| Modern Pulp | Nov 2 2021 |
The black panther returns.
We're back into French sexploitation today with this poster for Baby Cat, which starred Israel born actress Shulamith Lasri, aka Julie Margo. The title, which is what the movie played under in France, is probably meant to be an allusion to the English word “pussy.” If so, the French filmmakers missed their target, since cats of any age can be called pussycats. But we couldn't make an allusion in French under pain of torture, so we'll give them a pass. We watched this only because Margo had aroused our curiosity with her outing in 1976's Emanuelle nera n° 2. She starred in that as Shulamith Lasri, her real name. Most websites haven't made the connection that Lasri and Margo are the same person. IMDB, for instance, has separate profiles for each, and Wikipedia's entry on Emanuelle nera n° 2 (Black Emanuelle 2) expressly states that it was the only film in which Lasri appeared. Well, now the truth is out.
In Baby Cat Lasri/Margo plays a jaded Paris model with two boyfriends—one a hustler, and the other a one percenter. The rich boyfriend won't commit, and we can't imagine why he would, since he's a fashion magazine publisher and hangs out with beautiful women for a living. But this annoys Margo, so she teams up with the hustler to stage a fake kidnapping and try to pry loose a ransom. Unfortunately, her one percenter catches wind of the plot and sticks her in a basement to consider the error of her ways. This accomplished, he flies off for a photo shoot to the French/Dutch island of Saint Martin with a bevy of skinny models (among them Corinne Corson, Eloïse Beaune, and Sylvie Schmidt) who mostly wander around topless in the tropical heat. Having spent some time on Saint Martin, we can tell you that the toplessness brings a touch of reality to the proceedings. We don't see Margo much during this middle stretch of the film, but she'll get loose from that Paris basement soon enough.
Margo isn't classically pretty, but she has a flawless body any woman would sell her soul and everyone else's to have. In Emanuelle nera n° 2 she was referred to as a panther, and amusingly, here four years later a completely different set of filmmakers beat the identical drum with lines like, “Hey, she moves just like a cat. A black panther.” We get it—Margo is exotic as far as European filmmakers are concerned, but any questions about her feline qualities are moot for us, because she can't act. Like, at all. She took a four-year break after Emanuelle nera n° 2, coming back to make three more films, of which Baby Cat is the last. It was probably good she stopped. Hell, it was good this movie stopped. Watching Margo work that body of hers was enjoyable, and the Saint Martin exteriors brought back lovely memories for us, but for you, beloved pulpsters, Baby Cat is a movie you can probably bypass. It premiered in France today in 1983.
FranceIsraelSaint MartinSant MartenBaby CatJulie MargoShulamith LasriCorinne CorsonEloïse BeauneSylvie Schmidtposter artcinemanuditysexploitationmovie review
| 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.
SwedenJustine och JulietteJustine and JulietteSwedish MinxMarie ForsåHarry ReemsAnne Bie WarburgBrigitte Maierposter artcinemasexploitationnudity
| Vintage Pulp | Mar 16 2021 |
It's just the wind. Or possibly the screaming of damned souls in torment. But more likely the wind.
“You dare not even guess the strange story of The Red House,” this promo poster tells us about Edward G. Robinson's 1947 psychological suspense drama, but we dared, and we didn't have any trouble guessing correctly. What you get here is a mystery with a suggestion of the supernatural—always a draw for us. Some sites call this a horror movie. We're okay with that too. Horror, psychological suspense, and mystery walk hand in hand—in this case through the creepy night. Working from a screenplay adapted from George Agnew Chamberlain's 1945 novel, Robinson plays a man living in idyllic simplicity on a farm with his sister and adopted daughter. He hires a helper, a decision that goes awry when the new help develops an interest in the nearby cursed woods, in which there's supposedly a haunted red house, disembodied screaming voices (or maybe just the wind), and other dangers sane people would avoid.
But this new farmhand is filled with the arrogance of youth, isn't superstitious, and resolves to solve the mystery, a decision that threatens to tear Robinson's makeshift family apart and unearth terrors from the past. Edward the G. isn't at his very best working with what is a tricky script, but he gets useful support from young co-stars Lon McCallister, Rory Calhoun, Allene Roberts, and Julie London. Roberts in particular has a crucial role, and in her first film, and aged only nineteen, she manages to keep her head above water—barely. While The Red House isn't top notch, it's enjoyable enough, and if you appreciate vintage creepfests it might give you a chill or two. So what's in the woods? We can't tell you, but you can be sure there's something—and it ain't good. The Red House premiered today in 1947.
The Red HouseEdward G. RobinsonLon McCallisterRory CalhounAllene RobertsJulie LondonGeorge Agnew Chamberlainposter artcinemahorrormovie review
| Femmes Fatales | Oct 21 2020 |
Or she did until she went into the Bermuda Triangle.
Above is a sultry shot of Julie Woodson, a U.S. born model and actress whose modeling work consisted of fashion and an April 1973 Playboy centerfold, and whose acting career consisted of only one credited role—1978's giant monster flick The Bermuda Depths. Basically, in the Bermuda Triangle, where legend claimed boats disappeared, a giant turtle is discovered to be the culprit. Woodson was pretty bad in the movie, though no worse than anyone else in the cast, in our opinion. But in the end, her film career disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle too, because it was her first and only shot at movie stardom. Well, at least she can have more than one shot on Pulp Intl.
| Femmes Fatales | Oct 14 2020 |
I'd like a medium pizza, thin crust, with mice, birds, and extra cheese.
Julie Newmar has some catnip, comes down with a case of the munchies, and uses her special cat phone to get some food delivered to the crib in this trippy promo shot from the television series Batman. She played the iconic villainess known as the Catwoman, guest starring on the show in 1966 and ’67.
| Vintage Pulp | May 16 2020 |
Everyone in Paris hopes for a glimpse of Nico's velvet underground.
Una ragazza nuda, for which you see two beautiful Angelo Cesselon posters above, was originally released as Strip-Tease, and called in the U.S. Sweet Skin. It was an Italian/French co-production starring Krista Nico, née Christa Päffgen, better known as just Nico, future collaborator with the Velvet Underground. Her supporting cast includes Dany Saval, Jean Sobieski, and American jazz pianist Joe Turner playing a character named Sam (IMDB has him incorrectly listed as playing himself). Basically, the movie is the story of an ambitious dancer who can't catch a break, and takes a job stripping at Le Crazy Horse, the famed Parisian cabaret.
Nico goes through the typical stages of becoming the jaded, empty woman viewers have been taught to expect in movies like these. But what isn't typical is the setting. If you're looking for a film with overwhelming Parisian atmosphere this is the one. Streets, cafés, restaurants, the Seine, the wintry countryside, Hippodrome de Vincennes, and the Crazy Horse (or a fictive stand-in) are all on prominent display, and the stripteaseuses are beautifully showcased. And keep an eye out for cameos from Serge Gainsbourg and Juliette Gréco. We just came back from Paris last year and thanks to this flick we're already trying to figure out how to return.
On a technical level, the direction by Jacques Poitrenaud and cinematography by Raymond Pierre Lemoigne both take advantage of the film's many wonderful settings, but the on-camera performances aren't quite at the same level. Nico is a novice actress at this point and it shows, but her minimal emotional range fits with her character. Joe Turner isn't an actor at all and that shows too, but as the conscience of the film his role also works. Some movies are more than the sum of their parts, and Una ragazza nuda adds up to an excellent ninety-five minutes. It premiered in Italy today in 1963.
ItalyFranceParisLe Crazy HorseUna ragazza nudaStrip-TeaseSweet SkinNicoKrista NicoChrista PäffgenDany SavalUmberto OrsiniJean SobieskiJoe TurnerSerge GainsbourgJuliette GrécoJacques PoitrenaudRaymond Pierre LemoigneAngelo Cesselonposter artcinemaburlesquemovie review
| Vintage Pulp | Apr 4 2020 |
Player, hustler, dealer, pimp.
Here's a little something for the blaxploitation bin, an Italian locandina, or playbill, for the 1973 gangster classic The Mack, starring Max Julien, Richard Pryor, and Carol Speed. In Italy it was called Mack - Il marciapiede della violenza, aka, “Mack – sidewalk of violence,” and if anyone saw it based on this poster they must have been surprised by the African American cast. We don't have an Italian release date for the movie, but it opened in the U.S. today in 1973. From our non-professional perspective it's a pretty important flick. You can see what we wrote about it here.
| Hollywoodland | Mar 5 2020 |
He's over the limit but there's no way he's throwing her back.
Julies Adams gets carried away by Ben Chapman in a rubber monster suit in these promos for Creature from the Black Lagoon, which premiered today in 1954. Chapman was uncredited for his work, as was Ricou Browning, who donned the monster suit for the difficult underwater scenes. If you haven't seen the film, know that for its time it's amazingly impressive on a technical level, and has aged pretty well. Check out its French promo poster here.
| Vintage Pulp | Femmes Fatales | Sep 26 2019 |
Some people know exactly what they want to do in life. Others need to just feel their way.
Martinique born Sylvette Cabrisseau isn't well known today, but those who remember her will recall that she burst into the public sphere at age twenty as the first black presenter ever hired by the French television network Deuxième chaîne. The event, which occurred in 1969, was not celebrated in all quarters, which resulted in her receiving threats from the usual coterie of knuckle draggers. She later lost her television gig due to modeling
for the above photo (and others).
for the above photo (and others).Nevertheless she was undaunted in her ambitions, and subsequently moved into music, releasing two records, one of them the quirky folk song “Ki Koi Kou.” Next she jumped into cinema with the films Le mariage à la mode and Juliette et Juliette.
Her fifth career choice—and this is the truly interesting part for us as pulp fans—was to write and publish detective novels. As you can see, her image was used to sell the books, which gives you an idea how famous she was at the time.
Her fifth career choice—and this is the truly interesting part for us as pulp fans—was to write and publish detective novels. As you can see, her image was used to sell the books, which gives you an idea how famous she was at the time.
We'd love to acquire these, which we may at some point, since they're available and affordable. We have no info on how good they are, but she did get to publish three, so that may indicate something. After the final novel she moved on to mundane pursuits, but she left behind some nice photos, including the example above, which is from 1970 and appeared in the French men's magazine Adam.
MartiniqueFranceAdam FrancePresses de la CitéLe mariage à la modeJuliette et JulietteSylvette Cabrisseaucinemaliteraturecover artnudity
| Vintage Pulp | Aug 24 2019 |
Actually, I'm not nicknamed Flame because of my hair. You know what pyroflatulence is? Toss me that lighter.
Above, another great Midwood cover, this time for Flame, by sleaze stalwart Joan Ellis, aka Julie Ellis. The art is, sadly, uncredited (but looks like Paul Rader).
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