Movie Ads of the Week: THE VERY FRIENDLY NEIGHBORS (1970) and THE OUTRAGEOUS UNBELIEVABLE MECHANICAL LOVE MACHINE (1971)

During his years as a producer at Universal International, Albert Zugsmith’s name appeared on everything from THE INCREDIBLE SHRINKING MAN and Douglas Sirk melodramas to TOUCH OF EVIL and Mamie Van Doren exploiters, but near the end of his career he dove headfirst into the skin flick market with independent productions like SAPPHO DARLING (1968), TWO ROSES AND A GOLDEN ROD (1969), THE CULT (1971), TOM JONES RIDES AGAIN (1972), and VIOLATED! (1974) The ads above have identical credit blocks and appear to be the same movie under alternate titles, but the b&w still sets we've found indicate otherwise and the release pattern is too contradictory to be for just one film; THE VERY FRIENDLY NEIGHBORS was an M.A. Ripps presentation that passed through Danville, VA in November of 1970, but the above ad for THE OUTRAGEOUS UNBELIEVABLE MECHANICAL LOVE MACHINE claims April '71 as its "1st Danville run." A quick email sent to the guys who hold the pink slips for all of the later Zugsmiths came back affirmative: THE VERY FRIENDLY NEIGHBORS and THE OUTRAGEOUS UNBELIEVABLE MECHANICAL LOVE MACHINE are two different movies. Columbia sued producer Donald E. Leon over the latter film, claiming that its title was too close to the studio's flashy Jacquelin Susann adaptation THE LOVE MACHINE (1971), which might account for its abbreviated stay in theaters.