), Strip Short boudoir Belle featuring Candy Barr, A wacky animated short called Satan in Church, A full length feature called Go Down Death (1944) and a gallery of David F. Friedman Exploitation Art. Overall a package I am very pleased I added to my collection! I actually have a few more Peter Perry Jr. films in my queue as my DVD rental outlet Zip had a number of them available. Some were added intentionally like The Notorious Daughter of Fanny Hill which I rented because it featured Stacey Walker who gave one of my favourite performances during this Something Weird Video feature in A Smell of Honey A Swallow of Brine. I also added Perry’s Mondo Mod; a rare Something Weird Video documentary. The third feature in my queue Revenge of the Virgins was quite by accident as it comes as a double feature with Ramrodder. Peter Perry Jr.’s My Tale is Hot is one of the most entertaining of the Nudie Cutie films and comes highly recommended.

Dungeon Rating: 4/5

Directed By: Peter Perry Jr.

Starring: Candy Barr, Max Gardens, Ima Ghoul, Jack Little, Bea Reddy, Carol Baughman, Monica Liljistrand, Gaby Martone, Barbara Nordin, Adele Rein, Karen Wyatt

Favourite Five Series: JEAN ROLLIN

The Favourite Five Series is a project I have wanted to start for some time. I get asked regularly on Twitter what my favourite film(s) are from a particular director or actor/actress. If you are interested in checking out the work of a particular director or actor it can be a daunting task deciding where to begin. I have watched several films from French director Jean Rollin this year so it seemed like the ideal person to begin my project with. Jean Rollin has 52 director credits listed on IMDB; I have seen 17 of these efforts. Rollin’s films have style, ethereal imagery, haunting atmosphere, vampirism, gothic backdrops, breathtaking locations, gorgeous sets, beautiful women in gauzy dresses and the beach (Jean Rollin does love the beach). Just a few of the things that make the director’s films a pleasure to view. I have enjoyed the vast majority of the films I’ve seen from Jean Rollin and would definitely rank him among my favourite horror directors. Rollin did make several adult films as well, which I have seen just a smattering of; this particular list is strictly Mr. Rollin’s horror films. Honorable mention goes to The Grapes of Death and The Nude Vampire.

THE LIVING DEAD GIRL (1982)

The Living Dead Girl is the only film on this list of five I have not reviewed. It did make my top ten for 1982 however. A young woman named Catherine is brought back from the dead after an earthquake disturbs some barrels of toxic waste, The woman awakes with a thirst for blood and returns to her former home the Valmont mansion. Catherine is joined by her childhood friend Hélène who lures victims for her to feed on. A nosy photographer catches a photo of Catherine and asks around town about the woman. She is told that the woman in the photo died two years ago. Is Catherine a zombie or a vampire? Daylight doesn’t bother her and she doesn’t have fangs, but she isn’t braindead either. The film also goes by the name Lady Dracula (West Germany) and Zombie Queen (Japan). Does it matter whether Catherine is a zombie or a vampire? Not at all. The Living Dead Girl is adorned with Rollin’s usual visual flare; great sets and locations and lovely ladies. Françoise Blanchard as Catherine Valmont is particularly appealing. Unlike his earlier efforts however this one has gore. A fair amount of gore too. Rollin has been candid about his dislike of gore and he seems slightly less comfortable in this territory. As much as I love The Living Dead Girl I admit it is not as slick as the other four films on this list. Nonetheless The Living Dead Girl is a personal favourite that had to be included.

FASCINATION (1979)

The Parisian privileged visit the abattoir to drink ox blood in an effort to cure anemia. Meanwhile a gentleman by the name of Mark escapes some fellow thieves with a bag of gold coins. He happens upon a mansion where he meets Elisabeth and Eva. Mark attempts to take charge but the two beautiful women flirt with him and eventually seduce him. They are more than happy to let him take cover from the gang of thieves waiting nearby. The mysterious Elisabeth and Eva are preparing for the arrival of the Marchioness and Mark would be the perfect addition to the guest list. Fascination is brimming with atmosphere and its cast is top-notch. Much of the film focuses on Eva and Elizabeth played by the lovely Brigitte Lahaie and Franca Mai and their unfortunate thieving guest Marc played by Jean-Marie Lemaire. As is the case with all of Rollin’s early stuff there is very little graphic violence. There is however an entertaining scythe versus knife fight. While there is the drinking of blood, this is not a vampire film. Fascination is a beautiful, sexy, haunting film full of lovely images complimented by a melodically eerie soundtrack, an intriguing premise and devilishly delightful performances. To read my full review for Fascination click here.

LIPS OF BLOOD (1975)

A picture used in a perfume ad sparks a childhood memory in Frédéric. He recalls meeting a beautiful woman dressed in white as a child. Jennifer, the young woman gives him shelter where he sleeps for a while until she sends him off to his worried mother. Frédéric locks the gate behind him promising to return. Frédéric questions his mother about the events who attempts to convince him that they never occurred. He believes Jennifer may dwell there still and is soon embarking on a journey to find her. Along the way he awakens four female vampires and attracts the attention of some unsavoury sorts who want to prevent him from accomplishing his task. This is Frédéric and Jennifer’s story; a gothic romance with a vampire twist. Lips of Blood is full of beautiful surreal scenes not to mention a breath-taking finale! It ranks as one of my favourite finales in a vampire film. The kill scenes are all stylish and appealing albeit not graphic and Rollin adds some great flourishes like the bats in the coffins. Jean-Loup Philippe is strong as Frédéric and the bewitching, fresh-faced Annie Belle is absolutely lovely as Jennifer. Lips of Blood is a beautiful, haunting and deliciously sexy film with a gothic vibe and a great jazzy score. To read my full review for Lips of Blood click here.

THE SHIVER OF THE VAMPIRES (1971)

Newlyweds Isla and Antoine stop to visit Isla’s cousins. Isabelle, a woman claiming to be the men’s lover informs Antoine that Isla’s cousins are dead. The couple decide to visit the castle anyway. They are greeted by two nubile female servants and are put up for the night. Isla, upset by the news of her cousin’s deaths sends Antoine to sleep elsewhere. While undressing Isla is visited by a woman named Isolde who seduces and feeds on her. The restless Antoine checks on Isla; finding her missing he searches the castle. Antoine witnesses a disturbing ritual so surreal he thinks he might have dreamt it. It will not be the last disturbing or surreal sight for Antoine as the couple soon learn the mystery behind the cousin’s demise. The Shiver of the Vampires is jammed packed with atmosphere but it is also Rollin’s most humorous entry thanks to the two eccentric cousins. Jacques Robiolles and Michel Delahave are absolutely superb in their roles. Sandra Julien and Jean-Marie Durand who play Isla and Antoine, Kuelan Herce and Marie-Pierre Castel who play the two female servants and especially Isolde played by Dominique are all memorable in their roles. The Shiver of the Vampires is particularly stylish and I really enjoyed Rollin’s use of color. The crumbling Castle and its decor are completely outrageous and fantastic! The Shiver of the Vampires is stylish, sexy, strange, funny and totally enthralling. To read my full review for The Shiver of the Vampires click here.

THE IRON ROSE (1973)

A young woman alone on the beach finds something that appears to be a rose sculpted from iron. Later she is seen at a wedding reception where she meets a young man. The two make a date and meet with their bicycles at the train yard. They eventually come upon a graveyard and decide to take a tour. The couple have sex inside a crypt and when they emerge later it is dark. When they are unable to find their way out of the graveyard fear sets in and their imaginations get the better of them. The Iron Rose was Rollin’s first foray outside of the vampire genre and is psychological horror. The Iron Rose is deliberately paced with an atmosphere of oppression, mystery and foreboding. Hugues Quester gives a strong performance as the young man but it is Francoise Pascal’s performance that really mesmerizes. Pascal’s natural beauty and ease make her easy to watch but her range of emotion and her subtle trip into madness is what really shines in The Iron Rose. A simply gorgeous, poetic and hypnotizing film and absolutely one of Jean Rollin’s finest. To read my full review for The Iron Rose click here.

THE NUDE VAMPIRE (1970) – The Dungeon Review!

I watched Jean Rollin’s The Iron Rose for the first time quite recently and loved it. Had I seen The Iron Rose when I did my 1970s top ten lists it definitely would have made the top ten for 1973. I’ve been excited to check out more 70s Rollin; re-watch some titles and discover new ones. I thought I would start the journey with one I had never seen; The Nude Vampire, one of Rollin’s earliest works.

A strange evening encounter with a beautiful woman inspires Pierre to do some investigating. Pierre learns his father Georges has kidnapped the woman believing she is a vampire. She has been kept a prisoner in hopes of discovering the key to her immortality. Pierre is immersed into a dreamy world of suicide cults, animal masks, foxy broads in crazy costumes and mad science,

The supernatural and science meet again! I loved the mixing of themes here. We’ve got elites, cults, science, vampirism,; a touch convoluted but enthralling all the same. Paced to compliment its dream-like visuals every set piece and location is beautiful and stylish and the costumes are utterly superb. I love the copious use of hoods and masks; particularly the animals masks; which were wonderfully folky, creepy and elaborate. Its jazzy little score is the perfect accompaniment. Of course one cannot talk about a Jean Rollin film and not mention the lovely ladies and their various states of undress. The women as always are sexy and stunning and particularly fun eye-candy are Rollin regulars the Castel twins Catherine and Marie-Pierre. Caroline Cartier who plays the titular nude vampire is the story’s motivation and doesn’t speak a word. As a matter of fact there are several long lingering dreamy scenes without dialog that were simply hypnotic, Cartier is a pleasure to look at. The two central male characters are also strong, Oliver Rollin plays the handsome and likable Pierre Radamante and Maurice Lemaître plays Georges Radamante the icy businessman to a T.

Hood-wearing scientists.

No science lab is complete without multi-colored liquid filled vessels.

The suicide cult holds a black-tie affair where some lucky member will be chosen to shoot themselves in the head.

I can’t say enough about the amazing costuming in The Nude Vampire. There were a million other screenshots I could have put here as every costume in the film is worth posting; but I do love me a cultiesque ensemble.

I love symmetrical shots like this. The twins are each holding large torches and place them down and walk through doors in perfect uniform fashion. It is one of many visually arresting moments in The Nude Vampire.

A nifty shot of twins Marie-Pierre and Catherine. They walk around in a fog functioning as servants to the Radamante men. A lot of films could be made better by adding sexy wandering twins in ginchy outfits.

An unforgettable finale on the beach. Beautiful Caroline Cartier in a gauzy orange getup. Rollin does love the beach.

The Nude Vampire’s dreamy visuals, amazing sets, fantastic costumes, nifty score, and intriguing albeit convoluted plot is a sexy, surreal treat. I would have liked more emphasis on the “horror” but otherwise The Nude Vampire is delectable. Highly recommended.

Dungeon Rating: 4/5

Directed By: Jean Rollin

Starring: Maurice Lemaître, Caroline Cartier, Ly Lestrong, Bernard Musson, Jean Aron, Ursule Pauly, Catherine Castel, Marie-Pierre Castel, Michel Delahaye, Pascal Fardoulis, Paul Bisciglia, Olivier Rollin

Goregirl’s Twelve Days of Christmas (Horror Movie Edition) Infographic

I have been working on a project with friend and fellow blogger John over at TDYLF (The Droid You’re Looking For). I watched twelve Christmas-themed horror films and John created this magnificent infographic with the data. I highly recommend checking out John’s sweet spot on the web! John is the Edgar Wright of infographics, the Stephen Chow of Stick Figures and an all around funny fecking guy! SIX HUNDRED AND SIXTY SIX THANKS JOHN!

Click on the image to make it big…