ONE SHOCKING MOMENT (1965)

                    "You're like the rest of the perverted bastards that call themselves men!

  Ted V. Mikels 3rd movie features a couple(Gary Kent and Lee Anna) who end up in swinging 60s Los Angeles. Not the most exciting sexploitation flick of that time but you do get the usual cheating, stripping and softcore thrills. There's a lesbian dominatrix character(Verne Martine) who enjoys abusing men that adds to the spiciness. AKA SUBURBAN AFFAIR

So shocking that you can watch the whole thing right on YouTube!:

A SCREAM IN THE STREETS (1973)

 Quite a bit of this sexploitation flick is taken up by long drawn-out sex scenes, which I guess is, if that's all you're looking for, a recommendation but it really breaks up whatever narrative momentum the movie is able to muster. While it's not quite hardcore there are a lot of limply hanging wieners on display. The plot that wraps around these sex bits concerns two cops on the hunt for a rapist/murderer who somehow escapes detection by dressing up as a very unconvincing lady. Clearly not the most trans-positive PC movie but that's the 70s for ya.  One weird recurring thing that happens in this is people getting hit with or running through glass and not getting a scratch on themselves. I guess people were just tougher back then. While not the worst softcore sex flick you could watch I can't help feel like it could've been edited a lot better. 

   

LES GLOUTONNES (1975)

  Possibly due to the fact that the version I watched of this obscure Jess Franco sex flick was taken from a pretty crappy-looking video and the acting was very stagey it reminded me of something Andy Milligan woulda made. This was also the last film in a 14+ hour marathon of Uncle Jess' work so my mind was feeling a bit altered by this point. The most hardcore film from this event, there are probably a couple of different versions  ranging in explicitness, this one featured lingering zooms into vaginas and even a fake cumshot. The plot has to do with horny women who have escaped from the doomed continent of Atlantis and their sexual exploits. Not exactly the most riveting thing but Franco completists will dig it.

Jess Franco's LES GLOUTONNES

ILSA: SHE WOLF OF THE SS (1974)

 THE NIGHT PORTER predates this as far a Nazisploitation films go and there were plenty of roughie and porn movies with the same Nazi theme but this is really the one that set the template for all the sleaze and sadism that was to come from this much maligned subgenre. Dyanne Thorne is amazing in the title role of a sexy. castrating, bitchy commander of a prisoner of war camp. Torture abounds, blood flows copiously in what is basically a women(and men)-in-prison movie injected with a large amount of ultra-violence. A true downbeat classic of sick-o cinema!

 There were 2 actual sequels, ILSA, THE HAREM KEEPER OF THE OIL SHIEKS and ILSA, THE TIGRESS OF SIBERIA and 1 sorta sequel, Jess Franco's WANDA THE WICKED WARDEN AKA GRETA THE MAD BUTCHER which was retitled to ILSA, THE WICKED WARDEN to make it part of the series. There was also a planned 4th movie to be called ILSA MEETS BRUCE LEE IN THE DEVIL'S TRIANGLE which was sadly never made. 

EUGENIE...THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION (1970)

 Not to be confused with director Jess Franco's later EUGENIE movie or his even later WICKED MEMOIRS OF EUGENIE, from 1980, this Eugenie helped kick off the sleazier era of Franco's filmography by telling the story of a young girl(Marie Liljedahl) corrupted by a couple of pervy rich jerks(Jack Taylor and Maria Rohm) who really dig the writings of the Marquis De Sade. Some whipping, murders and perviness ensues. Christopher Lee shows up for a couple of brief scenes(he claims he didn't know how "adult" this film was going to be when he agreed to be in it) and lots of Eurobush is on display.  A fairly tame film for the subject matter but much more hardcore sleaze was to come from Franco in this decade! AKA DE SADE 70

THE SWINGING CHEERLEADERS (1974)

 Jack Hill-directed sexploitation classic featuring cult favs Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith from MASSACRE AT CENTRAL HIGH and Colleen Camp of DEATH GAME fame. Our main cheerleader(Jo Johnston who is really good in this and would sadly go on to do no other acting roles) is actually an undercover journalist writing about the oppressive world of cheerleading. The main theme of this film is that you can't always judge people by their outward appearance. The mood swings wildly from serious social commentary to slapstick comedy and while not the best Hill flick(SWITCHBLADE SISTERS from the following year might be my choice for that honor) is still worth a look for some vintage drive-in thrills. 

Rereleased at some point as LOCKER ROOM GIRLS. 

Released in the U.K. and the U.S. on video as H.O.T.S. II which is kinda weird since the first H.O.T.S. wasn't made until 1979!:

SWEDISH GAS PUMPS GIRLS (1980)

  This Eurotrash sex/softcore-porn movie is supposed to be a sequel to SIX SWEDISH GIRLS IN A BOARDING SCHOOL and it's pretty much exactly the same as that one. Brigitte Lahaie and friends are back screwing anyone that stops at their gas station. In this fantasyland apparently STDs are nonexistent. The bicycle with the dildo in the seat from the first movie becomes a stationary bike with a dildo now. Exactly what you expect with not many surprises beyond the gag with the TV-set that can see and interact with the horny people around it. AKA SIX SWEDES AT A PUMP, SWEDISH EROTIC SEXATIONS, HIGH TEST GIRLS and FRIENDLY FAVORS

A VIRGIN FOR ST. TROPEZ (1975)

  Sleazy eurotrash starring a young girl who's taken advantage of by her scummy manipulative boyfriend or 70s unconventional romance tale of young blossoming love that traverses Spain and France? Kind of a mix of both really. Rape, orgies, attempted murder and peeping perverts fill the movie's running time when the romantic bits are not slowing things down. While not officially credited to him this was allegedly shot, for the most part, by director Jess Franco(Georges Friedland is given credit) and it's not hard to believe that while viewing. Franco regular Paul Muller has a big role. Non-essential except for true Franco completists. 

Known in Italy as THE PERVERSE GIRL:

ALWAYS ON MONDAY (1964)

  Better known as MY TALE IS HOT(the version I watched actually had both titles pop up!) this is a 60s sexploitation/nudie-cutie flick where the devil tries to get a married man to not be such a faithful husband. Complete with a twist ending this is a goofy relic that's worth a look for something bizarre. Famous stripper of the time. Candy Barr shows up in some footage that obviously looks like it came from something else. The cheap-ass Lucifer outfit looks like it would fit right into that Mexican SANTA CLAUS movie. Would make for good background footage at your local trendy hipster bar.  

GIRLS ARE FOR LOVING (1973)

  This is the final chapter in the GINGER trilogy of films. I'd only seen the first part titled GINGER before and wasn't really that big of a fan. Luckily this one is a lot better. It starts right out with a couple of assassinations of some naked folks and then it's pretty much all sex & violence for the whole runtime including electrocuting genitals and lots of gunplay and kung-fu(sometimes half-nekkid kung-fu!). The vibe of the movie itself is a crazy 70s version of girl-power where while the 2 main ladies, Ginger(Cheri Caffaro) and her nemesis Ronnie(Sheila Leighton(credited as Jocelyn Peters for some reason), who did mostly TV stuff including most notably STAR TREK) do kick ass they also spend a lot of time getting raped so that's quite the juxtaposition. 

 Also apparently back in 2010 I found the original film to be a bit racist, well we don't have to worry about that this time around since Ginger has got herself a black love interest(Timothy Brown, another mostly TV actor most well known for being in M*A*S*H).  2010 me will be so happy!

Germany had a way artsier poster and title(GINGER: THE SEX SYMBOL WITH A LICENSE TO LOVE)!:

H.O.T.S. (1979)

 This was originally supposed to be title T & A ACADEMY and that might be the perfect title to describe what you get here. A very obviously ANIMAL HOUSE-influenced story of a group of girls getting revenge on a snooty sorority by creating their own group called H.O.T.S.(what that actually stands for is only revealed at the end of the movie) and stealing away all their men. A very stupid movie that includes bumbling cops and mobsters(one of which dons a robot suit at one point), a post-PATRIDGE FAMILY Danny Bonaduce as a rocking student, nekkid sky-diving, various nekkid Playboy playmates of the era, a bear and a seal as mascots, fat girl jokes that will offend your progressive blue-haired friends, sped-up BENNY HILL running, a conehead and ends it all with a strip football match. There's plenty of T & A on display and if you can handle the the extreme dumbness this is a fun ride. 

 Interestingly Cheri Caffaro, star of the GINGER series of sexploitation films in the 70s, was one of the co-writers of this but doesn't appear in the film.

 

                         Released on video in Germany as simply AMERICAN TEENS!:

PLEASURE (2021)

  So this is basically a drama about a young gal from Sweden(Sofia Kappel) trying to make it big in pornoland USA. They throw lots of nudity and erect dicks in there for that gritty realistic flavor and I guess to shock your grandma. Just like the porn industry itself most of the characters are pretty awful human beings. Of course since it was made in 2021 there has to be a stupid feminist message about victimhood or some other nonsense which really doesn't fit into a film showing women actually having control of their lives and making their own choices. Just like modern plotless porn this seems pretty empty and disposable and exists as pure spectacle.

 

This was originally a Swedish short and it probably would work way better that way!: 

        

SIX SWEDISH GIRLS IN A BOARDING SCHOOL (1979)

  Directed by Erwin C. Dietrich, who I know mainly as a producer of Jess Franco films, this is a chronicle of the sexual adventures of  7(despite what the title says) schoolgirls. Brigitte Lahaie is the only girl I recognize from a bunch of French pornos and is my favorite of the bunch. There's lesbianism, virginity taking and an ingenious invention of a bicycle with a dildo built into the seat. The plot is about as basic as your typical porn from this era and it all ends in a big dumb party.  Mindless sexploitation that gets very tedious. AKA SIX SWEDES ON CAMPUS, BOARDING SCHOOL GIRLS, SWEDISH GIRLS and UNTAMED SEX

             Of all the alternate titles this has the U.S. DVD release gives us one that it never even had:

VAMPYROS LESBOS (1971)

  I kinda get this mixed up with director Jess Franco's other vampire chick flick FEMALE VAMPIRE but this one is obviously more lesbian-centric. Also, instead of Lina Romay, we get Franco's earlier muse Soledad Miranda(who sadly died in an automobile accident the year before) as the sexy bloodsucker. It definitely contains that Franco artsy/sleazy style and has a pretty groovy soundtrack(I'm lucky enough to own the album) to accentuate all the lesbo antics. Ol' Uncle Jess shows up as a murderous psycho who likes to torture gals in a basement to get his jollies, there's an evil henchman named Morpho (just like in THE AWFUL DR. ORLOFF except without the ping-pong ball eyes this time) and the plot is very loosely based on Bram Stokers DRACULA with a Dr. Seward character(Dennis Price) and Drac himself being name checked a few times.  While not my very favorite Franco flick it's for sure up there towards the top of the heap. 

SUCCUBUS (1968)

  I know Eurosleaze director Jess Franco is a big fan of jazz music and this movie feels like it might be the closest of his films to a jazz song in that it's basically a bunch of scenes, many with jazz playing in them, with not a whole lot of rhyme or reason in a linear sense but more thrown together to set a general tone. S & M stage shows, brainwashing, murder, dreamlike set pieces and lots of oddball/artsy elements. Figures of Godzilla, Frankenstein and a few other monsters show up to aid in the sexy psychedelic ambience. Franco regulars Jack Taylor and Howard Vernon appear supporting star Janine Reynaud who was a model and not really much of an actress but that seems unnecessary for this role anyway as it's mostly just changing outfits and being nude from scene to scene. Recommended more for the arthouse fan than the more typical lowbrow Franco trash-lover. 

                                                     Released in Italy as DELIRIUM:

Known in a few countries(including France apparently) as NECRONOMICON: 

SINFONIA EROTICA (1980)

  The old story of a husband and his mistress trying to drive his wife crazy. The twist here is that "the mistress" is actually a rather flamboyant gay fella making this the gayest film director Jess Franco has ever made(male on male anyway, lesbianism is in almost all of his movies of course). I guess technically he's bi since there's also a nun that gets sexually abused by our male leads but ends up liking it because "hey this was filmed in the 70s!". Lina Romay does a pretty good job as the neglected wife but overall this is a pretty depressing tale with no clear viewpoint except maybe that people are pretty shitty. 

 One unexpected thing that did stand out to me from this is that during the finale they use the bed spear kill from FRIDAY THE 13th PART 2. Of course this was previously used in Mario Bava's BAY OF BLOOD but I would not have guessed it was gonna show up here.

 Loosely based on the writings of the Marquis DeSade who seems to be Franco's go-to guy for inspiration. AKA EROTIC SYMPHONY

CARIBBEAN PAPAYA (1978)

  This Joe D'Amato-directed slice of Eurosleaze starts off with a bang as our titular character, Papaya, chomps off a gentleman's genitals (which explains the alternate title of PAPAYA: LOVE GODDESS OF THE CANNIBALS) making me think I was in for something quite gory. Unfortunately ol' Joe then shifts gears and gives us a pretty unexciting sex flick concerning some islanders who are upset about a nuclear power plant being built on their land. You do get weird native orgies and a couple of dead pigs sliced open which is pretty gross. So if you want a couple of gross-outs while watching lesbianism and naked natives frolic about this might be worth a look. I didn't think it was a great example of either a cannibal flick or a sexploitation flick but still an interesting mash-up similar to D'Amato's BLACK EMANUELLE  films from this time minus the lovely Laura Gemser.    

                                    

The Love Goddess of the Cannibals from Cult Films and Shameless on Vimeo.

THE YOUNG SEDUCERS 3 (1972)

  The DVD I have of this is titled CALENDAR GIRLS but the onscreen title shows that it's actually the last part of THE YOUNG SEDUCERS trilogy. Luckily it doesn't seem to have any real plot to worry about and is instead just a series of sexual vignettes told by a gal(Ingrid Steeger) who has run away from a Catholic all-girls school. German star Steeger is very easy on the eyes and things are pretty explicitly shown but do stop short of being hardcore porn despite following a very porn-like formula. Sadly Ingrid only gets nekkid in the last couple of scenes. There's also some very lame comedy thrown in. 

 This has also been released on video as SCHOOL GIRLS 7: CALENDAR GIRLS making it part of a VHS series that I'm not familiar with but would like to learn about. 

VANESSA (1977)

 This EMMANUELLE rip-off flick from Germany starts out in a similar way to the Australian sex flick FELICITY that I also recently watched(and is included in a sexy DVD box-set with this one) where a young gal(Olivia Pascal here) starts of in a Catholic school and then ends up in Hong Kong discovering their sexuality. Of course that template was set back in 1974 with the first EMMANUELLE movie being set in the orient. I guess Hong Kong was just a sexy and exotic place to shoot these sort of films. Well you get plenty of sexy lady nudity here including full Eurobush so it's definitely a visual treat if that's what you're into. The plot, as usual, is down around the classic porn level and is just an excuse to shoot some more ample nudity.

                                                       Saucy "whore" scene!:

LAURE (1976)

 Probably the most interesting thing about this EMMANUELLE-rip-off sexplotation flick is that it's the only EMMANULLE movie(it also goes by the name of FOREVER EMMANUELLE) that actually features the real life lady who the character is based on. Before seeing this I didn't even know there was a real Emmanuelle but apparently it's a lady named Marayat Bibidh a.k.a. Emmanuelle Arsan(who looks a lot more like the Black Emmanuelle, Laura Gemser, than the original version played by Sylvia Kristel). She was also allegedly the director of this film though she's not credited. That might be because it was actually her husband(the lengthy-named Louis-Jacques Rollet-Andrian) who did a bunch of the directing (before quitting when he didn't get to make the pro-swinging epic he envisioned) and also wrote the books in the first place and then credited them to his wife's alias. I guess it's for the best that no one is named as director because this isn't a very good movie. It's filled with artsy-fartsy sex scenes and inane dialogue about the nature of love and relationships. There's also a primitive island tribe that unfortunately doesn't turn out to be cannibals so this doesn't turn into one of those kind of movies. More of a curiosity really but it's a lot easier just to look up the real Emmanuelle if you want to see what she looks like.
 There is supposedly a lesbian scene featuring Miss Arlan that was disappointingly cut from the DVD that I watched.