42ND STREET PETE'S SLEAZY GRINDHOUSE PICTURE SHOW 2

Four more servings of prime 1970s smut from Pervy Pete's own collection, brought to you courtesy of those nice chaps at After Hours Cinema.

Cramming four films onto one region-free DVD, the boys at AHC certainly offer value for money if nothing else ...

The fun begins with a video introduction to each film from Pete. In the first, he explains why he loved one Storefront theatre in particular: The Harem. What follows is what Pete assures us is a virtual re-enactment of a typical night's screening at what was the Deuce's only 24/7 club - four films, all offering plenty of filth for the crowd of hobos, psychos and junkies who made it such a dangerous place to frequent ...

TATTOOED LADY kicks off the proceedings. As Pete promised, it is indeed an unusually well-shot and rather stylish little film. It also wastes no time at all in getting the funky music and naked women on to the screen: there's a lesbian coupling in the first two minutes.

The storyline is some bunkum about a tattoo parlour where people meet, get inked up and fuck. It matters not one jot: this is just a lot of agreeable sucking and fucking in that inimitable 70s style, almost unadulterated from beginning to end. The score sometimes sounds like it's lost its way from an Aaron Spelling TV show - but it just adds to the dated charm of hairy sex, natural women and men who look like they reek of nicotine.

This is followed by HAWAII-SEX-O. Yes, you read that right. This 1971 production shamelessly trades on Jack Lord's finest hour, mixing a loose thriller plot with hardcore nookie.

A couple park their car in the woods one afternoon and reminisce over the passing of their mutual acquaintance Jackson. Then the man gets the woman out of the vehicle and they rut outdoors. On a beach, in fact - of course, given the title.

Quite nicely shot in parts and not without its share of shapely natural women, this offers more hirsute shagging to laughably melodramatic music. It's quite enjoyable, though I've no idea what the rest of the plot entailed as the audio was pretty dire throughout.

But, hey, it was only 43 minutes in length and the female lead had a gorgeous arse, so who cares?

LOVE LIES WAITING is next, kicking off with gorgeous blonde Veronica getting picked up by a motorcycling passer-by outside her tennis club. Luckily for him, she's on her way to work as a "professional prostitute".

Veronica takes her ride, Dale, home. She introduces him to her Madam, Eva, and he sits uncomfortably on the settee with her while Veronica changes into something more comfortable. Dale soon relaxes when Veronica drags him into the nearest bedroom and sucks him off for starters.

A couple more of Eva's girls make their way to the brothel with rides in tow, and fuck them ... and that's basically the gist here.

Look out for Rick Lutze appearing as a cross-dressing brothel customer, and one punter who wants anal sex from his girl - until she persuades him she can satisfy him in other ways. And does!

The set is completed by UP AT JJ'S PLACE, a "mixed combo" film that mixes black guys with white girls.

It opens with three black guys playing pool and getting along just fine, until their games are curtailed by three "white trash chicks" (Pete's words) getting high and drunk on the balcony of a nearby apartment.

A few minutes of tortuous banter later, and the sextet get it on ... and on ... and on ...

UP is arguably the most entertaining of the films on offer here. The sex is hot, sweaty and frantic - as well as fairly unrelenting once it gets going. There's a squalid documentary feel to the camerawork that gives the impression that, although this is the only film in this set to retain its original title cards, this is basically an improvised orgy for the benefit of some opportunist witness with a 16mm camera.

UP is a dirty film in all senses of the word. These girls snort coke and get pissed prior to taking on these quick-talking dudes: it's as real as you could hope for, and is pretty sordid at that.

Each film is presented in anamorphic 1.78:1 (aside from HAWAII, which is letterboxed) and they look worn but fine, considering the source and the nature of the content. Colours are washed-out, specks and grain are prominent - this is 70s porn, after all.

English mono is okay throughout.

The static main menu page that opens the disc allows access to each film either individually, or as one mammoth session by selecting the "Play All" function.

No scene-selection menus, as is par for the course with After Hours' product, but you can zip through each movie by using your remote control handset (LADY has 12 chapters; HAWAII has 10 chapters; LOVE has 12 chapters; UP has 12 chapters). The films are roughly around an hour each in length.

The only extras on the disc are trailers for FILTH ON 42ND STREET, GRINDHOUSE VIRGIN 2, HONEYMOON SUITE TRIPLE FEATURE, KINK-O-RAMA and NEW YORK FANTASY CLUB.

We also get a colourful fold-out six-page booklet with liner notes from Pete which offer little background into the films or the Harlem experience, instead describing what we see on screen.

42nd Street Pete is a dirty old bastard, and we wouldn't have him any other way. These films are particularly scuzzy, and curiously fascinating as a result. In the case of UP, it's just downright sleazy. And this set is therefore probably worth checking out for that film alone ...

Review by Stuart Willis