Vintage Pulp | Jun 16 2021 |
Forså puts her name on the Marquis.
Above you see a poster for the erotic comedy Justine och Juliette, also known as Swedish Minx, which opened in Sweden today in 1975. We usually focus on beautiful art, but there's obviously nothing special about this particular promo. We watched the film anyway because one of its co-stars is Marie Forså, and you know how we feel about her. She's credited here as Marie Lynn, a pseudonym (sometimes it was Maria Lynn) she used in Flossie and Molly, though we didn't mention it when we talked about those movies.
Theoretically Justine och Juliette is based on the Marquis de Sade novels Justine, published in 1791, and Juliette, published in 1797. Forså and Anne Bie Warburg play sisters who take different paths trying to survive in the cruel world. Forså has principles, which lead to poverty, while Warburg will do anything for money and a flashy lifestyle. Forså, try as she might, can't keep herself from being sucked into Warburg's coterie of weirdoes, and pretty soon there's a sex film that was secretly shot with Forså as the unwitting star.
Justine och Juliette is one of those erotic films that had hardcore footage inserted, but instead of jarring close-ups of anonymous stunt genitals meant to deceive you into thinking Forså did the deed (which she sometimes did, just not in this movie), you get actual porn performers in action. Among them are Harry Reems, the aforementioned Warburg, and Brigitte Maier. They give the movie a bit of extra spark, but overall it just doesn't compare to the best ’70s sexploitation flicks. We're not calling it a dud, but it's not worth seeking out either, unless, like us, you're fans of the divine Miss Forså.
Femmes Fatales | Jun 13 2021 |
We couldn't let her slide any longer.
We've had this sitting around for ten whole years. We were reluctant to post it because it's so rare. This tug of war went on forever, but today we've finally overcome our reservations because, after all, even though the scan will proliferate on the internet—and possibly even end up on Ebay like some of our other scans—we still have the physical item. So above you see iconic Japanese pinku actress Miki Sugimoto, star of such films as Zeroka no onna: Akai wappa, aka Zero Woman: Red Handcuffs and Sukeban gerira, aka Girl Boss Guerrilla. A photographer named Takeo Sano was responsible for the image, and it was published as a four panel centerfold in the magazine Purei Comikku, or Play Comic, in 1973. Sugimoto has provided plenty of material for our website over the years. It's difficult to choose her greatest hits, but if forced, we'd say her best are here, here, and here. And maybe here too.
Modern Pulp | May 31 2021 |
It takes a lot of guts to watch these sometimes.
A long while back we put together a collection of posters for bdsm themed Japanese pinku films. Why? Why not. But we hadn't seen the movies. One was called Shojo no harawata, aka Entrails of Virgin, aka Guts of a Virgin, and we came across it recently and figured let's watch this thing. The story concerns a slimy fashion photographer and his equally slimy buddies who take two models to a secluded cabin with the intent to take advantage of them, but are attacked by a hairy monster from the woods who has a massive boner. The film is part of Kazuo Komizu's, aka Gaira's, “splatter-eros” trilogy along with Bijo no harawata, aka Guts of a Beautiful Woman and Gômon kifujin, aka Female Inquisitor. A few of his other directorial credits include Violence porno: Jôkan and Violence porno: Nawa to bôkô. You get the idea.
We try not to make any cultural judgments when we watch these pinkus. There's a line from James M. Cain (you knew we'd work in a pulp author somehow) where one of his characters says of bullfights, “If it was my own country I'd be against it, but when it's somebody else's, I go.” That's how we feel. When something in a pinku flick confuses us or weirds us out, we generally shrug and go, “Not my place to criticize.” And now, of course, we'll criticize. In terms of Japanese erotica, the actresses make noises of pleasure that are indistinguishable—at least to our ears—from noises of pain. Not cool. It's sort of a whining, like this feels soooo good I'm on the verge of tears. That's one reason we don't generally get turned on by pinku movies. While the women are uniformly fantastic, their erotic acting is way off target for us.
The blurred line between pleasure and pain in this movie is liable to do a number on your head. And if it doesn't, the scene where a model masturbates with a severed arm while blowing the monster certainly will. Hope we didn't give too much away there. As far as the entrails aspect, well, the title is provocative, but while there's a virgin, we see no entrails. Thank fucking God. And because sex in pinku movies is mostly implied due to laws against the showing of pubic hair or sex organs, the sexualized violence is largely implied too. It's cleverly implied though. So be forewarned. We can't recommend this movie, but the poster art is so amazing we had to share it. It's signed—see just below—but we were not able to ascertain by whom. Too bad. There's real talent there. More so than in the film. Shojo no harawata premiered in Japan today in 1986.
JapanRokugatsu GekijôShojo no harawataGuts of a VirginEntrails of a VirginBijo no harawataGuts of a Beautiful WomanGômon kifujinFemale InquisitorViolence porno: JôkanViolence porno: Nawa to bôkôSaeko KizukiNaomi HagioMegumi KawashimaKazuo KomizuGairasexploitationhorrorposter artpinkunuditycinemamovie review
Vintage Pulp | May 26 2021 |
Just slow down. Where I come from it's called polygamy and people say it's bad. I see now they're wrong, but I still need a minute.
We love Adam magazine's South Seas stories. Even the ones that aren't particularly good have the bonus of being exotic to gringos like us. Geoffrey Allen's tale “M'Kutu Island” is a good example. You see an illustration for it on the cover of this May 1978 issue. It deals with a boat journey in the Pacific, a storm, a shipwreck, and a stranding on a tropical isle occupied by Amazonian type beauties. The women on M'Kutu Island have male slaves and use them for mating, but the men are wasting away because the women have enormous sexual appetites. The sailors don't realize that at first, and are like giggling schoolboys when they realize they're going to get all the strange they could ever desire, but when they can't meet the constant sexual demands they get to repairing their boat fast so they can get the hell off the island. Do they make it? Does it matter? Only the fantasy was important to readers, we suspect. Elsewhere in the magazine you get a table-of-contents shot of beloved British glamour model Stephanie Marrian, and a multi-page feature of equally popular British model Jane Warner. Seems as if Adam's Aussie publishers had a hotline direct to the motherland's top nudie photographers. We can think of worse people to have on the other end of the phone. We have thirty-plus scans below.
Modern Pulp | May 14 2021 |
When they gave out maternal instincts Izumi Shima forgot to sign up for her dose.
In Japanese, “haha” means mother, and in Waisetsu kazoku: haha to musume, known in English as Indecent Family: Mother and Daughter, there's a mother who certainly qualifies as funny. Funny as in strange. Mommy dearest is none other than Izumi Shima, one of our favorite pinku actresses, as we've demonstrated numerous times, such as here and here. The idea of her having had a child in this movie defies credulity. She was twenty-nine in it, while Yōko Morimura, who plays her daughter, was at least eighteen. But whatever, it's Nikkatsu roman porno, so you have to go with it.
Plotwise, a middle-aged sad sack played by Akira Shioji makes a connection with Morimura while she's dancing at a strip bar called Mississippi Queen, and she comes to live with him. Never let a stripper move in with you. Every man knows that. But not Shioji, apparently. In short order Morimura's mother Shima moves in too. At first Shioji is pretty thrilled with this arrangement, but it isn't long before Shima decides to show him that mothers know things daughters don't. And that, of course, is the beginning of his problems. Since this is a roman porno, we don't have to detail all the things that go on—you know what to expect, and you know things don't often end well.
You also know there's usually a leftfield subplot, and in this case it has to do with Shioji's house being coveted by his nephew in order to sell it for hotel development. Or something like that. Doesn't matter, because the plot is just a framing device for nudity and cleverly simulated sex. As we've noted before, it's amazing how raunchy a film can be yet not show very much. Shioji and Morimura's sixty-nine session about halfway through is a case in point. You'll really believe he's getting up in her rump. All very fun, and we were especially happy there was no pee. It's a roman porno staple we can do without. For that reason alone we give Waisetsu kazoku: haha to musume a cautious thumbs up. It premiered in Japan today in 1982.
Mother, homemaker, community activist, and filthy freak. She does it all.
I have a hot young girlfriend for sex, and her mother to clean the house. Life doesn't get much better than this.
I feel like singing! Figaro!
And skipping! Wheeee!
Here, why don't you watch while I sensually undress my passed out mom.
Dang. I never noticed until seeing her half-naked, but she's a total milf.
...zzzzzzz...
Hah! I wasn't passed out at all! I was intentionally letting Shioji perv out.
Now that he realizes I'm hotter than the surface of the sun, I'm going to strip him down to the bone just like this spare rib. Sluuuuurp!
Mom! Quit sucking off that rib! You're embarrassing me!
No, my daughter, I don't believe I shall desist from fellating this juicy rib. I don't believe I shall desist at all.
If you think my foot is nice just wait until you experience the warmer and softer parts of my body.
That trip I took to Akiyoshido Cave last year was so cool. How weird that I should think of that now.
Yup. Fucked his brains right out of his skull. Now back to the rib.
You stole my unattractive and inappropriately old lover, mom. I'm not speaking to you.
Bonus material below: a couple of promo photos of Morimura and Shima.
Femmes Fatales | Apr 29 2021 |
With warmth and tender loving care you can grow anything.
Above are two photos of actress Monica Strebel, who was born in Switzerland but mostly appeared in Italian films. She also, like many actresses of her era, appeared in photo novels and posed nude in magazines, such as the French publication Io, which is where the above shots originated in 1969. Several of Strebel's films had amusingly unwieldy titles, among them 1970's La lunga notte dei disertori - I 7 di Marsa Matruh, aka Operation Over Run, and the 1971 giallo La bestia uccide a sangue freddo, aka Cold Blooded Beast. Perhaps her most notable role was in 1972's Racconti proibiti... di niente vestiti, aka Master of Love. We have a promo shot from it below. Strebel plays Death in the form of a naked woman, and she and star Rossano Brazzi run away together across an open field. They don't make 'em like that anymore.
*smack* *smooch* You're so beautiful. I'll follow you anywhere. What's your name again? Did you say Lady Death? That's weird but whatever... *nuzzle* *smooch*
Vintage Pulp | Apr 23 2021 |
She's not quite as innocent as she looks.
This Japanese poster was made for Annie Belle's 1976 erotic romp La fine dell'innocenza, and it makes us wonder: Do erotic stars even exist anymore? We don't mean porn stars. We mean stars of erotic films. Have the reactionaries made them extinct, even on late night cable? Well, if so that's terribly sad, because if one believes cinematic sex and nudity are automatically exploitative (or worse, that all nudity in media derives from coercion), in our opinion that person has led a tragic or sheltered life. Sometimes such movies are exploitative, of course, but oftentimes they're life affirming and fun. Just like regular films, there's a range. La fine dell'innocenza, which was also titled simply Annie, falls somewhere in the middle. It has its exploitative elements, but ultimately is about Belle being far too rare and free a bird to be caged by small-minded men. Once upon a time, but not long ago, women struggled and protested and advocated in order to be free birds sexually, to express their sexuality in any way they saw fit after centuries of repression. La fine dell'innocenza is an artifact of that time period. We talked about it a few years ago, and you can read about it at this link.
Vintage Pulp | Apr 20 2021 |
Since you obviously don't get the point of why I'm wearing this, it's not so we can go outside.
This Technicolor lithograph is entitled “Prepared,” but while the model is prepared for hot fun and games, her off-frame male friend seems to want to go for a wet walk. Well, men can be dense. Once, the Pulp Intl. girlfriends dressed up sexy and gave us homemade coupons that said “Tonight—redeemable for anything you want,” and we made them watch the NFL division championships with us. Not what they had in mind, but anyone could make that mistake. Circa 1960 on this litho.
Femmes Fatales | Apr 15 2021 |
Look! Down in the water. It's a fish. It's a submarine. It's super Joanne!
This fun shot of American model Joanne Arnold is from a famous underwater series by legendary photographer Peter Gowland, images from which were first published in Playboy magazine in 1955. We ran across a rare shot from the session in the Goodtime Weekly Calender of 1963, which we scanned and put online a long while back, and later found her again in two Technicolor pin-ups. So this great image of Arnold is her fourth appearance on our website, but probably not her last.
Vintage Pulp | Apr 14 2021 |
She's overworked, underpaid, unappreciated, and has no backup plan. Also there's that whole curse thing.
Can a working girl find happiness à la Pretty Woman? That's the eternal question asked by (Maruhi) jorô seme jigoku, aka The Hell-Fated Courtesan. An Edo-era geisha-turned-prostitute played by Rie Nakagawa is believed by superstitious locals to be cursed because some of those who've had sex with her died. Her only sort-of-friend in this dark existence is a perverted artist, and her pimp is of course cruel and untrustworthy. But eventually she meets a puppeteer to whom she offers herself romantically only to be rebuffed. Surprised, she intones, “This is not an ordinary guy.” She's right. He refused her because he thinks he can only be turned on if a woman looks like one of his puppets, but when he finally samples some of that sweet Nakagawa he changes his mind about that and offers to take her with him to Osaka, where her problems and alleged curse will be behind her. Will she go? Will she be allowed to go? Will fate cut her a break? Pertinent questions all.
In 1973 Nikkatsu Studios' roman porno line had not yet jumped the shark, which means (Maruhi) jorô seme jigoku resembles a normal film in most ways. Its plot is basically linear, though it contains one framing segment; its sexual content is perverse, though not pointlessly misogynistic; and its humor generally works. In fact, there are some truly funny moments in this, such as when Nakagawa lets a carp suck her nipples. We won't even bother to describe what direction that scene goes. Later she slices off a dead man's finger and masturbates with it. Afterward she tells the finger that, though its former owner was a scoundrel and a snake, he will now go to heaven. That's some magical pussy. Maybe Nakagawa isn't cursed after all. Maybe she just embodies male insecurities and fears and they punish her as a result. And if that's true, maybe there is a Pretty Woman ending for her. But you never know. One character observes that a woman's heart is unpredictable and terrifying. (Maruhi) jorô seme jigoku tries to prove that adage true. It premiered in Japan today in 1973