Reviews

I just finished watching the whole 1-season, 39 epps on Amazon, having not watched The Buccaneers since it came to America when I was about ten. Unlike the other UK import to impact American TV culture, Robin Hood, this series did not live on in my memory, save for the catchy sea-chantey song played over closing credits. Somehow, the words to the song had stuck in my head. The plots are simple, the production is pretty lean and at times the actors chew the scenery, but overall, I found myself compelled to watch all the episodes. About ten years later when I saw Robert Show as the villain in 'From Russia With Love' I did not make the connection, nor in 'Jaws.' His Captain Dan Tempest was vibrant, physically imposing and humorous, but at times, he really goes over the top, even for a 50s show. One thing that surprised me was how the Brits referred to the acting governor as Lieutenant, the way we pronounce it here, vs. 'Leftenant,' how they say it there. For the US market only? Anyway, a pleasant enough guilty pleasure to watch.

What makes this movie historically significant can be found in the release date. While it says '1970' I think it was a bit later than that because this movie was shot in a rough/hard-core layered fashion. There's quite a bit of fellatio that is not hidden by hair, hands or camera angle. Neola Graef, she of the shimmery blond hair and zahftig figure, who only appeared in soft core scenes in her career, is in some hardcore scenes in this raincoater. In one extended scene, where another actress is totally sucking a dude off,Neola does a reverse cowgirl, back to camera, on his face. Now what he was doing with his lips and tongue is anyone's guess, but that's about as hardcore as she ever got. There is also a scene in which she is giving a guy head, with her hair hiding all the action, but when she finally pulls away, you see the man has a raging hard-on that twangs to one side, so perhaps she was really throwing the good stuff. By today's standards, a silly, tame and boring movie, but by the standards of the day, daring in the X-treme.

While anyone can enjoy this nostalgic look at what it means to be a Jewish comic, the question Zweig keeps returning to is how to get a fix for his Jew Jones. As another babyboomer NYC Jew who grew up watching Jack Carter, Red Buttons, Myron Cohen, London Lee, Jack E. Leonard, Alan King, Joey Bishop, Norm Crosby, Professor Irwin Corey, Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, Howie Morris, Alan Sherman, Jerry Lewis, The Three Stooges, George Burns, Corbett Monica, Sandy Baron, Stanley Myron Handleman, Buddy Hackett, Shecky Greene, Danny Kaye, Pinky Lee, Eddie Cantor, Groucho Marx...in other words, the funnymen of the late 40s and 50s, it seemed the whole comedy world was Jewish. There's nothing particularly ethnic about any of the above performers, many of whom were cited in the documentary, but that sense of Jewishness in comedy is an historic relic. While the documentary contains many funny lines and examples of Jewish jokes, there's a sadness as an undercurrent that only fellow 60+ Jews can truly understand...the loss of a culture. I'm glad I watched the film, but it left me melancholy.

One of the great (almost) unsung heroines of early porn, Dolly Sharp is probably best known in her role as the BFF/foil to Linda Lovelace in "Deep Throat." Her "Do you mind if I smoke...while you eat," is one of the all time greatest lines in erotic filmdom. I saw "Dynamite" about a year after "Deep Throat" at a grindhouse theater, Times Square in NYC. While not in a starring role, her few moments of screen time are fantastic. Although she had a brief anal scene in Deep Throat, with iffy camera-work and lighting, she makes up for it in "Dynamite." There's no money shot, no oral, but if you're a Dolly fan, her anal scene is the best shot, best lit moment of her brief but incandescent career in smut. I found "Dynamite" -- after trying to find and download it for years from various porn sites on Xhamster recently, for free. Nobody ever looked more "into it" than Dolly Sharp and in this movie, that's especially true. I think she passed away some years ago, but her 'body" of work lives on.

I saw this movie twice within weeks of each other in Miami in 1976. The movie was edited to deal with the dichotomy of X and XXX theaters in the mid-70s. Miami was a fairly open town when it came to adult bookstores, adult theaters and adult drive ins. There was a XXX drive in, The Thunderbrid, in Ft. Lauderdale. And The Biscayne Adult Drive In in North Miami, which only showed softcore flicks. I saw the softie version first and it was patently obvious that the movie had been edited to remove the h/c naughty bits. Roxanne Brewer and Uschi Digard were well known at the time for only appearing in softcore films. So two weeks after I saw the edited version, Female Chauvinists opened at a porno theater in downtown Miami. Roxanne and Uschi's roles were virtually the same, with only a bit of beaver action and some minor touching of female pudendas. But Pryor's ex-wife Debbie McGuire did a full blown (pun intended) scene and there were a few other XXX scenes interspersed throughout the movie. Interestingly, the actress listed as Svetlana, who appears in a bikini in the movie, went on to become a multi-film director.

Two things make this movie memorable to me; first, that I saw it at one of the now defunct but legendary storefront 16mm "XXX Theatres" that cropped up like mushrooms in the early 70s, this one in Hialeah, FL and there were few really erotic performers in those early pioneer days, Candy being one of the best. One other reviewer mentions this is a softcore feature, but it's readily available, streaming, for free online at Hamster and Candy goes h/c all the way, But secondly, dozens and dozens of those early LA 16mm gems used the same underscore music and during Candy's tryst on the boat, it plays in its entirety. Give a listen, you'll see what I mean..

I'll disagree with the other reviewer, I don't think the top heavy mom in this flick is unattractive at all. I'm not sure if her boobs are augmented or not...back in the early 70s, there was usually a tell-tale scar under each boob, which isn't evidenced here. But she has a killer bod, manicured/pedicured nails and a very educated mouth, especially for MILF aficionados. She's appeared in a number of Mark Brock early hardcore outings and she has a specialty...analingus. The gent she does this to at the end of the film, in the orgy scene, is Thora Birch's dad, Jack,and as is often the case in his flicks, he has a soft, wet noodle, which may explain why the "mom" decides to play the rusty trombone with him, but he still doesn't get hard. F/M Analingus was a rarity in early porn efforts but in the few films I've seen her in, that's her thing. This film is available for free download on the Xhamster website.

I saw this, first run, Times Square in NYC. Before the projectionists got their mitts on this, there was original hardcore action in this movie. I think, like many movies of that specific timeframe, it was released in two versions, one harder than the other. Most of the action in the movie is simulated and as all Uschi fans no, there is no existing footage of her doing anything hardcore, but Mycle's bj scene definitely included hard core, non-simulated action. Which should surprise no one, she did a ton of h/c stuff in the early 70s. I saw this in 1971, shortly after "Electro Sex '75" broke the h/c barrier in the Big Apple, but sexploitation flicks in 1970 and 1971 were pushing the envelope, often shooting two versions, one with h/c scenes and the other, for the adult drive-in circuit, were tamer. But it's well known that (surprise!) many projectionists at adult theaters worked there because of their own porn-jones and they would snip out favorite h/c segments of films for their personal edification. Most of these were 35mm prints (compared to later 16mm store front porn) so each frame was like a 35mm slide. When you download movies now from SWV or other online sources, you often only find these redacted versions.

I saw this movie first run at a theater in Astoria, Queens, just prior to the breakthrough "Electro Sex '75," which was the first hardcore movie to play in NYC. The Ice Box was a roughie...not in the BDSM sense, but rough-core, that step right before hardcore that existed for about a year as the sexploitation movies (and actors/actresses) morphed into un- simulated roles. There were a number of scenes in this movie where you could tell the actors were "doin' it," but the angle of the shot prevented you from seeing any insertion, other than a glimpse. The most memorable scene to me was Dolly Sharps telephone call masturbation action on a couch...the same couch she got debauched on, h/c/ by Tina Russell in "Lady Zasu's Daughter." In "The Ice Box," Dolly is dressed in a one piece see-through nylon outfit and she does an extended strip, beaver exposure and rubba dub dub with the phone on her pudenda. It was a few months later that I saw her as Linda Lovelace's roommate in "Deep Throat." I wish this movie were still available, but I can't find it anywhere, or Dolly's other big anal performance in "Dynamite."

This Golden Age flick deserves special attention, all other attributes aside, because it's one of only two feature films Julia Parton appeared in doing full blown -- sorry, couldn't resist -- hardcore. In fact, the only bj scene is in this movie, in Sex Games she was averse to oral for whatever reason. Julia is up there with Uschi Digart, Candy Samples, Roxy Brewer and Dyanne Thorne as iconic tit queens of that era and her foray into hardcore was sadly brief, at the very start of her career, when she still had a bit of that 'babyfat' look about her. Right after this film was made, she lost a few pounds, became more chiseled without losing any buxomness and only did g/g or solo scenes, along with some mainstream soft-core. Her poolside h/c loop is easily available for free online. When Julia and Mona Page finish with the lucky handyman, double teaming him with an oral money shot, it's the only time I know of that Julia Parton gets a facial.

The year this film came out, there were two distinct markets in America for sex movies. Many markets, like Atlanta, forbade hardcore films, even though they'd been "mainstream" for a few years. In other markets, there were venues for hardcore, including storefront theaters showing 16mm prints from the West Coast, plus soft-core venues, like adult drive in theaters. Many XXX flicks were edited down to just X for those soft-core theaters. Massage Parlor wife was a strange admixture. In the very opening scene, Serena is seen administering to a not-bad looking side-burned dude and you see what appears to be a huge erection under his modesty sheet. Softcore movies would have been pushing the envelope at that, but by '75 they might use a prosthetic to achieve that effect. But Serena finally pulls the sheet down, it you get to see a fully erect, large penis, which she grabs. For a XXX movie, very tame. But for a sexploitation soft-core outing, daring. The scene with Serena getting oiled up and spun around featured wide open beaver shots, normally not found in soft-core outings. But as a previous review points out, the height of this "taking it to the max" sexploitation occurs when the protagonist...watching his wife in a threesome from a hidden closet, finally reveals himself. He is glistening with perspiration and fully erect...daring enough in and of itself. But obviously, he'd either been 'fluffed' or had masturbated to the point of climax immediately prior to his coming into scene, because his phallus jerks up and down as he stands with his hands on his hips, proudly dripping a glistening line of semen onto the floor. The movie would have been less erotic in full blown hardcore, but by pushing the envelope this way, with very close- to-hardcore footage, it's a stand-out. Wish there were more films like this one.

This goofy movie has one major redeeming quality...the scene near the end where John C. Holmes, the Zodiac Rapist (original title) spies and then confronts a tall, busty blond who's masturbating by her pool. This is the only available hardcore footage I know of, of Linda Wroom. My guess is, her reluctance to do full-blown (pun intended) hardcore was a personal choice and in this flick, all her hardcore penetration footage is shot underwater..though there's no doubt it's her, not a body double or a faked insert. Ditto with the oral scenes. There's no money shot, but that's something she only did one time, that I'm aware of, in a short 16mm storefront grinder from Cavalier Films.

Along with Debi Guntar and Neola Graef, two other shimmery haired busty actresses from the early 70s, Linda's star-turn was short lived. She's undoubtedly in her mid-60s by now.

Listed variously as Linda Wroom or Linda Broome, she was a brief nova in early rough-core and hardcore movies. In this movie, she steals the show. Enter the Virgin is a hybrid, bridging the gap between soft, rough and hardcore movies in that blossoming year of 1970-71. You get the notion, throughout, that it was shot much more X-rated than what winds up on the screen, due to jumpy cut edits every time things get hot. So either the producers chickened out or various projectionists snipped out parts for their private collections.

There is a lengthy non-Linda bj scene with 69, then a three-way with Linda acting as a coach with 'the virgin' and a guy. There's an insert h/c oral scene purportedly of Linda, but I don't think it's her, certainly not shot at the same time, as the insert girl is wearing a ring and Linda is not.

But Linda shines as the 'motivator" of the orgy scene, doing a lot of beaver-ish action. Fans of hers won't be disappointed, this is as good as it gets, save for a few all to brief hardcore scenes elsewhere. . .which are now almost impossible to find.

In 1971, NYC was inching closer and closer to hardcore movies in the combat zone of Greater Times Square. There were a number of white coater pseudo-documentaries with hardcore footage with their silly 'experts' framing the footage, but Electrosex was the first hardcore movie without any weird pretensions of seriousness.

At that time, coming out of LA and SF were movies deemed 'rough core' (not to be confused with violent 'roughies' like those of Zebedy Colt) and these were basically soft-core features taken to the max. Rough core movies included wide open 'beaver' shots, m/f and f/m fondling of genitals and real XXX action that was blocked by clever staging so that only glimpses of the hardcore action came through.

Electrosex (there was no '75' on the theater marquee) went one step further. The actresses, save for Linda Wroom (or Broome) were pretty skanky. LB, albeit with horrible facial complexion and parents who didn't care enough to fork over the schmundo for braces, was a total shimmering natual blond California hottie, with a stellar figure and (not in this flick) better than average acting chops. I saw this movie in a theater on Broadway in the mid-40s (street, not year) and seeing hardcore for the first time was amazing. Linda seemingly only performed g/g hardcore in this feature, all her m/f were rough-core.

Linda Broome fans will find a much better offering, streaming from a number of websites, in "Enter The Virgin," from that same year. While still a rough core performance, she steals the show.

She's uncredited in "Zodiac Rapist" with John C. Holmes and does explicit oral and penetration, though shot underwater. This is often retitled as "Zodiac Killer" as the whole 'rapist' thing didn't sit well at the time.

There is also a long forgotten 16mm 'storefront' short film by Cavalier Productions, a single m/f story which was shot rough-core, but added XXX footage at the end and this is the only hardcore Linda Broome footage I know of, other than the Zodiac movie.

This video is listed as a 1980 release, but I seem to recall it coming into adult bookstores around 1984. I don't think it ever played in theaters. Another reviewer speculated that this was shown at X (not XXX) rated drive in theaters, which often only featured soft/rough-core flicks. But I think there's a different reason. Each vignette in this compilation began life as a loop that could be purchased in 8mm format or viewed at peepshow arcades. Having spent many years in The Bible Belt in the 80s, adult bookstore peepshows were often either soft core or films like the ones in this movie, where the action is hidden behind cupped hands. Many of the stars in this outing also appeared in hardcore, like Candy, Serena and Kitten. But Uschi's appearance here is about as hardcore as she ever went.

I saw this movie, the first time, in NYC at one of the big screen palaces, as a child. I remember distinctly my father calling one of his friends afterward and telling him he HAD to go see this movie because near the end, you got to see Jane Russell's bare breast for an instant. 50 years later, watching this on Turner Classic Movies, I saw he was right. However, it may have been Ms. Russell's stunt double, as I'd read she'd used one during the diving scenes. Yes, I did TiVo it and yes, Egan clearly exposed her nipple for a second. Subliminal? I bet the editor and director, on the Moveola machine DID know this and left it in!