| Vintage Pulp | Aug 14 2019 |
The superstition is true—it's bad luck to cross her path.
This impressive promo poster was made for the pinku actioner Kuroi Mehyô M, aka Black Panther Bitch M, in which Japanese superstar Reiko Ike plays an assassin tasked with getting rid of a troublesome gangster. This is far easier said than done, but she has all the skills a good killer-for-hire needs—she can run fast, climb well, throw knives (and handily placed pitchforks), read lips, perform acrobatics, crush testicles, endure pain, and wear a pantsuit like a boss. We'd love to tell you the film is great, but it's all pretty silly, truthfully. But when Reiko and her soulful eyes and shiny café au lait skin are onscreen does the plot really matter? It might to you, but it doesn't to us. The Japanese title of this, by the way, is actually “Black Rose M.” We don't know where the panther thing came from, but it's an apt description for Reiko. Kuroi Mehyô M premiered in Japan today in 1974.
| Vintage Pulp | Aug 5 2019 |
She's just wading for something to happen.
Above, a pretty poster for Hito natsu no kankei, which starred Minako Mizushima, along with Izumi Shima and Tamaki Katsura. There's no English title for this, but if you were to translate ひと夏の関係 it would mean something like “summer relationship.” On the other hand, Hito natsu no kankei means something like “one person's life.” So there you go. This premiered in Japan today in 1978.
JapanNikkatsuHito natsu no kankeiひと夏の関係Summer RelationshipMinako MizushimaIzumi ShimaTamaki Katsuraroman pornopinkuposter artcinema
| Modern Pulp | Jul 26 2019 |
She's an Angel but she knows all the tricks devils know.
This poster comes from our rather large collection of Japanese promos for x-rated U.S. movies, and was made to publicize The Pleasures of Innocence, starring all-time beauty Angel, aka Jennifer James. Porn copied successful mainstream films as a matter of course, and this is Flashdance influenced, with workout montages, sweat, and 100% earnest, specially made for the film, bass-popping, electro-drumming mid-’80s dance music. Angel plays a smalltown girl who ditches Des Moines and heads to NYC to catch a break. Other performers include Sharon Kane, Honey Wilder, real life former ballerina Terri Hall, and porn legend John Leslie as a slimy agent determined to gain entry to Angel's holy place.
Best line: “She always falls for those writer types. She was seeing a lawyer pretty regular back home.”
Second best line, as the writer is having sex with Angel: “You're a writer's dream.”
Well, Angel is anyone's dream. We won't get into the plot much more except to say that if you took all the sex out of the film the script would be more like a treatment you could read in nine minutes. We're mainly about the poster anyway, and as usual with Japanese promos, this one features a shot of the star that doesn't exist in any other form. That's no surprise—the photo that would have supplied Angel's likeness doubtless was either lost through carelessness, irreparably damaged through neglect, or was appropriated and will turn up on Ebay when the assistant graphic designer who swiped it dies and his kids find it in a box under his bed.
Obviously, we can't recommend this movie. It's dumb, despite professional film stock, good lighting, location work, split screen trickery, and serious performances. In its favor, the dancing is interesting to watch, a bit like revisiting MTV new wave videos, Kim Wilde maybe, or Pat Benatar. We know—that isn't great enticement, but there's also Angel, don't forget. She's an adult film industry legend for a reason. There's no known Japanese release date for The Pleasures of Innocence, but it premiered in the U.S. today in 1986. Bonus material: Angel dances below, and fronts three more posters here.
| Vintage Pulp | Jul 25 2019 |
I know it's supposed to be a good luck symbol, but I'm seeing it in the mirror and it's kind of turning me off.
Above, an alternate poster for the Japanese melodrama Manji, aka All Mixed Up, which premiered today in 1964. And before any readers get all mixed up, it has nothing to do with Nazis. We already talked about the movie, and you can read what we wrote here.
| Femmes Fatales | Jul 21 2019 |
Good interior design is about finding the perfect accessories.
Reiko Ike, always a favorite here at Pulp Intl., relaxes on a cool modern sofa and tries to decide if she'll get fully dressed at any point during the day. This image, which we've cleaned a little to get rid of an inset box that was obstructing the view, came from a 1974 photo magazine called Young • Idol • Now. However, a similar shot was used on the rear of her collectible LP The World of Ecstasy, so it turns out the photo actually dates from that session, which was three years earlier. See below.
| Musiquarium | Jul 21 2019 |
Reiko Ike gives fans a dose of ecstasy.
Like many 1970s Japanese actresses Reiko Ike took advantage of her cinema stardom by releasing music. In 1971 she and Teichiku Records got together put out the album Kôkotsu No Sekai, which as we mentioned above was called in English The World of Ecstasy. Here you see the front cover with its famed topless photo of Reiko, and the rear and inside covers are below. The rear cover is almost identical to the photo in the above post, with the difference being in the direction of her gaze.
The album was basically a novelty release. Only a thousand copies were ever pressed. At least initially. It's since been released as a remastered CD. The original vinyl 
can be expensive. In the U.S. people try to sell it at anywhere from $100 to $1,000, but in Japan it usually goes for less. The cost differs depending on whether it's a first or later pressing, and whether the gatefold poster is inside, which you see at right.
For the kind of cash people ask for this platter, Reiko can obviously sing like a lark, right? That came across as flip, we know, but actually she's better than you probably suspect. Her voice is low, mellifluous, and quite confident, and interestingly, a lot of the vocals are orgasmic moans and sighs.
can be expensive. In the U.S. people try to sell it at anywhere from $100 to $1,000, but in Japan it usually goes for less. The cost differs depending on whether it's a first or later pressing, and whether the gatefold poster is inside, which you see at right.For the kind of cash people ask for this platter, Reiko can obviously sing like a lark, right? That came across as flip, we know, but actually she's better than you probably suspect. Her voice is low, mellifluous, and quite confident, and interestingly, a lot of the vocals are orgasmic moans and sighs.
She does all this backed by Masami Kawahara & The Exotic Sounds, who had released a 1970 album with orgasmic vocals, so apparently this was a trend. It's weird at first, but after a while it's pretty effective. That may be a good way to describe Reiko's movies too. You can listen to a couple of songs from the disc here and here.
| Vintage Pulp | Jul 20 2019 |
You know what vampires really like? Making more vampires.
When it comes to Japanese film, we tend to stick to crime and pinku productions, but a change of pace is often nice. Chi o suu bara, which is known in English as Evil of Dracula, or sometimes Bloodsucking Rose, is straight horror about a teacher who takes a job at a women's school which he soon comes to suspect is plagued by a vampire. For those who like turn-of-the-millennium horror movies such as 2002's Ju-on or 1998's Ringu, this will seem like a precursor in terms of how the monster effects are achieved by using makeup and lighting. The movie is a bit funny at times, too, because these makeup effects are perfectly obvious to the viewer, but for the most part nobody within the film notices:
“Teacher, I would like to talk to you more seriously, but not in here. Please, will you follow me (into the creepy-ass woods that surround the school)?
“Sure (because I don't notice your ghastly blue face or the way you keep staring at my neck).”
But the movie is pretty good. Its weird, cyanotic vampires are menacing enough to put the mood across, and Shin Kishida as the main bloodsucker projects a physical power and savage hunger we totally bought. At one point the hero Toshio Kurosawa is asked, “Are you seriously expecting that people will believe such a lurid tale?” Well, vampire movies are all about building a framework of believability despite the subject matter's innate impossibility. Chi o suu bara might make you believe vampires can really fry. It premiered in Japan today in 1974.
Shit. I think I left my lesson plan at home. Oh well. Guess I'll just wing it.
Thanks to my rigorous teacher training I desire none of you nubile young women sexually.
This old thing? It's been out here for as long as I can remember. I've never once been curious what's in it. 
Centuries of *grunt* consuming blood have done nothing *gurgle* good for your breath!
That's so rude! Just for that comment I'm gonna suck you extra slow!
Teacher, can I talk to you about my mid-term? You gave me an a-minus and I think I deserve an a-positive—er, I mean an a-plus.
Master, check out this mask I got. This Halloween I'm going out dressed as a vampire. Totally meta, right?
I think I lost him. That soulless demon. That total asshole.
Oh shit!JapanToho CompanyChi o suu baraEvil of DraculaBloodsucking RoseToshio KurosawaMariko MochizukiShin KishidaMio Ôtaposter artcinemahorrormovie review
| Vintage Pulp | Jul 12 2019 |
Marie Forså gives a lofty performance in a down and dirty classic
Above is a Japanese poster for the Swedish film Butterflies, another sexploitation romp featuring blonde-on-blonde sex symbol Marie Forså. The movie also stars Harry Reems and Eric Edwards, two legit porno actors from back in the day, here getting a chance to do some mainstream work. The basic thrust, so to speak, of the plot involves a country girl who goes to the big city and has various sexual adventures with older and more experienced men. You know the drill.
As with other Forså films, there are explicit scenes, but in this case it's actually her doing the deed. There are several uncut pans from face to nether regions in two of her bed sessions that leave no doubt. There's confusion around this because the filmmakers wanted a gynecological version of the movie and shot jarring close-ups of thrusting genitalia. Those aren't Forså's. They were shot later to make the film extra explicit. Because of those inserts the continuity of the original scenes was ruined, and assumptions that Forså was replaced by a body double came into being.
We have to say, even though the intercourse is real, that doesn't mean the sexual ecstasy is, but Forså is a good performer in this regard. You may even believe she's having the best sex of her life. This is of course not the norm for porn actresses, whose fakery generally is obvious. But Forså is a force of nature. We don't know if there's a version of the movie that omits the explicit inserts. If there is, that's the one to watch. But either way, Forså's innocent looks, combined with an uninhibited performance, make Butterflies a true blue classic. It premiered in Japan today in 1975.
We have to say, even though the intercourse is real, that doesn't mean the sexual ecstasy is, but Forså is a good performer in this regard. You may even believe she's having the best sex of her life. This is of course not the norm for porn actresses, whose fakery generally is obvious. But Forså is a force of nature. We don't know if there's a version of the movie that omits the explicit inserts. If there is, that's the one to watch. But either way, Forså's innocent looks, combined with an uninhibited performance, make Butterflies a true blue classic. It premiered in Japan today in 1975.
JapanSwedenButterfliesMarie ForsåHarry ReemsEric EdwardsZoe Hendryposter artcinemasexploitationnudityxxxmovie review
| Vintage Pulp | Jul 8 2019 |
She gets her best work done during overtime.
Above, a beautiful poster for Danchizuma wasureenu yoru, known in English as Apartment Wife: Unforgettable Night. The wife in this third entry in the Apartment Wife series is Junko Miyashita. The plot is typically convoluted, but basically she's sexually unfulfilled by her hubby and finds pleasure in an anonymous office encounter. Her repeated trysts with this person leave her vulnerable to blackmail of sorts, and— Actually, it's really hard to describe this without giving everything away. Let's just call it a twisted sexual awakening tale with an ironic ending. Which is what most of the Apartment Wife movies are. This one premiered in Japan today in 1972.
JapanNikkatsuDanchizuma wasureenu yoruApartment Wife: Unforgettable NightJunko Miyashitaposter artcinemapinkuroman pornosexploitation
| Vintage Pulp | Jul 4 2019 |
Yôko Mihara dives into a family mystery.
This poster was made for the Shintoho Film Co. genre mash-up Ama no bakemono yashiki. What genres were mashed? The English title should answer that for you—Girl Diver of Spook Mansion. Yes, it's a mixture of an ama flick and— Wait, should we define that for you? We've talked about this a lot, but in case you weren't around for those discussions, ama films deal with female divers who scoured Japan's bay bottoms for pearls, abalone, et al, and, according to strict tradition, did so topless. Look here, quickly. So that idea was combined with a ghost story. We gather that the ama genre was so popular that injecting novelty into it was a can't miss proposition. And in fact, most of the reviews we checked were favorable.
The movie is about an ama, played by Yôko Mihara, living in a creepy old house and being haunted by her younger sister's ghost, which nobody else can see. Though others are skeptical at first, Mihara manages to secure help in the form of Bunta Sugawara. Sounds like a winner to us. Hopefully we'll confirm that later, since this film is actually out there to be seen, but at the moment isn't available to us. At least we found this rare poster. There are a couple of scans of it online, but the version above is better quality than those. We also found a few promo images, and they appear below. Ama no bakemono yashiki, aka Girl Diver of Spook Mansion (another aka was Haunted Cave) premiered in Japan today in 1959.
The movie is about an ama, played by Yôko Mihara, living in a creepy old house and being haunted by her younger sister's ghost, which nobody else can see. Though others are skeptical at first, Mihara manages to secure help in the form of Bunta Sugawara. Sounds like a winner to us. Hopefully we'll confirm that later, since this film is actually out there to be seen, but at the moment isn't available to us. At least we found this rare poster. There are a couple of scans of it online, but the version above is better quality than those. We also found a few promo images, and they appear below. Ama no bakemono yashiki, aka Girl Diver of Spook Mansion (another aka was Haunted Cave) premiered in Japan today in 1959.
JapanShintohoAma no bakemono yashiki海女の化物屋敷Girl Diver of Spook MansionYôko MiharaBunta SugawaraReiko Setoposter artcinema
