ALL THE SINS OF SODOM

(A.k.a. ALL THE EVILS OF S...; ALL THE EVILS OF SATAN)

A previously "lost" film from Joe Sarno, prolific director of the crotch-bothering likes of INGA, DEEP THROAT 2 and A TOUCH OF GENIE, this 1968 curio finally gets unearthed on DVD thanks to the gents at Retro-Seduction (and more specifically, their softcore strand Secret Key Motion Pictures).

Preacher's son Daryl Henning (actor's name unknown!) makes a living shooting erotic photographs of young ladies for his eager female publisher Paula (Peggy Sarno). He falls for one, pretty young brunette Leslie (Maria Lease), and they quickly end up romping in his sparsely decorated studio.

After sex, Leslie poses for more semi-nude photographs while Henning tells her how he never usually wants to see women again after sleeping with them, but feels smitten with her. She's delighted, and poses some more. However, when Paula walks in on this, she airs her concerns that Henning's infatuation with Leslie will distract him from his work.

Henning argues that Leslie is his muse, with the perfect face to front his envisaged shoot representing the Princess of Babylonia and Sodom.

Unimpressed, Paula arranges for sultry stray cat Joyce (Sue Akers) to pop round Henning's apartment that evening, applying for the job of modelling as the Princess. Henning is not interested but takes pity on the attractive down-and-out, allowing her to doss at his place while Leslie continues to visit for photo and sex sessions.

Events gradually escalate as Henning grows increasingly dissatisfied with Leslie's posing, often berating her for not managing to be "evil" enough. Even his lovemaking to her becomes distracted by his lack of artistic fulfilment.

Paula sees an obvious solution in the shape of his new flatmate. "I sent her to you because she is what you're looking for", the publisher stresses, "if ever I saw it, she's the daughter of Satan".

But Henning resists initially, despite being clearly taken by Joyce's naked frame when spying her changing clothes. The arrival of an old flame temporarily catches Henning's eye, but a tryst with Joyce seems inevitable.

After first seducing a female acquaintance of his, Joyce begins to wear Henning down. When he finally realises she is the face of 'evil' he is looking for, Paula changes her tune and warns him away from her.

But by this time, Henning is enraptured with Joyce and intent on capturing her - both on his camera and in his bed. But at what price? And will he learn the error of his ways in time to patch things up with his true love, Leslie ...?

Shot in alluring black-and-white, Sarno's SODOM is a good-looking film benefiting enormously from beautiful cinematography by Steven Silverman. Unfussily told and intelligently edited, it's a well-made film with strong performances to support the highly proficient technical side.

The female cast are attractive and the sex scenes, while tame enough to ensure nothing more than breasts are ever revealed, are sensual and erotic. Needless to say, the photo shoots are the sexy - and aesthetic - highpoints of the film.

Thematically, the script alludes heavily towards Biblical references throughout, fleshing out what is ultimately a tragedy that warns against the temptations of the flesh. A preacher's son flirting with the notion of capturing evil on film? A love triangle propelled by the pursuit of exposing sin? It's potentially heavy-handed fare, but is handled ably by Sarno.

If anything, the tone of the film is surprisingly dark as a result of the above. It's a bleak tale without much prospect of a happy ending. The only levity found is in producer Morris Kaplan's enjoyable cameo as a quirky lift operator. Aside from that, and the occasional romantic lines between Henning and Leslie, this is stormy stuff.

Overlong, downbeat and dated, SODOM is not a perfect picture by any stretch. It reveals it's meagre budget by way of its small cast and limited settings (the bulk of the action is based in Henning's single-bedroom apartment) and takes an inordinately long time to build towards its key scene.

But the film manages to hold interest thanks to a tight, intelligent script and committed performances. Those looking for a fix of smut or even a bit of 'action', however, may find that this lumbers towards an unsatisfying climax.

The film is presented uncut and restored in anamorphic 1.78:1. The image is sharp and bright, with the beautiful black-and-white photography coming across extremely well. Natural grain is understandable and specks add to the lineage of the film. Although there is a little shimmer evident on several occasions, it doesn't harm the transfer any.

English mono audio is fair, sounding a tad muffled at times but generally escaping an over-burdening of pops or drop-outs.

As is the norm with Retro-Seduction releases, there is no scene-selection menu. The film can however be raced through remotely by way of 18 chapters.

Extras begin with a laid-back commentary track from Michael J Bowen and Peggy Sarno (nee Steffans). Joe's wife seems at ease with the jovial Bowen, and together they reminisce like old pals throughout the film.

Peggy speaks openly about her early days in cinema, and how the miniscule budget for SODOM dictated that she had several roles behind the cameras. She also speaks of the early days screening films in 42nd Street theatres, and how she shied away from the world of hardcore pornography. Bowen is genuinely interested in his guest's memories and prompts her throughout with intelligent questions.

A 9-and-a-half-minute interview with Joe Sarno follows, finding the old dear in fine fettle as he speaks affectionately about this early lost work. Sarno further explains how the film was made as part of a trilogy for producer Morris Kaplan, following the director's return from a successful run of filmmaking in Sweden.

Next up is an interesting 7-minute featurette documenting the film's screening at the Alamo Draft House in Austin Texas on October 1st 2008, where the highlight is the frail Mr Sarno taking to the stage to rapturous applause. Before an intimate audience, he proudly introduces the feature. You also get Michael Bowen onscreen, telling us what a big deal it is that the negatives for this film have been found.

Then we get trailers for a plethora of other Sarno titles: MOONLIGHTING WIVES; INGA; ALL THE SINS OF SODOM; SEDUCTION OF INGA; DADDY DARLING; SWEDISH WILDCATS; CONFESSIONS OF A YOUNG AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE; VAMPIRE ECSTASY; GIRL MEETS GIRL; DEEP THROAT COMEDY COLLECTION; ABIGAIL LESLIE IS BACK; LAURA'S TOYS; MISTY.

Finally, there's an excellent 8-page booklet containing informed notes from Bowen with additional assistance from Mrs Sarno and some great, erotic monochrome stills from the film itself.

The DVD is packaged in a colourful card slipcase (cover above). Within this, the plastic keepcase boasts a more aesthetically pleasing black-and-white cover which nevertheless brandishes the slightly misleading disclaimer "For Adults Only".

All in all, despite baring a great title (even the alternate titles are salacious), SODOM is not an overly compelling feature. It's a must for Sarno diehards, certainly. But for everyone else, the film may well be received as vaguely erotic yet ever so slightly tedious.

Still, kudos to Retro-Seduction for tracking it down and releasing such a rare item from a much revered auteur's past.

Review by Stuart Willis