The next double feature disc gives you a hint about the films’ content right away. The titles of the films included are Fantastic Orgy (1978) and Champagne Orgy (1978). Fantastic Orgy opens with a “reporter” named Martha introducing the audience to the film’s star, Iris Medina. “Prepare yourself for a great movie!” Martha enthuses. She introduces Iris as a very liberated and independent woman who loves sex. Iris confirms this and then it’s off to see her at work on a porn film set, although for some reason we hear her thoughts in the voice of “Martha” throughout the entire film. If some of the footage here looks oddly familiar, that’s because it’s clearly from the same shoot used in Her Last Fling. Apparently also a fan of adult films, at one point Iris recognizes one of the stars of that film and calls him out on the narration track. Paul Thomas, Lesllie Bovee, Annette Haven, Sharon Thorpe and Desiree West all appear, but again they’re just nameless bodies in the pile. However, this time John Holmes is identified as Iris’s favorite porn star, and she desperately hopes to have sex with him. She gets her wish in a final scene between the two of them, although Holmes still doesn’t get any speaking lines in the whole movie.
Champagne Orgy returns to the meta-realm of Tobalina films like Mai Lin vs. Serena, Carlos Tobalina (himself) wants to celebrate the completion of shooting his latest film with a champagne party. One of his stars suggests they rent out a place, and Tobalina agrees, but smartly brings along his crew. When the cocktail waitress they hire spikes the champagne with some sort of super aphrodisiac, the wrap party turns into a gigantic multi-room orgy. Fortunately, Tobalina has his camera and sound crew on hand to film the party for another film in order to make the money to cover the damages to the place. There are some callback jokes (Fernando “I am always ready!” Fortes both actually shot the film and appears in it as the “character” he played in several other films) and some girls try to seduce Carlos himself, which he expertly plays off. Otherwise, a solid 50 minutes of this 77-minute feature is dedicated to footage of the orgy, featuring an entirely different cast from the previous features. Dorothy LeMay, Misty Regan, Brooke West, Mike Horner, David Morris, Aaron Stuart, and a number of other familiar faces all make appearances.
Vinegar Syndrome presents all four films in fantastic transfers, all sourced from the films’ 35mm camera negatives. Each disc also includes the trailers for both films. There’s no room for complaint on the presentation of the films at all—this is as good as any of these films have looked since they first hit the big screen. The issue is that if you’re not into the same kind of thing Tobalina is into, these films will likely bore you. There’s certainly a place for this kind of basically plotless sex film among the more cinematically-inclined adult features of the 70s and 80s, and no doubt plenty of films of this type that are made with less care than Tobalina’s films. If this is your kind of thing, these two double feature discs should be at the top of your shopping list. However, if you like a more even ratio between a film’s plot, character, and dialogue and its sex, there are plenty of other Vinegar Syndrome releases that you will find more engaging than these.
Come Under My Spell (1979) and Lady Dynamite (1979)
Originally published on Daily Grindhouse 27 February 2015
Vinegar Syndrome has been heavily focused on adult film for the past several months, and are gearing up for more general exploitation and horror releases in the immediate future (as well as introducing their new imprint, Etiquette Pictures), but not before getting one more Carlos Tobalina double feature out there. Previous films by Tobalina released by Vinegar Syndrome have ranged from the completely incoherent to staggeringly offensive, and occasionally both. Never one to worry about a coherent storyline or adhering to a basic level of technical competence, Tobalina’s work is generally the weakest of the Peekarama line of discs. The latest double feature splits the difference.
In Come Under My Spell (1979), Fernando Fortes stars as himself, reprising the role from previous Tobalina films such as I Am Always Ready and Champagne Orgy. Fernando lives with Dave (Blair Harris), and is jealous that Dave has a seemingly never-ending supply of fine ladies at his disposal.
Feeling sorry for Fernando, Dave buys him a present: a book entitled “Sex Through Hypnotism.” Fernando studies the book and is soon hypnotizing women into having sex with him everywhere he goes, even though his fiancée is waiting to come to America to marry him. Dave warns Fernando not to overdo it, but the man can’t help himself. Fernando ends up in the hospital, and not to spoil anything, but there’s a reason this is the last film Fernando played this character. The end of the film nods to a very specific and popular “shock” ending from a 70s horror hit in such a way that it’s almost worth sitting through the entire film just to see. Almost.
Things turn around quite a bit with Lady Dynamite (1979), starring Colleen Brennan in the title role. When she goes to the doctor (played by Carlos Tobalina) for her regular check-up, the doctor gives her a penicillin shot to treat a case of gonorrhea. Knowing she had to have gotten it from her husband (Shone Taylor), she goes home to confront him about his infidelities before setting out on some sexual adventures of her own. She calls up an old friend (Blair Harris) who’s made no secret of his lust for her in the past, and then joins three young ladies for a all-girl party. They’re later joined by four male strippers for a typical Tobalina-style orgy set to a pretty hilarious disco song featuring a female singer asking “Where’s the Beef?” and a deep-voiced man responding “The Beef Is Here.” Eventually, she goes back to confront her husband again, but things don’t quite end the way he (and possibly the audience) expect them to. It’s not great, but Lady Dynamite is probably the best Tobalina film Vinegar Syndrome has released so far.
Both features were scanned and restored in 2k from the original 35mm camera negatives, and Lady Dynamite in particular looks fantastic with sharp image detail and color that really pops off the screen. Come Under My Spell suffers a bit from several shots that are out of focus, but otherwise looks great. This double feature disc also includes trailers for both films. While Lady Dynamite is a high point in the Tobalina films that Vinegar Syndrome has released so far, and worth the purchase price of this disc by itself — here’s hoping they take a break from releasing his work for a while. There’s only so much Tobalina anybody can take.
Cry for Cindy (1976), Touch Me (1971), and An Act of Confession (1971)
Originally published on Daily Grindhouse 23 September 2014
It seems hard to believe, but Vinegar Syndrome hasn’t even been around for two years yet. Their first releases hit the market in March of 2013, and in just under 18 months they have established themselves as a hugely influential home video imprint. Their tireless dedication to preserving independent and adult film history, paired with an impressive slate of high-quality releases, have made them invaluable to the paracinema fan community. One of their first “Drive-In Collection” releases was a double feature of films (Confessions and Expectations) by vaunted adult director Anthony Spinelli, and another followed later (First Time and Oriental Baby Sitter). Now, Vinegar Syndrome returns with their first Peekarama release of Spinelli films, and it’s an impressive set.
First up is the drama Cry for Cindy (1976). Cindy (Amber Hunt) is a high-priced prostitute working to put her boyfriend through medical school, but when he discovers her double life and is beaten up by her pimp, Cindy has a breakdown and commits suicide by jumping out the window of her swanky apartment. At her sparsely attended funeral, her two female friends Nora (Mitzi Fraser) and Yvonne (Maryanne Fisher) and her boyfriend Dennis (Spender Travis) reminisce about her life. Nora and Yvonne think back to how they recruited Cindy, who was a shy hairdresser named Anna before she began turning tricks. Dennis looks back and wonders what he could have done differently to save Anna from her fate.
For having such a downer of a setup, the tone of Cry for Cindy is not quite as dark as one would expect. Cindy takes to the work quickly and eventually finds herself enjoying it, which causes her a tremendous amou
nt of guilt. She still loves Dennis, but she is obsessed with meeting new people and having new experiences—and making a lot of money doing it. There’s a strong emphasis on character here, which is both good (it’s not just a parade of contextless sex scenes) and a bit of a problem (Amber Hunt, in her first film role, is only sporadically convincing as Cindy/Anna). The rest of the cast does a great job of fleshing out their characters, though, and Spinelli doesn’t blink from giving the film a total downer of an ending.
This set also includes the softcore version of Cry for Cindy, which is basically exactly the same film minus about 20 minutes of hardcore footage (running about 65 minutes). It’s a testament to how well Spinelli handled the film around the sex that it works pretty well on its own. The inclusion of this version of the film appears to have been made at the last minute, since there is no mention of it on the DVD case artwork at all. There’s also a disclaimer at the start of the film that explains Vinegar Syndrome had “a beat up 35mm print, extra space on disc #2 and some free time on a weekend.” They apparently did some minor color work but mostly present the film as it was scanned, giving tech/AV geeks a fascinating look at what the company does when they do full restorations on features and not just straight scans. Despite the disclaimer, the video quality of the softcore version of Cry for Cindy is not bad, but it’s also obviously inferior to the 2K scan of the hardcore version.
The second film in this set is Touch Me (1971), one of Spinelli’s first films. In this film, Dr. Lloyd Davis (Tom Stevens) discusses the concept of a sexual encounter group with the audience before the film becomes a fictional version of one of these groups. The group includes troubled married couple Lisa and Robert Stevens (Andy Bellamy and John Keith), pushy salesman Harry Belmont (George “Buck” Flower), virginal Doris Welby (Rene Bond), nymphomaniac Marianne Nelson (Sandy Dempsey), lesbian Betsy Lyman (Suzanne Fields, star of Alpha Blue’s recent DVD release of Ed Wood’s The Undergraduate), super-stud photographer James Salter (Richard Smedley) and impotent Bill Bradford (Ric Lutze). The doctor introduces each character and explains why they have come to the group before beginning a series of sexual “experiments.”
While Touch Me does include quite a bit of hardcore sex, it is used to help establish the characters and their relationships instead of simply titillating the audience. The cast is game and mostly solid, and this is about as far from a fun “love-in” as you could get with this kind of setup. Feelings get hurt, boundaries are crossed, and in one extremely uncomfortable scene one of the characters basically rapes another one while everyone else sits around and watches. All the characters are forced to face difficult truths about themselves and their sexuality, and while there’s no doubt most of that is 70s psychobabble, the actors commit to selling some difficult emotions. Meanwhile, Dr. Davis ends up looking less like a therapist and more like a creepy enabler by the time the film ends. Maybe that was Spinelli’s point?
And now we get to the real find in this set: An Act of Confession (1971), Spinelli’s notorious “nunsploitation” film. Vinegar Syndrome tracked down a 16mm print of the “soft” version of the film and put the question to its fans on Facebook earlier this year: release this version, or wait until a hardcore print surfaced (an exceptionally unlikely prospect given the film’s troubled release history)? Fortunately, the vote seems to have been in favor of releasing a restored “soft” version as opposed to having the film remain mostly unavailable (awful bootlegs have been around for ages), and Vinegar Syndrome elected to add it to this release of Spinelli features.
In An Act of Confession, young nun Sister Beatrice (Kim Durey) recounts her struggles with being tortured by sexual fantasies. These “daydreams” plagued her all of her life, so she decided to become a nun to battle the temptations of the world. However, even after becoming a nun, Beatrice was plagued by increasingly graphic and blasphemous erotic fantasies about fellow nun Sister Jennifer (Cyndee Summers), Father Beauvier (Keith Erickson) and the young men studying under him, Brothers Joseph and John (Franklin Anthony and Neville Francis). These fantasies move from straightforward lesbian sex to the Brothers tying Beatrice to a crucifix and having sex with her. While explaining some of her fantasies to Father Beauvier, he is unable to control himself and masturbates in the confessional with the same hand he uses to hold his rosary. Finally, Beatrice has a sexual vision about Jesus himself, and decides to join a hermitage order, from which she recounts her stories. Here, completely isolated in the mountains, Beatrice considers herself a true “Bride of Christ,” alone and able to serve without distraction.
There’s no doubt about it, An Act of Confession is legendarily controversial for a reason. Anyone with even a hint of sensitivity concerning Catholic iconography is going to want to steer well clear of this film. It opens with a title card claiming that its intent is “to portray the very human side of those in conflict regarding their commitment to a life of reverence,” even referring to such literary sources as Dante, Boccaccio and Voltaire as precedents. While An Act of Confessionmay not be quite on the same level of literary thoughtfulness as any of the works those names might bring to mind, it does arguably present a positive portrayal of a young woman who rejects all of the temptations of the world and finds peace in solitary service. That’s not to say there’s not plenty of imagery here that will make people deeply uncomfortable, but An Act of Confession is certainly not just a simple nunsploitation picture playing off its shock value.
Overall, this is easily one of the very best releases in Vinegar Syndrome’s Peekarama line so far. In addition to offering two solid hardcore features, it also gives fans a peek at how the technical side of restoration works (with the barely-touched soft core version of Cry for Cindy) and a chance to finally see a decent-quality version of a virtually lost classic of the era (edited though it may be). This is the kind of release that has earned Vinegar Syndrome its reputation, and keeps fans eager to see what treasures they may unearth next.
The Cut-Throats (1969), Sweet Trash (1970), and The Hang Up (1970)
Originally published on Daily Grindhouse 27 August 2015
The film career of John Hayes ran from the early 1960s to the 1980s, and he did work both in front of and behind the camera. Hayes wore a number of hats in film production, from editing and sound to writing and directing. His films as director ranged from horror films like Grave of the Vampire (1972) to hardcore features like Pleasure Zone (1983). Some of his work has been previously released on DVD by Vinegar Syndrome, including a Peekarama double-feature of Hayes’s hardcore films Baby Rosemary (1976) and Hot Lunch (1978), and two films he wrote that were directed by Chris Warfield, Purely Physical (1982) and Champagne for Breakfast (1980). Recently Vinegar Syndrome released two discs of Hayes’s directorial work that had been extremely difficult to see before, giving exploitation film fans a chance to catch up on more of his non-genre/non-adult work.
First up is Hayes’s WWII “heist” thriller The Cut-Throats (1969). In the final days of the war, Sergeant Joseph Tackney (Jay Lee) is recruited into a ragtag crew led by Captain Kohler (E.J. Walsh) to infiltrate a Nazi base to steal stop secret plans. They handily storm the base and eliminate the Nazis, and fortunately for our boys, the base is occupied by a bunch of young women happy to be released from the grasp of their villainous captors. The women put on a burlesque show for the soldiers (including one woman in deeply upsetting clown makeup) and then everyone retires to their respective rooms for the evening. But Kohler’s plan is not exactly what he told his squad: he’s actually after a fortune in stolen jewels and gold, and he’s not interested in sharing his ill-gotten gains with anyone.
The Cut-Throats is mostly entertaining, although it gets off to a very rough start with a long, pointless rape scene between a Nazi goon and a woman wandering the countryside. Which, incidentally, looks suspiciously like California. After that bit of serious unpleasantness is over, the film settles into a fairly standard no-budget action/exploitation mode. There is a lot of screen time devoted to the ladies at the base
bedding the Nazis and American soldiers, naturally, and some very brief action sequences. There is also a scene later in the film with Uschi Digard and a Nazi officer celebrating the end of the war that is just barely related to any of the rest of the film, and a completely nonsensical finale in which one of the American soldiers pretends to get shot and then spends the entire climactic shootout in a lengthy sex scene with one of the base girls, while Kohler tries to wipe out everyone and take all the loot for himself. The Cut-Throats delivers cheap thrills, which is exactly what it advertises.
Following the limited-edition DVD release of Alan Ormsby‘s Murder on the Emerald Seas (1973), Vinegar Syndrome gave The Cut-Throats a similar release originally given away to customers who preordered one of the company’s monthly bundles for May or June. The disc is now available as a standard disc through their online store and at convention appearances. Previously only available on poorly-transferred VHS, this new DVD features a 2K transfer of The Cut-Throats from 35mm elements. It looks great, and the disc includes a feature and a stills gallery. Overall, this is an interesting artifact of early American Nazisploitation, made around the same time as Lee Frost’s Love Camp 7 (1969).
The other recent release of Hayes’s films is a Drive-In Collection double feature DVD of Sweet Trash and The Hang Up (both 1970).
Sweet Trash is a strange story about an organized crime family that takes orders from some sort of supercomputer; instructions are printed out for the next person to shake down, murder, etc. When the computer orders a drunken dockworker to be forced to join the family, pay his gambling debts, or die, it seems like the computer might have made a mistake. The Hang Up follows a bitter, repressed vice cop as he falls for a young prostitute and his life spins out of control. Will he come to his senses before he crosses the line, or is it already too late?
The Unrepentant Cinephile Page 79