Movie Ad of the Week: THE DIRTY DOLLS IN KATMANDU (1971)

LES CHEMINS DE KATMANDU (1969) is a French exploitation film starring Jane Birkin, Serge Gainsbourg, Elsa Martinelli, Arlene Dahl, Renaud Verley, and Pascale Audret, directed by André Cayatte (LE MIROIR À DEUX FACES) and based on a novel by René Barjavel (author of the groundbreaking sci-fi work Le Voyageur Imprudent). United Producers acquired it for U.S. release through American International Pictures beginning in 1971, first under the title THE DIRTY DOLLS IN KATMANDU and later as THE STRANGE WORLD OF KATMANDU and THE PLEASURE PIT. Its frequent co-feature was KAMA SUTRA (1970), a United Producers/AIP recut of the West German sex documentary KAMASUTRA, VOLLENDUNG DER LIEBE (1969), which featured an early screen appearance by Persis Khambatta (STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, NIGHTHAWKS, MEGAFORCE). First released by AIP with an MPAA-awarded X rating beginning in December 1970 (with the Italian pickup BORA BORA as its co-feature), KAMA SUTRA was cut for an R rating in 1971 when paired with THE DIRTY DOLLS IN KATMANDU.

The Endangered List (Case File #118)

STEVIE, SAMSON AND DELILAH (1975)

Starring
Steven Hawkes, Jr. (Stevie)
Samson (The Lion)
Delilah (The Tiger)
Steve Hawkes (Steve Wilson)
Joey Marie (Ann)
Chuck Hall (Mayor)

Produced and directed
by
Steve Hawkes

Screenplay by
Barry Mahon

Director of Photography
Jack McGowan

Music by
Franklin W. Lawson

Edited by
Robert J. Emory

Special Music Effects
Titan Sound

Color by
Capital

Running time: 86 minutes

Released by
Libert Films International

SYNOPSIS

Steve Wilson, who manages a wild animal preserve in Africa, has a ranch in Florida on which he keeps a number of lions and tigers. Two of the big cats, a lion named Samson and a tiger named Delilah, are the favorite pets of Steve’s six year old son, Stevie. When the local animal control office forces Steve to give up his animals, he hides Samson and Delilah inside his house because of their strong bond with Stevie.

Later, while Steve is in Africa, Samson and Delilah are accidentally discovered on the Wilson ranch and are taken away with the begrudging help of Stevie. However, after Stevie overhears a conversation in which there is talk of shooting Samson and Delilah, he manages to sneak inside the animal shelter and free his pets. All three head for the safety of the Everglades.

Exhausted by the pursuit of the sheriff’s posse, Stevie falls into a snake pit just as Samson and Delilah charge and rout the posse.

Meanwhile, Steve has returned from Africa and is taken by helicopter to a location where the three fugitives had previously been spotted. Upon finding Stevie’s footprints leading into a swamp full of alligators feeding on a carcass, Steve is grief-stricken as he fears the worst. All ends well, however, as Stevie is pulled from the snake pit by Delilah and is reunited with Steve.

In a final tender scene, the Mayor meets Samson and Delilah in person and comes away convinced they are not dangerous.

Mystery Movie: SCHOOL GIRLS BUST OUT (1980)

Originally slated for a September 1978 release from Intercontinental Releasing Corporation (IRC), this movie's unveiling was apparently delayed when IRC co-founder David Baughn split from partner Sandy Cobe in 1979 and started his own company, IFI/Scope III. The film's belated debut came in June of 1980, with the cast members credited as "Pretty Young Girls" and the filmmakers billed as "Dirty Old Men." We emailed Mr. Baughn for more details and he sent this response: "It was a German import and a tame core X rated movie. I couldn't begin to remember cast or original title."

Movie Ad of the Week: SUBSTITUTE TEACHER w/ PEPPER (1978)

SUBSTITUTE TEACHER is the Italian sex comedy LA SUPPLENTE (1975), featuring Italian beauty Carmen Villani as the titular lead and Dayle Haddon in a supporting role. Empire Releasing handled its U.S. distribution in 1978. The co-feature, a sexy secret agent spoof from the Amero Brothers, was first released as CHECKMATE in 1973 and was also known as BLONDES COME FIRST before Mid-Broadway Productions re-released it in 1975 as PEPPER to cash in on Cheri Caffaro's popular "Ginger" series. Some ads carried an X rating, but the film was given an R by the MPAA in 1973. Roberta Findlay was the director of photography.

Movie Ads of the Week: THE IMMORAL WEST (1962) and CARNAL MADNESS (1974)

Russ Meyer's western-themed nudie THE IMMORAL WEST began its theatrical life in May 1962. Below is an ad from its Tucson, Arizona booking in July of that year, co-billed with a 1956 nudist documentary from Switzerland titled THE ISLE OF LEVANT (U.S. release: 1959).

Within a year, THE IMMORAL WEST was retitled WILD GALS OF THE NAKED WEST and continued to play theaters under this showier title for the next decade (It received an R rating from the MPAA in 1973). Here's an ad from October 1974, where Meyer's movie is sandwiched between Gregory Corarito's CARNAL MADNESS (1974) and Stephanie Rothman's GROUP MARRIAGE (1972) at a Kansas City drive-in.

CARNAL MADNESS, rated R in 1973, was getting playdates under that title in 1974 but was retitled DELINQUENT SCHOOL GIRLS by January 1975. In the ad below, from December '75, a Miami grindhouse was advertising it as BLACK CARNAL MADNESS on a double bill with the Filipino martial arts actioner MURDER IN THE ORIENT ("See Renbu-Kai, world's only killing karate!"), starring Leo Fong and Ron Marchini.

Movie Ad of the Week: "The First Annual Chop-Saki" festival (1974)

This action-packed program was put out by Cannon Releasing in 1974 to promote their latest martial arts acquisition, THE HONG KONG CONNECTION. The other three features -- THE THUNDER KICK, FISTS OF THE DOUBLE K and THE GODFATHERS OF HONG KONG -- had been released by Cannon the previous year.

Movie Ad of the Week: THE NAUGHTY CHEERLEADER w/ PLAYMATES (1978)

THE NAUGHTY CHEERLEADER (1978) is a West German production starring Barbi Benton, Klaus Kinski, Lionel Stander, Jeff Cooper and Broderick Crawford. Filmed in 1970 and based on Lynn Keefe's novel How Did a Nice Girl Like You Get Into This Business?, it was released in the U.S. under that title (later shortened to HOW DID A NICE GIRL LIKE YOU...?) by Saxton Films/Hampton International in 1972. Later, it was acquired by Sam Sherman of Indendent-International, who shortened the title again (to NICE GIRL) and booked it as a flat-rate second feature before hitting pay dirt with the cheerleader angle (For the whole story, read our interview with Sam Sherman).

The second feature, PLAYMATES, is a French film originally titled LE BAL DES VOYOUS (1968), starring Donna Michelle (MICKEY ONE, BEACH BLANKET BINGO) and Linda Veras (FACE TO FACE, SABATA). Presented in the U.S. by Jack H. Harris, it was first released with a self-applied X rating in 1969, through V.I.P. Distributors. Harris submitted it to the MPAA for a rating in 1973 (it received an R), and kept it in circulation for the rest of the decade.