Faced
with the rather daunting task of compiling a (quote) “visual history of over 40
years of sexploitation cinema”, BASKET
CASE (1982) and BRAIN DAMAGE (1988)
director Frank Henenlotter – along with ‘The Mighty Monarch of Exploitation’,
David F. Friedman (1923-2011) – have, thanks to the massive archives of Mike
Vraney (1958-2014), the late producer/owner-operator of Something Weird Video
(SWV), created one of the most thorough and definitive documentaries on this
fascinating subject.
The
doc is hosted by both Friedman (from his home in Anniston, Alabama) and
Henenlotter, who were long-time associates of Vraney and helped propel SWV into
the company it is today. Just a couple of years prior to his death, Friedman
was in poor health at the time his interview herein was shot, but, as always,
his memory was still sharp as ever and, despite his health problems, nonetheless
remained one of the finest raconteurs, which certainly helps as he guides us
through this once-forgotten, at times outlandish – if incredibly diverse –
genre from film history.
Covering
everything from silent films – including footage from WHY THE GIRLS WALK HOME (192?) and UNCLE SI AND THE SIRENS (192?) – and early talkies, Mr. Friedman
charts the inception of the (quote) “very stupid and very rigid” Hays Code during this time, which was put into place by
that morally-conscious organization, the Legion of Decency, which in effect helped
in creating an entire market for (s)exploitation cinema, because the
“sexploiteers” weren’t bound by any code.
Sex hygiene films, “Goona-Goona” films (featuring topless natives),
“monkey sex” (Gorillas chasing topless natives), smokers (early stag films), Sinerama
cuties (early loops that played in Arcades), burlesque; the colourful nudist
camp films and nudie-cuties – which Henenlotter freely and gleefully admits are
“the stupidest films on the planet” – are just some of the subgenres covered
before things move onward into the (quote) “prime time” of sexploitation: the
Sexy ’Sixties. Nudies, roughies (“…more
violence than sex, but the sex has got to be the raison d’être for the violence”), lesbian flicks, acid pictures and,
finally, the death knell of the sexploitation era: the so-called “white-coaters”,
the first hardcore “blue movies” disguised as “sex hygiene” films.
Even
at 136 minutes, Henenlotter’s THAT’S
SEXPLOITATION never even comes close to outstaying its welcome as it moves
from one subgenre to another with ease and perfect clarity, and thankfully,
both Friedman and Henenlotter not only add a ton of historical context, but at
the same time, they never take the films they love too seriously, providing an amusing,
enlightening and completely engrossing experience for both fans and newcomers
alike. The runtime is filled with tons
of rather unbelievable anecdotes, including one about a feisty and bigoted city
censor in Memphis, Tennessee who, at the time, was particularly incensed about
racial integration in film – he actually censored the Little Rascals’ “Our
Gang” due to Buckwheat! – which sort of led to the strangely-titled “Goona-Goona”
pictures featuring topless natives only. Other interesting tidbits include one about the
cutting of various films due to the differing state censor boards, whose
official jurisdictions varied, which resulted in a number of differently-edited/censored
film prints circulating around the various regions, and in some cases, the
actual shooting of two distinctly different versions, as is highlighted in TS by a fascinating scene-by-scene
comparison of Eddie Kaye’s ESCORT GIRL (1943), featuring scenes from both
the “cool” and “hot” version. Later, Mr.
Friedman also discusses Walter Bibo’s GARDEN
OF EDEN (1954), the first nudist camp film, which ran into problems with
the NY censor board. After a prodigious court
ruling where “nudity” in and of itself wasn’t deemed obscene, the floodgates opened,
whereupon Times Square was inundated with nudist camp films. However, as for
the new nudist genre’s poor pioneer Bibo, who spent all his time fighting in
court, he ended up missing the boat himself, although, according to Friedman, “…he
opened A LOT of doors!” His recollections from the set of some of these
rather innocuous films are also quite priceless, which he equates to, “a cold
storage room of a meat-packing plant”, so they had to (quote), “salt the mines”
and hire models to help make these films a little more digestible to the paying
public. Although always the consummate
storyteller, Mr. Friedman really gets into his groove when discussing most of
his films from the ’60s, a section which includes discussions about Stacey
Walker (of A SMELL OF HONEY, A SWALLOW OF BRINE [1966] fame), Marsha
Jordan, roughies (“The anti-nudie cuties”) and acid (LSD/psychedelia-themed) pictures. He also discusses the formation of the Adult
Film Association of America (AFAA) in 1968, which largely assisted distributors
and filmmakers with their legal issues, sometimes providing them with readymade
“kits” to help with their defense in court.
Of
course, being a “visual history”, this doc is highlighted by an absolute
treasure trove of film clips culled from the SWV archives, which includes the
usual staples like Doris Wishman’s NUDE
ON THE MOON (1961) and BLAZE STARR
GOES NUDIST (1962), Lee Frost’s HOUSE
ON BARE MOUNTAIN (1962) and The DEFILERS (1965), Jonathan Lucas’ TRADER HORNEE (1970, “This is a show
for the broad-mined. I know you all got
broads on the mind!”), Michael Findlay’s FLESH
trilogy, the OLGA films, a great
selection from their massive
collection of nudie cutie loops and many, many, many more goodies besides,
which are best left as a surprise for both the uninitiated and the seasoned SWV
collector. As usual, the doc also incorporates
loads of great footage depicting old theatres and great marquees, including some
for many of the seedier Storefront Theaters that began to appear in the early ’70s.
Released
theatrically in 2013, THAT’S
SEXPLOITATION finally made its bow this year on both Blu-ray and 2-disc DVD
courtesy of Severin, and considering the clips are of varying image quality due
to the vintage source materials, it all looks pretty damn amazing. Of course, the newly-shot footage is razor-sharp,
and even though many of the film clips were sourced in SD, many of them are in
HD as well, so the picture quality varies from clip to clip, but to be truly
honest, it doesn’t matter one bit. The
biggest extra is a very relaxed but highly informative commentary from director
Henenlotter and Mike Vraney’s wife Lisa Petrucci, who discuss all sorts of
great tidbits, including Henenlotter’s first meeting with Vraney; the project’s
genesis, which was begun by Friedman in 1973, but was later aborted; the pilfering
of Movielab, which resulted in a number of amazing finds, including such SWV
staples such as Emilio Vieyra’s The
CURIOUS DR. HUMPP (1969), and lots more.
It’s a great listen (and watch). Like
many of the ‘official’ SWV DVDs from Image, Severin has also decked-out their
release with over three-and-a-half hours of short films and condensed versions
of stuff like Michael Findlay’s The SIN
SYNDICATE (1965) and Joe Sarno’s MOONLIGHTING
WIVES (1966). The documentary’s
official trailer rounds out the plethora of extras. Exceptional in every way, THAT’S SEXPLOITATION comes highly
recommended, and warrants many repeat viewings, especially via Severin’s
handsome, extras-laden release. Order it
from Severin films here or from Amazon here and remember, “You’re all dirty!”
