PLEASURE PALACE GRINDHOUSE TRIPLE FEATURE

PLEASURE PALACE GRINDHOUSE TRIPLE FEATURE

It’s an unfortunate fact that most of the people who made a name for themselves as prime movers in the Golden Era of celluloid porn (early 70s to early 80s) are dead. Even sadder is that many of those who survive are reluctant to shed light on what many now look upon as a fascinating, mysterious chapter in the history of sexploitation cinema.

Without a doubt, Malcolm Stephen Worob is the most well-known living person who will not only openly discuss his past, but actively participate in releases of his films.

The only thing is, most people will probably think "who the Hell is Malcolm Stephen Worob?". He’s much better known as his alias, Carter Stevens.

Here, After Hours Cinema continue the phenomenal work they’ve become renowned for in these fields, and restore three of Stevens’ films for this 2-DVD package.

The fun begins on disc one with DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE.

Wealthy, cigar-chewing Dick Van Dyke-alike Haliday (Jake Teague) visits private eye Duke (Roger Caine), appointing him with the task of finding his missing twin nieces (Brooke and Taylor Young, who are best known for Stevens’ TEENAGE TWINS).

It turns out that the girls were also employees of their uncle’s, before walking out in horror upon discovering him fucking his secretary over his office desk. That was the last time he saw them – and, worse, he thinks they may have stolen a considerable amount of his money in the meantime ...

Without further ado, Duke sets off on the trail of the seemingly naive young women. After stopping a few random people on the street to question them, he seems to be closing in on the hotel-hopping siblings.

Meanwhile, they’re blissfully unaware of his pursuit as they chow down on each other’s genitalia in their latest seedy hotel room. Which is all good and well, but these women also like the feel of a man: before long, they’ve managed to share a room with Travis (Herschel Savage) and his mate, and the inevitable shagging is quick to materialise.

Things hot up as Duke gets closer to his quarries, culminating in a truly novel pairing of the Young siblings with male twins. The finale is a sight to behold, but there’s also plenty of fun to be had along the way: lots of incestuous lesbianism, a spot of spanking, welcome comedy of the cheesiest kind, and Bobby Astyr camping it up hilariously in a cameo spot.

Fun and energetic, DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE never outstays its 78-minute running time. Stevens directs in a straightforward, amiable manner and gets willing performances from his interesting cast. It’s been said before that the Young sisters were amazingly stupid, and very wet behind the ears when they first met their director. It shows. But, despite looking doped up and dopey for most of the running time, they retain an odd charm that adds to the film’s fun factor.

Next up is THE LOVE COUCH, from 1978.

This opens with footage of New Yorkers going about their business before resting on an old couch as its female voice narrates to us, telling of the sexy times it’s witnessed in the home of its various keepers, and consequently leading us into a series of erotic vignettes.

Cue a series of fucks related only by the hippyish couch, which is capable of telepathically communicating lusty thoughts into all who sit on it. The film is akin in this respect to DIARY OF A BED, but has a wittier script and the sex once again benefits from this element of fun. In truth though, this is the weakest of the three films on offer here.

Having said that, Robert Kerman, Harmony, Beth Anna, Eric Edwards and Leo Lovemore (one-time husband of Linda Lovelace) are among the game cast more than capable of turning you on.

The only extras on disc one are trailers for several of Stevens’ films. These are THE COLLEGIATES, HIGHWAY HOOKERS, TEENAGE TWINS, PUNK ROCK, DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE and PLEASURE PALACE.

Over on disc two, the entertainment continues with the ‘hard’ version of PLEASURE PALACE (Alternative Cinema released the soft version alongside PUNK ROCK some time ago).

In it, cop and bad driver Jimmy (Eric Edwards) tells in an opening narration how he's been booted off the vice squad. We first meet him tearing up the freeway in his car with best buddy and new partner Mike (Robert Kerman - billed here as Richard Bolla), on their way to buy a brothel with Jimmy's severance pay.

Hardboiled dialogue and rock 'n' roll songs on the soundtrack (the instrumental theme tune sounds awfully close to AC/DC’s "Rock ‘n’ Roll Damnation") punctuate PLEASURE PALACE, as Jimmy and Mike arrive at the brothel and proceed to get friendly with the staff there. Before long, there is a whole lot of fornication going on.

Events take a turn for the ugly though when a gang of hoodlums led by the coked up Joe (Jamie Gillis) turn up, wanting the brothel for their own. An unexpectedly tight script wraps this one up in just under an hour-and-a-half, building by way of some half-decent gags towards a downbeat - and surprisingly violent - climax.

The story is a one-note affair and, while Edwards and Gillis shine on occasion, performances are negligible. Kerman/Bolla literally grins like a loon throughout. That having been said, it's worth noting the inclusion of gorgeous blonde Serena and huge-titted Veri Knotty as prostitutes. Not to mention, a very young and slim Ron Jeremy in a cameo as a brothel customer (check out his Afro!).

I reviewed the soft version of this film for this site previously, and remember commenting that the lack of hardcore sex harmed the end result. There’s no such problem here: the hardcore content is present and correct, and the film makes much more sense as a result. A lot of it is well-shot and authentically hot. There’s real chemistry in evidence here.

Stevens provides a good commentary track on PLEASURE PALACE, ably aided by the knowledgeable Michael Bowen and the DVD’s producer, Michael Raso. Although a little more like an interview than an audio commentary at times, this is still a fluent listen: Bowen feeds Stevens well with leading questions, while Raso takes a back seat for the most part.

Disc two is completed by a 12-minute interview with Stevens. He’s erudite, full of beans and remembers a great deal about the ins and outs, so to speak, of making these films. He recalls Bobby Astyr with genuine fondness, and tells of Jake Teague’s love for wigs. He reveals how TEENAGE TWINS sold more than all the rest of his films put together (although DOUBLE YOUR PLEASURE is the superior effort), and laughs through stories on THE LOVE COUCH and PLEASURE PALACE.

Each of the three films are presented in 16x9 widescreen, in transfers that have been approved by Stevens. As the blurb on the back cover advises, each one is a "new digital restoration from the only existing elements". In other words, don’t expect them to look pretty.

Indeed, there is considerable print damage throughout these films. Specks fly here, there and everywhere – and natural grain dances across the screen from beginning to end. Occasional colour bleeds, vertical lines and scratches are also evident. But, on the plus side, colours are decent despite the occasional washed-out reel, blacks remain sturdy and images are scuzzily satisfactory throughout.

I’ve no doubt that After Hours Cinema have done the best that they can with the materials available to them. PLEASURE PALACE undoubtedly fares the best, with noticeably less print damage than the other two films.

English mono audio is a mixed bag too, with occasional background hiss and the odd drop-out. It’s not unexpected of this ilk of film though, and doesn’t cause too much distress.

As far as I can ascertain, all three films are uncut.

Both discs open with the same animated main menu page. There were no scene-selection menus on either disc, but each film does have its own chapters.

Aside from the aforementioned on-disc extras, we also get a fine fold-out six-page colour booklet. This includes good liner notes from John Nilsson and a couple of screen grabs from each movie.

Both discs are region free.

Carter Stevens seems like a likeable, outgoing chap whenever he pops up on online forums or records commentary tracks. He’s easy-going and upbeat, as well as being blessed with a fantastic memory. His films have energy and style, and After Hours Cinema are to be commended for releasing three more of them onto DVD.

Review by Stuart Willis


 
Released by After Hours Cinema
Region 1 - NTSC
Not Rated
Extras :
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