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Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: March 11th, 2014.
Director: Bob Chinn
Cast: Chris Cassidy, Billy Dee, Lisa DeLeeuw, Lee Carroll
Year: 1982
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The Movie:
This new Peekarama 'Big 2 Unit Show' double feature from Vinegar Syndrome unleashes two of early eighties efforts from director Bob Chinn (read our interview with him here) in the typically excellent condition you'd expect from the VS team at this point. Here's a look…
SADIE:
The first feature stars Chris Cassiday as Sadie, a low rent lady of the evening working away the hours on a remote island somewhere in the South Pacific. When she decides it's time to give up turning tricks for a living and go straight, her pal Harry (Larry Price), a smuggler by trade, agrees to get her to Jakarta where he'll help her land a job as a dancer. No dice. Harry has actually sold poor Sadie to a dastardly white slave trader named Rajah (Richard Slade), only she doesn't know it yet.
When Sadie and Harry stop off at a Borneo island for a quick reprieve, they crash at a place run by Doc (Elmo Lavino). Also crashing at Doc's hotel are a puritanical right wing American senator named Daniels (Joseph Darling), his wife (Deborah Sullavan), and their pretty young Honore (Diana Holt). There are also a couple of rough and ready sailors named Jock (Jerome Deeds) and Bear (Gary Dana) lounging about looking for kicks. Things get complicated and surprisingly melodramatic when Sadie and Jock strike up a relationship, leaving Bear to set his sights on popping Honore's cherry, something she seems completely okay with. When Rajah decides it's time for him to collect the woman he feels he owns, he hires Colonel Moktar (Herbert Siguenza) to snag Sadie while Jock digs up some dirt on the truth behind Harry's business dealings. And there's the not insignificant matter of the Senator and all that he's been up to…
Fairly well paced at seventy-five minutes or so in length, Chinn does decent work here in terms of framing and production values. The set for Doc's hotel is pretty convincing and there are some occasional flourishes of solid camera work here. The story bounces around a bit too much for its own good and is sometimes a little more convoluted than it needs to be but you've got to give Cassiday credit for convincingly playing a world weary and worn out hooker! She not only looks the part here but has a fairly striking lack of enthusiasm in some of her sex scenes. While this works against the movie in terms of generating genuine heat, it actually suits the character and that story pretty effectively.
Outside of Cassiday the rest of the cast fare reasonably well. Diana Holt is in fine form here and handles herself well in the hardcore scenes, some of which suit the story quite well and don't really pull us out of the story the way that they sometimes can. How much heat this one generates for you will depend a lot on your appreciation for the 'look' of eighties adult features and melodrama but it's an entertaining enough entry in Chinn's filmography if maybe not an essential one.
THE SEDUCTRESS:
Our second feature is the more interesting of the two. Here we see Lee Carroll play a burnt out hooker with a taste for drugs named Renee. She and her photographer friend George (Damon Christian) are hired by a rich woman named Cindy (Lisa De Leeuw) who is out to get a divorce from her husband Richard (Richard Reynolds). Why? Because he's been playing around on the side and she knows it, but she needs proof to make her divorce case a sure thing. That's where Renee comes in - she'll get into Richard's pants while George will take some shots.
Of course, this doesn't play out the way that Cindy wants it to. Renee figures out that she can turn the tables on this situation and she winds up blackmailing Cindy into replacing her on her next job, which is a group session with a guy named John (Billy Dee). Cindy has no choice and winds up going at it in a four way. When Cindy blabs to John about how she wound up in this situation, he figures his wife Rose (Kathy Harcourt) was involved, but nope, she has no idea what he's talking about. When Rose and John realize someone else is behind the blackmail, they bust out their own cameras to try to get some evidence of their own, all while Renee's scheming winds her in some hot water of her own.
Chinn seems to be going for some noirish atmosphere here at times, and sometimes it works quite well. Though this has more in common with eighties era 'sexy thriller' movies than classic Hollywood material you've got to give him credit for actually creating some decent atmosphere on a modest budget. There are a few decent twists in the script to keep things interesting and as far as the acting goes, it's better than in your average adult feature, at least in terms of what De Leeuw brings to her character. She shows some depth here and, well, she looks great too. Lee Carroll looks more than a little weathered here, which is typical of her around this time, but in her own worn out way she's good in the part. You have no trouble buying her as the character at least.
The plot could have been developed more than it was but the movie is well shot. Like Sadie, it's not a showcase of Chinn at his best but it's entertaining, some of the sex is fairly hot and it's well paced. The fact that it showcases Lisa De Leeuw will definitely add some value for her fan base as well.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Both features look great in 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen transferred from the negative. The elements used were in excellent condition and while there is a scratch or two here and there, for the most part the transfer is as clean and as colorful as you could hope for. These are solid transfers through and through. The first feature was shot on 35mm and the second on 16mm stock, so expect heavier grain in The Seductress but all in all these look excellent transferred in 2k from nearly pristine elements.
Both movies get the Dolby Digital Mono treatment, in English with no alternate language options or subtitles provided. Both films sound fine. Dialogue remains clear and crisp and the scores sound good. Levels are properly balanced for both features.
Extras are limited to static menus and chapter selection and a trailer for each feature.
The Final Word:
Vinegar Syndrome does justice to two of Bob Chinn's early eighties hardcore efforts with their double feature release of Sadie and The Seductress. Both films are entertaining enough and feature some interesting plot twists and known performers and while they don't surpass the better films in the director's filmography, fans will definitely appreciate seeing them look as good as they do here.
