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!

Favourite Five Series: Something Weird Video Films Part One

The final week of Stepping Into Something Weird and The Films of Michael Findlay is here. I am feeling very sentimental about this two month-long journey. A feature that was to run only for the month of December but was too much fun to end! I would be perfectly satisfied reviewing nothing but Something Weird Video films forever! As of January 13 I had watched forty-seven Something Weird Video titles. There were still several films left on my must see” list and I tried my best to fit them all in before I had to compile my favourites. Between January 14 and 25 I watched an additional twenty-two films for a grand total of sixty-nine! I realized upon reviewing my list of titles that I had not included the six Doris Wishman films (Bad Girls Go To Hell, Another Day Another Man, The Sex Perils of Paulette, My Brother’s Wife, Too Much Too Often) that David and I had watched together before we embarked on this project! So officially I watched seventy-five Something Weird Video titles for this feature! I feel a particular fondness for the SWV sixties stuff which is so much saucier than their more mainstream peers from the decade. As much as I love and adore them, it won’t be easy-going back to watching Hammer, Corman and Toho. There is so much clothing in other sixties films! All joking aside I have a massive respect for the actors, actresses, directors and crews who worked on these independent underground films. They were renegading, risk-taking, rule-breaking, movie-making mercenaries! I was very saddened to hear of the death of Something Weird Video’s founder Mike Vraney on January 2nd of this year. Vraney took his love and passion for these films to the next level. A collector himself, he was able to make his hobby into a successful business. Many of these gems may have been lost forever had it not been for Vraney’s diligence and affection for the material. Fans like myself have much to thank Mike Vraney for. This may be the end of the feature but by no means will it be the end of my Something Weird Video viewing. One day I will see every single film that Something Weird Video offers. In fact, I forgot to move all the Something Weird titles from the top of my DVD rental queue; so some time in the next few days I will be receiving the double feature Kitten in a Cage with The Girl from Pussycat! If you have been following this project the below choices will not be terribly surprising ones. I have given all but one of these films a full review during this feature with the exception of the last film on this list which was included on my favourite five Doris Wishman films list. These treasures all earned a perfect 5/5 rating. It was especially difficult to choose my ultimate five as I had thirteen titles I gave a perfect rating.

Check back tomorrow to find out what the other eight films were that received a perfect score and which I chose as my next five favourite Something Weird Video films! PART TWO TOMORROW!

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SUBMISSION (1969)
Directed by: Allen Savage
Starring: Jennifer Welles (as Lisa Duran), Gary Judin, June Adams, Sue Beaudry, Sheila Britt

Submission is the story of two highly dysfunctional characters; Vickie a lovable and empathetic infantine and Barry an arrogant, sexually predatory criminal. Vickie is kept in “Submission” by Barry with toys, candy and sex. Barry hustles wealthy women. Barry with Vickie in tow takes employment with these women who he eventually murders and robs. Submission is peppered with flashbacks but focuses mainly on their current “mark”; fashion designer Linda Staples. It is a quiet film with very little dialog and a peculiar but hugely effective score that made for a highly visceral experience. Submission’s performers were well-chosen; in particular the gorgeous and talented Jennifer Welles who plays the film’s infantile enchantress Vickie. Submission really blew me away. It is a deliciously unique, sexy, daunting and beautifully filmed curio that was as artful as it was sleazy. Submission is a hypnotic treat and a little known fascination that deserves more attention.

To read my full review of Submission click here.

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THE ULTIMATE DEGENERATE (1969)
Directed by: Michael Findlay
Starring: Michael Findlay, Earl Hindman, Uta Erickson, Janet Banzet, Suzzan Landau, Rita Vance, Kim Lewid, Donna Stone, Cindy Freemont, Yolanda Cortez

The film’s “Ultimate Degenerate” is Spencer; a mentally unstable eccentric with unusual sexual fantasies. Spencer hires women through a New York sex paper to come live and “perform” for him. The Ultimate Degenerate is also Maria’s story; Maria narrates our tale as she relays her experiences with Spencer, his assistant Bruno and an array of sexy, horny, often naked broads. Women perpetually practicing a performance that will never be put on, clock fucking, cigar fucking, corn fucking, broads chewing on each other and whipped cream; lots and lots of whipped cream, are just a few of The Ultimate Degenerate’s naughtier details. The Ultimate Degenerate also boasts a finale you will not soon forget! The visuals in The Ultimate Degenerate are a sinfully sweet hypnotic treat; especially the tripping out scenes! There is an incredible amount of nudity in the film and so many adorable and sexy ladies on display; Uta Erickson, Janet Banzet, Suzzan Landau, Rita Vance, Kim Lewid, Donna Stone and Cindy Freemont to name a few. In the end it is The Ultimate Degenerate himself that steals the show. Michael Findlay’s performance is beyond entertaining and his unusual quirky accent and delivery is completely unique. The Ultimate Degenerate is funny, crazy, titillating, violent and sleazy; it’s the perfect introduction to Findlay’s work and to the parade of fine and sexy broads of the world of sixties underground cinema!

To read my full review of The Ultimate Degenerate click here.

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SIN IN THE SUBURBS (1964)
Directed by: Joe Sarno
Starring: Judy Young, W.B. Parker, Audrey Campbell, Dyanne Thorne, Marla Ellis, Richard Tatro, Derek Crane, Ella Daphni, Charles Clements, Wayne Roberts, John Aristedes, William Donaldson, Joseph Garri, Mari Kiselle

Sin in the Suburbs focuses on several women in a suburban neighborhood whose husbands “Gotta make that 7:21”. Geraldine Lewis is one of the main focuses of the story and is the neighborhood ringleader of sorts. It is no secret that these women spend a goodly amount of their time entertaining other men during the afternoons. Early in the film Gerldine’s daughter Kathy walks in during one of her trysts and ends up in the arms of the neighborhood divorcee Yvette Talman. Yvette’s boyfriend Louis Muse concocts a profitable plan to take advantage of the sinful suburban shenanigans that eventually results in the undoing of several of the neighborhood’s families. The dialog is sharp and the performances are excellent; particular standouts were Audrey Campbell as Geraldine Lewis; Dyanne Thorne as Yvette Talman, W.B. Parker as Louis Muse and Judy Young as Kathy Lewis. Sin in the Suburbs is a nice looking film full of interesting shots and I really loved the use of the linen masks and matching satin robes which added a delectable, dreamy and kinky vibe. Joe Sarno has been one of my favourite director discoveries during this Something Weird Video feature. However, even after watching thirteen other Sarno films; and enjoying most of them, Sin in the Suburbs still remains my favourite. Sin in the Suburbs is a sexy, sinful, well-acted, captivating melodrama and the perfect way to kick off your Sarno viewing!

To read my full review of Sin in the Suburbs click here.

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THE PSYCHO LOVER (1970)
Directed by: Robert Vincent O’Neill
Starring: Lawrence Montaigne, Jo Anne Meredith, Elizabeth Plumb, Frank Cuva, John Vincent, Sharon Cook, Diane Jones, Luanne Roberts, David Astor, Lynn Lyon, Judy Lang

The Psycho Lover focuses on Dr. Kenneth Alden; a wealthy and successful psychiatrist with an unhappy bitter wife that refuses to divorce him and a twenty-five year old mistress named Stacy. Dr. Alden receives a call from a Lieutenant Morlock asking for his assistance with a case involving a young man named Marco Everson; Marco has vivid dreams of killing women that match the facts in some recent murders. Eventually Dr. Alden and Marco’s lives intersect after Alden begins treating Marco. The cast was well-chosen. Lawrence Montaigne looks the part of the respected psychiatrist Dr. Kenneth Alden and has a confidence bordering on arrogant that suits the role well. Jo Anne Meredith looks like a woman who goes to the beauty salon regularly and has an elegance about her but at the same time a touch of tackiness. Her character is a lush but Meredith plays it in a proper “keeping up appearances” fashion. Elizabeth Plumb as Stacy is a sweet, likable, bubbly gal; although a touch too sweet and bordering on air-headed. It is easy enough to see why the anal retentive Kenneth would fall for her though. Frank Cuva is excellent as Marco Everson. The Marco character has the perfect balance of everything that makes a good horror film antagonist. He is reasonably intelligent and unassuming in appearance and when unprovoked could be the nice guy that lives next door. Needless to say, Marco can not always hide the anxiety and threat bubbling just below the surface waiting to boil over. When Marco goes into killing mode he is cruel, brutal, relentless and frenzied to the extent that he literally foams at the mouth. A well drawn character and a spot on performance. The Psycho Lover is an exceptional horror film with intense well-executed murder sequences, an excellent story, strong performances and it is one of the most visually stimulating horror films I have had the pleasure of watching in recent memory.

To read my full review of The Psycho Lover click here.

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INDECENT DESIRES (1968)
Directed by: Doris Wishman
Starring: Sharon Kent, Trom Little, Michael Alaimo, Jackie Richards, Buck Starr

Indecent Desires is about a creepy loner named Zeb who finds a ring and a doll in a garbage can. After envisioning a beautiful blonde named Ann as his doll he somehow causes a voodoo-esque connection between the two. This is the beginning of a strange and supernatural journey for the unfortunate Ann. Ann now feels the same sensations that the doll would feel; if of course a doll had senses. Initially Zeb spends his time feeling the doll up. As he caresses dolly’s breasts Ann feels the sensation as well and begins to caress her own breasts. Zeb begins stalking Ann and discovers she has a fiance and the odd young man’s feelings of sexuality eventually turn to bitterness. Indecent Desires is the only Wishman film from this period of her career with a supernatural premise (Wishman would make a XXX and horror film with a supernatural premise in the decades to come). The imagery in the film is quite unforgettable. The little dolly found in the trash gets lots of focus as does its stunning counterpart Ann who looks like a real live doll. Ann is adorable and sexy and spends a good chunk of the film in various states of undress and feeling herself up! Sharon Kent is a beautiful actress and does a terrific and convincing job of a woman who in not in control of her own movements. Michael Alaimo also leaves an impression as Zeb; creepy, quiet and the perfect garbage picking, psychotic stalker. Also memorable is Ann’s sexually charged friend and co-worker Babs played by Jackie Richards. Indecent Desires is Wishman’s most esthetically pleasing and creative film full of sassiness, sex appeal and violence. Its enthralling plot, enthusiastic performances and visuals make for some seriously frisky fun. As is my obsessive way; I have seen 23 of Doris Wishman’s 30 directorial efforts and there is no two ways about it; Indecent Desires is definitely my personal favourite on her resume!

Indecent Desires was featured on my Favourite Five Doris Wishman list; to find out what my other four favourite Doris Wishman Films are click here.

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SIN IN THE SUBURBS (1964) – The Dungeon Review!

Joseph W. Sarno piqued my interest after watching a collage of clips from his sixties films. The one title in particular that caught my attention was All the Sins of Sodom which I found online and has been saved in my favourites menu for months. I probably have forty or more movies saved in my favourites to watch online, never mind the tremendous amount of movies I have queued that are not online! Long story short I just hadn’t gotten around to watching All the Sins of Sodom yet. I was thrilled when I started investigating the films in Something Weird Video’s library and found they had a number of titles from Joe Sarno. Unfortunately zip, my dvd rental outlet only had the double feature The Love Merchant with The Layout which has been queued since I added it almost two months ago! I still haven’t seen it! I could wait no longer. I had decided I was going to purchase several Something Weird titles and I would take a chance on some blind buys so I bought two Sarno double features; Sin in the Suburbs with The Swap and How They Make it as well as Flesh and Lace with Passion in Hot Hollows. I could not be more pleased with these purchases! I will certainly be adding more sixties Sarno to my collection post haste! Sin in the Suburbs with The Swap and How they Make It is a serious contender for my very favourite of all of Something Weird Video’s double features! Both are beautifully filmed melodrama’s full of steamy, sordid details and feature a parade of exploitation superstars that are becoming as familiar to me as old friends. Both films are delicious beyond belief but today I am going to review my absolute numero uno of the quartet; Sin in the Suburbs. “Olga meets Ilsa — in suburbia!” It was these words alone in the Something Weird Video description for the film that provoked me to purchase this one. The film stars Audrey Campbell who played Olga in Joseph P. Mawra’s Olga series (Olga’s House of Shame, White Slaves of Chinatown, Olga’s Girls) and Dyanne Thorne who has played Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS three times including the Don Edmonds 1975 original. The two women play housewives living in Suburbia. Both are pretty damn naughty too; they’ve just traded the whips and torture implements for pots and pans and satin robes and linen masks.

Sin in the Suburbs opens with Yvette Talman (Dyanne Thorne) who is expecting someone from the furniture store to come by. The furniture store to which she owes some money. She answers the door in her negligee.

“Mrs. Talman I’m here about the bill for furniture.”
“I know.”
“Two-hundred and twenty dollars, that’s the balance. You haven’t made a payment in over four months.”

A peek inside another home in suburbia sees Lisa (Marla Ellis) and Henry Francis (Joseph Garri). Lisa is clearly unhappy with her marriage and her husband’s long absences. Lisa pleads with him to stay home this day but in his new position he can not afford time off. Like most of the men in the neighborhood he takes transportation to work and there is only one chance to catch the overly crowded 7:21.

“Gotta make that 7:21.”

In another suburban household Geraldine (Audrey Campbell) and Scott Lewis (Derek Crane) eat breakfast with their cheerleader daughter Kathy (Judy Young) and make polite small talk.

The exceedingly horny Lisa says good-bye to her husband and minutes later she is peering out the window at Roy the Mason. Roy (Richard Tatro) shows Lisa some of his handiwork.

“Jimmy Reed, Kathy’s already gone to school. You better hurry or you’ll be late.”
“I’m not going to school today Mrs. Lewis. I’ve decided to cut.

Geraldine Lewis invites Jimmy (Wayne Roberts) in for coffee and fresh Danish pastry. Than they do the twist in the living room.

Yvette Talman with her “brother” Louis Muse (W.B. Parker); at least that is what they are telling the neighbors.

“Boy! When Al moved out did they twitter.”
“Who are they?”
“The women in the streets; with their husbands. Oh they get so smug and condesending. Oh! And when you moved in! Ha! Did the eyebrows raise!”

Kathy lets Jimmy convince her to leave the party they are at so they can be alone to talk. Of course talking is not what Jimmy wants and he ends up striking Kathy which sends her running home.

Kathy runs home to find her mother is in bed with a man that is not her father. The sight sickens her and again she is sent running.

Kathy ends up in the company of neighbor Yvette Talman who straightens her out about womanhood.

Louis comes up with a way to make money that would cash in on the suburban neighborhood’s promiscuity. He starts the ball rolling with Geraldine Lewis by sending her a note to meet with him.

“A club, made up of people who like things that are different and exciting. Initiation fee one-hundred dollars. Dues, one-hundred dollars a month.”
“That’s a lot of money. What does it buy?”
“A satin cloak and a linen mask.”
“Couple hundred dollars doesn’t go far these days does it?”
“Awwww, but in addition it buys untold pleasures.”
“Oh.”
“You’re panting. Maybe you’d like a drink?”

Yvette gets a visit from Kathy.

“Yvette, what are we going to do today?”

Louis and Yvette discuss “The Club”.

“But suppose little Geraldine and the others decide to back out after they get a look?”
“Back out? With the show we are going to give them? They won’t be able to resist. They’ll be anonymous and safe behind masks, safe with partners who can’t identify and who can’t be identified. And chances are there’ll be different partners each week.”

“Kathy! Where were you yesterday when you were supposed to be at school? Answer me! Where were you? And why did you wear heels today? You aren’t involved with a boy? That Jimmy?”
“No mama. I’m not involved with a boy.”

Louis and Yvette ready themselves for “The Club’s” debut evening.

“To all you anonymous, faceless souls … I bid welcome.”
“Ladies, the catalyst. Inside your cloak in a hidden pocket over your heart you will find a key with a number tag. But this number you will keep secret for it is also the number of a room in this inn. A room to which the key belongs. A room to which you belong.

Lisa is not coping well with her husband’s continuing absense; she drunk dials Roy the Mason.

“Ask mother why she would like me to stop seeing Mrs. Talman.”

A perfect and most fitting finale.

I so very much loved the finale to Sin in the Suburbs. I could not have written it better myself. The film is well-written across the board. The dialog is sharp and the performances are all good with a few particularly outstanding turns. Audrey Campbell is excellent as Geraldine Lewis; oozing with confidence, poise and sexuality. Dyanne Thorne also gives a helluva show as the schemeing and provocative neighborhood’s divorcee Yvette Talman. The real showstopper among the ladies is Judy Young who plays Kathy Lewis. Young was featured alongside Audrey Campbell in Olga’s House of Shame as Elaine; House of Shame’s most interesting and memorable character outside of Olga herself. I wonder what became of this talented gal? She was only in a handful of films including another Sarno flick I mentioned in my introduction Flesh and Lace; another wonderful performance. Young is amiable and sweet as Kathy and it is a lot of fun seeing her taste the fruits of sensuality and transform into womanhood over the course of the film. W.B. Parker who plays Louis Muse is a fascination to watch; his tenacity and wryness was as sharp as his features and his gravelly voice stayed with me for several days. Sin in the Suburbs is a nice looking film full of interesting shots. I am a big fan of mirror shots and there is a lenghty one of Louis and Yvette getting ready for “The Club’s” debut evening which I thought was especially attractive. I also adore Mr. Sarno’s use of masks which have been featured now in three of the five flicks I have watched of his. The matching satin robes and linen masks of the members give the scenes in which they appear a cult-like vibe that is delectable, dreamy and a little bit kinky. The Something Weird Video print of Sin in the Suburbs was in decent condition; there were a few lines here and there and some jumps in the editing but minor and it certainly did not spoil my enjoyment of the film any. I have already seen five Joe Sarno titles through Something Weird Video and I fully intend on lapping up every Sarno title they have available. I am out of my mind with excitement to check out every sixties and early seventies Sarno flick I can get my little paws on, Something Weird Video or otherwise. Sin in the Suburbs is a sexy, sinful, well-acted, captivating melodrama that gets my highest of recommendations; a perfect score.

Dungeon Rating: 5/5

Directed by: Joseph W. Sarno

Starring: Judy Young, W.B. Parker, Audrey Campbell, Dyanne Thorne, Marla Ellis, Richard Tatro, Derek Crane, Ella Daphni, Charles Clements, Wayne Roberts, John Aristedes, William Donaldson, Joseph Garri, Mari Kiselle