Review(s): DVD A Smell of Honey, a Swallow of Brine / The Brick Dollhouse (Something Weird)
"Honey" Easy to Swallow, "Dollhouse" Smells
Kudos to Something Weird Video for putting "A Smell of Honey, a Swallow of Brine," one of David F. Friedman's best movies, on DVD! Sexy Stacey Walker, with her arched eyebrows, wicked smile and heavily sprayed hair, burns up the screen as Sharon Winters, a character who gets her kicks seducing men, then crying "Rape!" (In his commentary, the always-enteraining Friedman tells how he considered calling the movie "C.T.", but figured no one would get it.) It's a performance that's fun to watch, and certainly uses Walker to much greater effect than the nudie-cutie "The Notorious Daughter of Fanny Hill." Shot in black and white, "A Smell of Honey" has a deliciously tawdry look, yet shows some artful flourishes (likely attributed to cinematographer Laszlo Kovacs as director Byron Mabe was never known for artful flourishes. Even when the actors are clothed, our imaginations are nudged into the gutter (Walker and "victim" framed in a tree that looks like spread thighs; Walker suggestively drinking from a Coke bottle while the camera periodically cuts to the thrusting, bulging crotch of her boyfriend singing in a bar). Walker could've easily gone on to stardom, in either exploitation or even mainstream movies (she reportedly was courted by Paramount). But, as Friedman tells it, she married "some gazoony" and moved back to her home state of Texas after only making two feature-length movies.
Friedman only distributed "A Sweet Sickness," but the movie is a worthy second feature to "A Smell of Honey." Starring Vincene Wallace as a Hollywood hopeful who tries to hold on to her virtue while pursuing an acting career, "A Sweet Sickness" is nastier than most '60s sex pics, but not quite crossing over into '70s soft-X territory. Some amusing moments include Wallace's sleazy agent getting cornered on his casting couch by a Rubinesque stripper (named Bertha, naturally); Wallace sporting a hairstyle that looks like she has a giant gourd perched atop her head; a hyperkenetic performance by a spindly exotic dancer who looks a lot like Hollywood madam Heidi Fleiss; and a bed brought to life through stop-motion animation. Look for Carol Channing in an opening scene (calm down, she's not naked).
"The Brick Dollhouse" is another Friedman pickup, and even he refers to it as a "worthless piece of crap." Swinging roommates come home to discover one of their roomies has been shot dead. By the time the police arrive, they've all changed into sexy lingerie--perfect attire for telling the police about all those swingin', topless pot parties they go to on a daily basis. There a few moments in this lame whodunnit that'll produce giggles, and if you like looking at topless '60s babes go-go dancing you'll be in heaven. Otherwise, even with a running time of 55 minutes, "The Brick Dollhouse" goes on waaaay too long.
There are trailers for other Friedman movies, like "The Defilers," "The Notorious Daughter of Fanny Hill" and "The Lustful Turk" (in which all the men wear obviously fake beards). But the best extra is Friedman's commentary on "A Smell of Honey." This sultan of sleaze and Allah of alliteration (sorry, got carried away) livens up any DVD with his frankly-told, frequently humorous anecdotes of exploitation's golden age. At times, his commentary can be more entertaining than the movie (e.g. "Fanny Hill" and "The Head Mistress"). Though "A Smell of Honey" easily stands on its own, Friedman's commentary is icing on the cake.
Kitschy, entertaining 1960s bad girl sexploitation trash
Rebounding from their disappointing Flesh Trilogy disc, Something Weird presents one certified sexploitation classic in A Smell of Honey, A Swallow of Brine, and throws in two lesser but enjoyably kitschy nudies, A Sweet Sickness and The Brick Dollhouse, for a satisfying David Friedman triple-bill. In Smell of Honey, Sharon Winters (Stacey Walker) makes a hobby of seducing her dullard male coworkers then screaming rape, ruining their careers and reputations. While not destroying men, Sharon spends her time teasing her big-haired lesbian roommate Paula. Sharon embarks on a "serious relationship" with new man at the office Lowell Carter, leading to his inevitable seduction/rejection. He reacts by having an erotic, kinky, soft-focus bondage dream about Sharon whipping and being whipped by him. After Sharon cries rape on Carter, he stalks and sexually assaults another woman and is shot in the back by her boyfriend. Finally, Sharon picks up young stud Tony, they dance at a bar, and she takes him home to try her usual routine only to find that she's more than met her match. Friedman's script nicely balances plot and dialogue with the obligatory petting/bathing scenes, and first-time director Byron Mabe (She Freak, The Acid Eaters) actually goes for the occasional arty montage. As Friedman observes, Walker ("discovered" by him on a Florida beach) perfectly personifies white-trash sexuality, playing the harlot with obvious relish as she spits out such lines as "Some of us, Paula, would rather fight than switch" or the now-famous "I may be a bi**h, but I'll never be a bu**h." The strangely appropriate soundtrack is by an anonymous garage band (Et Cetra) that falls somewhere between hippieish folk-psych and Stooges-like proto-punk, and often seems on the verge of completely falling apart. Another of Laszlo Kovacs's early pre-fame movies, this looks great even when nothing spectacular is happening; unfortunately the print is far from perfect. The tonal values, detail, sharpness, and grain are generally fine, but there is light speckling and blemishing, light lining, some heavier damage around reel changes, and a series of horizontal emulsion dings that appears for about 15 or 20 minutes midway through. Worse, the opening scene in the car, a shower scene with Sharon and Carter, and a few other spots are marred by jump cuts and missing dialogue. Considering the logistics of finding any decent print of a film like this after 35 years, these are forgivable flaws, yet still disappointing. Ignoring the print problems, Smell of Honey is terrific fun for fans of 60s roughie sexploitation and a nice bookend to Friedman and Lee Frost's The Defilers. A Sweet Sickness tells the story of the "young gals" who come to Hollywood looking for stardom only to find that unless they "put out" they'll get nothing but a "one-way ticket back to Hicksville." The narrator snidely informs us that Connie, a seasoned casting-couch veteran, has a three-day $750 Vegas gig, while roommate Dee, a newcomer who wants to make it without compromising herself, is broke and unemployed ("but then, she still has her pride"). Dee is molested by their scuzzy landlord, applies for a job with a lecherous agent (then tells him to "shove it"), and is shown an apartment by a realtor who drugs her and imprisons her (in a distorted "trip" sequence) in a room full of pot-smoking white slave girls. Later, at a club holding a strange "strip auction," Dee and a "cute" guy in silk shirt and white pants dance on stage, backed by The Tigers and the Pussycat, a novelty garage trio featuring a female guitarist with long blonde hair. The owner threatens to withhold Dee's pay for spurning the winning "bidder" and a skinny topless "hippie" chick dances wildly. Back at the realtor's, Dee's involved in a drugged-out slo-mo bisexual whipped-cream party. In the hilarious final scene, a lustful casting agent reveals his pushbutton roll-away "casting" bed. These sequences, with their goofy dialogue, sarcastic narration, and bizarre plot twists are amusing enough; unfortunately they only account for about 25 percent of the 65-minute movie. The rest is the usual "nudie" padding of dressing, showering, bathing, hairbrushing, dancing, etc., that seems at times to go on forever (at least the women are generally good looking). The soundtrack is again provided by an unknown garage/frat rock band (Raul and the Revelations), and some vintage Bell System dial telephones are featured prominently. Print quality is quite good, better than the main feature, with generally excellent tonal values, sharpness, and detail, marred only by some light speckling and visible grain. Entertaining in a mid-60s schlock sort of way, just be ready with the fast-forward button. The Brick Dollhouse, is ostensibly a murder mystery set in a "swinging" apartment building. The framing story of detectives questioning the (mostly female) residents about the murder is really just an excuse for extended flashback "party" scenes of backyard/poolside bongo playing, semi-naked go-go dancing, water-pipe smoking, joint Bogarting, chess playing, showering, dressing, keyhole-peeping, whipping, spanking, macho posturing, and spin-the-bottle sessions. There's plenty of hideous 1960s decor, clothing, and hairdos on display, backed by sub-Ventures guitar, sax, and organ. Print quality is surpisingly good, with very good to excellent color balance and saturation, acceptable contrast and detail, and some light speckling/blemishing the only evident damage. While far from classic, Brick Dollhouse is a painless, mildly amusing 55 minutes, more so for serious students of 1960s kitsch. "Yeah, she's outasight. Really outasight!" The outstanding "extra" is a florid, fanciful, fascinating audio commentary on Smell of Honey by storyteller extraordinaire Dave Friedman, easily worth half the price of the disc if you're at all interested in the history of exploitation cinema. Friedman trailers include A Sweet Sickness, The Defilers, The Lustful Turk (looks pretty painful), Starlet, and The Notorious Daughter of Fanny Hill (with Stacey Walker). There is also a Friedman exploitation art gallery and an odd short containing the (videotaped) trailer for Brick Dollhouse. Overall, a solid buy for 1960s sexploitation fans. Recommended.
Related DVD's A Smell of Honey, a Swallow of Brine / The Brick Dollhouse (Something Weird)
This Something Weird Video triple feature has the binding themes of prostitution, murder and black lace underwear. It's a winning exploitation combo, though not all the movies on this DVD are winners. The first movie, "Rent-A-Girl," made in 1965, is the least interesting. The flimsy story is told in flashbacks as the heroine recounts how she became witness to the murder of a wealthy client after getting involved with a brother-and-sister-run "modeling agency." Along the way there's a little bit of whipping, a little bit of lesbianism, an extended body-painting sequence, and branding. Though it has higher production values than the Olga movies or the twisted features of Michael and Roberta Findlay (the closest comparisons for this movie), "Rent-A-Girl" lacks an intriguing screen presence... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Nudie Rullie - Harold Perkins DVD Release Date: Released the 02 December 2003 Usually ships within 24 hours
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First off, I love the Something Weird dvd catalog and really enjoy these rarely, if ever seen drive-in low-budget exploitation films. I read the cover for this double feature at the store, laughed aloud and then decidied to buy it.
Two feature length films here, one in color the other in B+W. This was my introduction to Andy Milligan and what we get is low, low budget, bad acting, screechy self centered charachters and an over abundance of poorly-lit, implied sex. In truth these both have weak, bare-boned story lines almost as a support to the gratuitous sex scenes which by the way take up[ as much as 40 to 50% of each films running time! And it's cheap poorly lit implied sex, not actualy sexy or pasionate by any stretch. Watching these scenes I felt like a peeping Tom in a... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Andy Milligan DVD Release Date: Released the 13 January 2004 Usually ships within 24 hours
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After Kiss Me Quick, Dr. Sex is the best nudie cutie film I've seen. In Dr. Sex, a trio of sex therapists share humourous, Twilight Zone style stories about their patients. Unlike most nudie cutie films, there is a lot of genuinely funny storytelling amongst the cheesiness. Dr. Sex is also noteworthy for being the first film made by Ted Mikels.
The print is not great, but apparently there will never be a better one (Something Weird used the only known surviving print of the film), and it is still extremely watchable. The biggest problem is that a short section is missing from the third story (told by a serious, skeptical psychiatrist). The psychiatrist sets up the patient's problem, and his patient is shown putting his solution to practice, but part of the exposition between the two... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Ted V. Mikels DVD Release Date: Released the 03 February 2004 Usually ships within 24 hours
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In the world of 1960s exploitation, director Joe Sarno is a standout, usually delivering movies that are far more stylish and emotionally complex than the usual grindhouse fare. I became a fan the moment I saw "Sin in the Suburbs" and I'm so happy Something Weird Video is finally releasing some of Sarno's movies on DVD. The first movie in this double feature, "Flesh and Lace," has all the Sarno trademarks: a jazzy soundtrack, arty lighting and an intelligent script. Another Sarno trademark is above-average performances, but not everyone in "Flesh and Lace" delivers. Heather Hall is supposed to be a repressed nymphomaniac who, once her desires are unleashed, sets off a chain of events that lead to tragic ends. But there's really no difference between a repressed Hall and a lusty Hall, and... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Joseph W. Sarno DVD Release Date: Released the 29 June 2004 Usually ships within 24 hours
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Sin in the Suburbs was one of the early groundbreaking hits of the 1960s post-nudie-cutie 'grindhouse' era, single-handedly establishing the 'suburban swingers' subgenre. (Sarno actually based this movie rather closely on a true story he researched for a magazine article seven or eight years prior to shooting.) Future House of Shame ringleader Audrey "Olga" Campbell stars as Geraldine, a bored, unappreciated New Jersey housewife who's indulging in daytime "bottle parties" with other men because her workaholic husband is spending too much time at the office ("the plastics line isn't what it was ten years ago"). Sexually frustrated neighbor Lisa (fashion model Marla Ellis in a terrific performance), unsuccessfully begs her hubby to call in sick for a little afternoon delight, then seduces... More Info about this DVD Director(s): Joseph W. Sarno DVD Release Date: Released the 29 June 2004 Usually ships within 24 hours
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