The Endangered List (Case File #142 )

From the maker of AFRICAN SAFARI...



TOUCH THE SKY (1974)

A film by
Ron Shanin

Produced by
R.E. Shanin Enterprises, Inc.

Associate Producer
Pierre Koep

Released by
Four-Wall Distributors, Inc.

MPAA rating: G

Release Date
October 23, 1974 (Salt Lake City, UT)

Greeley, CO - February 12, 1975

Blue Movie Monday: THE MARRIAGE MANUAL (1970)

"It is hoped that films such as this one, may one day be made available to ALL those who are about to embark upon marriage, or those already married and struggling under the unfair burdens of inadequate sexual understanding. The only thing that stands between you and compete sexual fulfillment, are the barriers of ignorance…The fences of prejudice that society has put up. The mere fact that you, as a consenting adult, will be allowed to view this motion picture…is proof that these fences are slowly but surely coming down. 'The Marriage Manual' brings to the screen in vivid and intimate detail…THE ART OF LOVE…THE ART OF SEXUAL INTERCOURSE.

It is our hope and intention that by exposing ignorance and social prejudice…we may relieve the atmosphere of frustration and despair. It is necessary to talk openly and honestly about sex. Make no mistake about it…sex is the cornerstone of your marriage.

We urge you to see this motion picture. It is our firm belief that both husband and wife can benefit greatly by the frank and honest instruction of sexual intercourse as shown in the 'The Marriage Manual.' It is a film you won’t forget, and it may well open up for you and your wife a full and rewarding sex life."

Movie Ad of the Week: NIGHT TRAIN TO TERROR (1985)

We're not going to get into the provenance of this notorious pseudo anthology horror flick from Oscar winning screenwriter, script doctor, and famous "front" Philip Yordan -- you can learn all that and more from the excellent Vinegar Syndrome BD/DVD -- but since this is a "Movie Ad of the Week" post, we'll happily dig one out of the archives and tell you that Aquarius opened NIGHT TRAIN TO TERROR in nearly 80 theaters in the New York area on May 17, 1985.

Mystery Movies solved!

In a Mystery Movie post from nearly four years ago, we surmised that ONE-NIGHT STAND was a re-release of PETS (1973) going solely on actress Candice Rialson's presence in the one newspaper ad we turned up. Based on evidence that has recently come into our possession -- the ad above, from a Madison, Wisconsin showing on September 4, 1981 -- it appears that we were correct in our supposition. The co-feature, OFFICE GIRLS, is a West German "sex report" originally released stateside in 1972 by International Producers Corporation (IPC), the same company that unleashed PETS a year later. Raphael Nussbaum, the vice president of IPC (and director of PETS), later headed Burbank International Pictures, the company that still owned PETS and OFFICE GIRLS when home video rights for both were licensed to Imperial Video Corporation in 1983, along with other IPC and Burbank releases like THE CONTRACT, 2069: A SEX ODYSSEY and BARBED WIRE DOLLS.

An anonymous comment, also dating back to 2010, suggested HOT TO TROT was a re-release of Lucio Fulci's ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER, first released in the U.S. by GGP Releasing in 1971. We now have confirmation that this is correct, ONE ON TOP OF THE OTHER was indeed re-released as HOT TO TROT beginning in 1979.

Our friend Raleigh Bronkowski of Screen 13 has figured out that BLACK BELT SOUL BROTHER is LONG XING DAO SHOU JIN ZHONG JUN (1978), better known as THE MAGNIFICENT and DRAGON MASTER, starring Carter Wong, Chen Sing, Casanova Wong, and Doris Chen.

While we're at it, let's tackle two additional Mystery Movies, INSIDE LAURA ANTONELLI and VALIUM HIGH, which we never posted about because we couldn't find decent graphics for either of them...

INSIDE LAURA ANTONELLI, which played U.S. theaters in 1979 to cash in on the higher profile Antonelli imports released in the States the same year (THE INNOCENT, WIFEMISTRESS, THE DIVINE NYMPH), is another re-titling of Massimo Dallamano's LE MALIZIE DI VENERE (1969), which had already played stateside as DEVIL IN THE FLESH, FIRE IN THE FLESH, and SCHOOL GIRL TEMPTATIONS.

VALIUM HIGH, which Clark Film Releasing had on the drive-in circuit during the summer of 1978, is a re-titling of THE STUDENT BODY (1976), directed by Gus Trikonis and starring Jillian Kesner, June Fairchild and Janice Heiden. It was re-released again in 1981 as CLASSROOM TEASERS.

Movie Ad of the Week: MR. FORBUSH AND THE PENGUINS (1974)

The British children's film FORBUSH AND THE PENGUINS (1971) -- boasting a screenplay by Anthony Shaffer (SLEUTH, FRENZY, THE WICKER MAN) from Graham Billing's novel -- received a belated release in the U.S. in 1974 as MR. FORBUSH AND THE PENGUINS through Cinema Shares International. Also known as CRY OF THE PENGUINS, it stars John Hurt, Hayley Mills (who replaced Susan Fleetwood), Dudley Sutton, Tony Britton, Thorley Walters and Joss Ackland. The ad above is from its Clovis, NM opening on December 18, 1974.

Blue Movie Monday: HOT CIRCUIT (1971)

Two years before their softcore skin flick THE CHEERLEADERS became a big drive-in hit, former documentary filmmakers Paul Glickler and Richard Lerner made this hardcore homage to Le Ronde, which nabbed the Best Picture award at the first New York Erotic Film Festival (November 1971) but is remembered today by only the most dedicated students of cinema smut. There's no way the VD handoff of Schnitzler's original would've survived the "love the one you're with" sensibilities of the time, but 40 years later you'll wish this trailblazing explicit feature had more going for it than just body parts bumping together. For those unfamiliar with the source material, the tag line in the ad above explains the structure more concisely than any plot synopsis ever could, except that Glickler & Lerner mercifully closed their circle in 9 rather than 10 chapters. Despite having each character participate in two consecutive couplings, the final result still plays like a bunch of unrelated loops strung together, and fans of THE CHEERLEADERS are advised to check out only the second ("The Salesman and the Babysitter"), fourth ("The Adventuress and the Woodcutter") and final ("The Hustler and the Stripper") tales for evidence of the zaniness that was to, uh, come. If there's a highlight, it's chapter two, in which a bumbling air conditioner salesman is serviced by two barely legal babysitters on a backyard jungle gym to the strains of Judy Sherman's haunting "Waiting for You," although the overall effect now is more creepy than erotic. Segments go on just long enough to reveal that the cast members aren't as attractive as they originally seemed, with Kit Fox as "The Babysitter" sticking around the longest with 3 appearances in a row. Pic might be worth a look for historical value alone (512 F.2d 1361, "The United States of America v. Sherpix, Inc."), although on that front there are far bloodier battlefields to visit before this one.

Movie Ad of the Week: SCHOOLGIRLS REPORT '75 w/ SCHOOLGIRLS GROWING UP and THE SCHOOL GIRLS (1975)

Because the obnoxious owners of the Van-Del Drive-In in Middle Point, OH ("The Swingin' Drive-In") only attracted 200 customers for their "3 nice spook shows" on Halloween night (for the record, they were FROM BEYOND THE GRAVE, THE DEVIL'S NIGHTMARE, and IN THE DEVIL'S GARDEN) as opposed to the crowds who showed up for a triple bill of LINDA LOVELACE FOR PRESIDENT, WITHOUT A STITCH and SIXTEEN the week before, three West German "Schoolgirl Report" movies were booked for November 7, 1975. Hardly triple-X material, all three were nonetheless released with self-imposed X ratings by their distributors. SCHOOLGIRLS REPORT '75 is SCHULMÄDCHEN-REPORT 2. TEIL - WAS ELTERN DEN SCHLAF RAUBT. The second feature, SCHOOL GIRLS GROWING UP (U.S. release: 1972), is SCHULMÄDCHEN-REPORT 3. TEIL – WAS ELTERN NICHT MAL AHNEN. Both were released by Farwest/Burnham Industries. The third feature, THE SCHOOL GIRLS, is the original SCHULMÄDCHEN-REPORT: WAS ELTERN NICHT FÜR MÖGLICH HALTEN, released stateside by Fine Films in 1971. All three are now available on DVD from Synapse Films.

Blue Movie Monday: THE PASSIONS OF CAROL (1975)

Shaun Costello's stylish porno reinterpretation of A Christmas Carol missed its Xmas 1974 release date by two and a half months, opening at the Capri Theater in New York just in time for Saint Patrick's Day '75. Variety trashed it ("Blah, humbug") and 8th Avenue porn audiences stayed away in droves, but in the 35 years since its disappointing world premiere THE PASSIONS OF CAROL has gained something of a cult following among fans of NYC-shot hardcore. As with musicals and rom coms, we have a difficult time warming up to porno pics unless we find the leading ladies desirable or at least physically attractive -- and Mary Stuart, cast here in the "Carol Screwge" role, does absolutely nothing for us. However, the high-definition transfer looks very nice, Costello's liner notes and audio commentary (moderated by film historian Joe Rubin) are informative and entertaining, and '80s action film enthusiasts might get a kick out of seeing Sonny Landham service two women at once to Mike Oldfield's "Tubular Bells." For more info on this release, head over to the Distribpix Blog.

Movie Ad of the Week: THE WARRIOR WITHIN (1981)

The martial arts documentary THE WARRIOR WITHIN, released in parts of the U.S. as early as July 1977 (from Cinevest International), arrived in the New York area on April 10, 1981 to catch some of the runoff from the Bruce Lee resurgence (Columbia and Warner Brothers had his four completed films in re-release) and the Chuck Norris hits A FORCE OF ONE and THE OCTAGON.