Enigmatic fornication filmmaker Kemal Horulu, who really was of the Turkish descent his real ? name suggests (as my virtual acquaintance and esteemed director Larry Revene, who served as DoP on this particular project, helpfully confirmed), was but one of many adult luminaries to have his roots in late '60s sexploitation, traditionally the final threshold before full color penetration. Aside from SOME LIKE IT VIOLENT, a "roughie" of some note starring genre mainstay Sharon Kent (from Dorish Wishman's characteristically inane INDECENT DESIRES and Bill Henniger's hard to shake MR. MARI'S GIRLS), his most significant work from that era was THE SEXUALIST, an agreeable enough carnal comedy featuring however the considerable talents of legendary Jennifer Welles. Though Horulu had already dipped his toe in the hardcore end of the pool with the impossible to make good on its promise ALL ABOUT SEX OF ALL NATIONS with Tina Russell and Harry Reems, he would take the plunge along with Welles in the wonderful 1975 classic THE VIRGIN AND THE LOVER, the lady still limiting her intimate involvement to a tentative Sapphic tryst with Darby Lloyd Rains.
Since then, Horulu's output has been comparatively sparse yet interesting, even if his ambitions frequently outreached his grasp. Acclaimed in its day, his downbeat crime saga LUSTFUL FEELINGS barely holds up, a mix of mawkish melodrama and sleazy sex as innocent to the point of brain-damaged Leslie Bovee turns tricks to pay off her dealer boyfriend Jamie Gillis' gambling debts. Far superior proved the surprisingly intricate BLUE ECSTASY (IN NEW YORK), offering the underrated Bovee the plum roles of good girl/bad girl twins who just may be one woman's conflicting personalities. His last known endeavors were the simultaneously shot NEVER SLEEP ALONE and WHEN SHE WAS BAD from 1983, the first an effective portrait of a disintegrating open marriage between John Leslie and Victoria "Tina Marie" Jackson but the latter unfortunately living up to its title despite its cast including the superstar likes of Georgina Spelvin, Vanessa Del Rio and Sharon Kane. Pretentiously subtitled A STORY OF MADAME BOVARY, WOMAN IN LOVE falls somewhere in-between, both chronologically and in terms of quality. With a legit source for reference, the script really should have been better, though the name cast makes the most of it. There are a few memorably intense sex scenes, most of them involving the industry's Girl Friday Vanessa Del Rio as bitchy socialite Simone Foster, and the production looks pleasingly streamlined, largely thanks to the dependable Revene's intrinsic artistry behind the camera.
The narrative roughly follows Emma Bovary's trajectory, minus her tragic fate, as Christine Warren (Laurien Dominique), neglected wife of businessman Alex (Bob Kerman), attempts to alleviate boredom by taking a job at a boutique run by the scheming spouse of her husband's business associate (Jake Teague). Since she's played by Vanessa, audiences will immediately pick up on the fact that she's no good and that she has all sorts of naughty tricks (literally) in store for our naive heroine. Not that Christine isn't good and ready for this type of treatment as she's basically gagging for a shag. Preferring the scenic route towards depravity, Simone invites her charge to a wild party thrown by self-important dress designer Georgio, portrayed with pompous panache by (who else but) Paul Thomas. Disgusted by the uninhibited behavior of the other guests, Christine drifts into a brief affair with struggling artist Eric (an unexpectedly terrific turn by ubiquitous Ron Jeremy) who fakes sympathy to get into her panties. Real life lovers Samantha Fox and Bobby Astyr both appear in this sequence though not with each other. Bobby's with a haggard-looking Lisa Be (the hands-on auntie from Bill Milling's SCENT OF HEATHER) but available sources can't seem to agree on the identity of the muscular hunk Sam's "rocking" with. Vanessa devours her assistants Christie Ford and Ron Hudd back at the frock shop, which sounds like an afternoon well spent, while Eric's sudden change of heart leaves Christine wide open for Georgio. Still starry-eyed, she seems once again headed for romantic disappointment. Jerry Butler appears early on in his career as the pre-credits plumber Christine flirts with and party trick princess Veri Knotty pops up as mistress of ceremonies during a weird fantasy that unites most cast members along with George Payne performing his well-worn submissive slave boy routine. Veronica Hart has a throwaway bit as the heroine's replacement for Eric's affection. Which begs the question, with both Hart and Fox on hand, why give the lead to the late Laurien Dominique ? Frequently fine in support (Gary Graver's V THE HOT ONE and Shaun Costello's BEAUTY come to mind) and an okay comedienne in both Graver's ECSTASY GIRLS and Stu Segall's underrated SUMMER SCHOOL, she flounders when faced with the high drama Horulu throws at her, sabotaging the audience sympathy her character's supposed to generate with a gratingly whiny performance.
Since then, Horulu's output has been comparatively sparse yet interesting, even if his ambitions frequently outreached his grasp. Acclaimed in its day, his downbeat crime saga LUSTFUL FEELINGS barely holds up, a mix of mawkish melodrama and sleazy sex as innocent to the point of brain-damaged Leslie Bovee turns tricks to pay off her dealer boyfriend Jamie Gillis' gambling debts. Far superior proved the surprisingly intricate BLUE ECSTASY (IN NEW YORK), offering the underrated Bovee the plum roles of good girl/bad girl twins who just may be one woman's conflicting personalities. His last known endeavors were the simultaneously shot NEVER SLEEP ALONE and WHEN SHE WAS BAD from 1983, the first an effective portrait of a disintegrating open marriage between John Leslie and Victoria "Tina Marie" Jackson but the latter unfortunately living up to its title despite its cast including the superstar likes of Georgina Spelvin, Vanessa Del Rio and Sharon Kane. Pretentiously subtitled A STORY OF MADAME BOVARY, WOMAN IN LOVE falls somewhere in-between, both chronologically and in terms of quality. With a legit source for reference, the script really should have been better, though the name cast makes the most of it. There are a few memorably intense sex scenes, most of them involving the industry's Girl Friday Vanessa Del Rio as bitchy socialite Simone Foster, and the production looks pleasingly streamlined, largely thanks to the dependable Revene's intrinsic artistry behind the camera.
The narrative roughly follows Emma Bovary's trajectory, minus her tragic fate, as Christine Warren (Laurien Dominique), neglected wife of businessman Alex (Bob Kerman), attempts to alleviate boredom by taking a job at a boutique run by the scheming spouse of her husband's business associate (Jake Teague). Since she's played by Vanessa, audiences will immediately pick up on the fact that she's no good and that she has all sorts of naughty tricks (literally) in store for our naive heroine. Not that Christine isn't good and ready for this type of treatment as she's basically gagging for a shag. Preferring the scenic route towards depravity, Simone invites her charge to a wild party thrown by self-important dress designer Georgio, portrayed with pompous panache by (who else but) Paul Thomas. Disgusted by the uninhibited behavior of the other guests, Christine drifts into a brief affair with struggling artist Eric (an unexpectedly terrific turn by ubiquitous Ron Jeremy) who fakes sympathy to get into her panties. Real life lovers Samantha Fox and Bobby Astyr both appear in this sequence though not with each other. Bobby's with a haggard-looking Lisa Be (the hands-on auntie from Bill Milling's SCENT OF HEATHER) but available sources can't seem to agree on the identity of the muscular hunk Sam's "rocking" with. Vanessa devours her assistants Christie Ford and Ron Hudd back at the frock shop, which sounds like an afternoon well spent, while Eric's sudden change of heart leaves Christine wide open for Georgio. Still starry-eyed, she seems once again headed for romantic disappointment. Jerry Butler appears early on in his career as the pre-credits plumber Christine flirts with and party trick princess Veri Knotty pops up as mistress of ceremonies during a weird fantasy that unites most cast members along with George Payne performing his well-worn submissive slave boy routine. Veronica Hart has a throwaway bit as the heroine's replacement for Eric's affection. Which begs the question, with both Hart and Fox on hand, why give the lead to the late Laurien Dominique ? Frequently fine in support (Gary Graver's V THE HOT ONE and Shaun Costello's BEAUTY come to mind) and an okay comedienne in both Graver's ECSTASY GIRLS and Stu Segall's underrated SUMMER SCHOOL, she flounders when faced with the high drama Horulu throws at her, sabotaging the audience sympathy her character's supposed to generate with a gratingly whiny performance.