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Released by: Ascot Elite
Released on: June 3rd, 2014.
Director: Erwin C. Dietrich
Cast: Lina Romay, Eric Falk
Year: 1977
Purchase From Diabolik DVD
The Movie:
Directed by Erwin C. Dietrich and released in 1977, Rolls-Royce Baby doesn't have a whole lot of plot twists or in-depth character development to discuss but it does offer up almost a solid hour and a half of Jess Franco's lovely muse Lina Romay in her prime and in frequent states of undress.
When the film begins, a massive old Rolls-Royce limousine drives through a serene pasture to a massive, ornate mansion in the countryside. Out struts Lina and we learn through her internal monologue that she's a famous model and actress. We also learn firsthand that she enjoys shaving between her legs - so that every man who has her will feel like he's taking her for the first time, she tells us. From here she heads off to meet her photographer and after a quick nudie shoot involving a big wicker chair, they decide to get it on and pour sand over one another's naked bodies.
From here, we cut to a man (Eric Falk) in another room doing martial arts training. Lina watches and soon imagines him doing all of this, no matter how intensely, sans pants. They have dinner together and after that Lina shows him how she stays fit by demonstrating her yoga prowess, a move that inspires Eric to go down on her. From here, Eric decides to stick around and work as her chauffeur. You see, she needs someone to driver her around in that big fancy car so that she can concentrate on screwing people in the back seat and not have to deal with actually driving. This stems back to an incident in her younger days (we see this through flashback) where she was hitchhiking. Two truck drivers picked her up and received sex as payback for their offer. For whatever reason, this turned her into an insatiable nymphomaniac with a thing for doing it in the back seat of her car. With this backstory out of the way, Eric drives her around while she screws a couple of guys and then later a woman (Ursula Maria Schaefer) who eventually winds up back at the mansion for a three way with Lina and Eric.
There's really not a whole lot more to the movie than that, at least conceptually speaking. The movie makes no false pretenses as to what it is, and what it is would be an opportunity to show off curvy cutie Lina in the buff and going at it. If you're not a fan of Ms. Romay, keep on walking. This won't likely do it for you, but if you are, this offers up a more playful way to see a whole lot of her. Obviously Franco would take her exhibitionist tendencies and brazen appetite for on camera coupling in considerably darker directions with films like Doriana Gray and Lorna The Exorcist to name only a few but Dietrich keeps things very playful here. There are no attempts made to examine the ramifications of promiscuity or morality, nor are there any attempts to dissect the id through cinema. In their place we get primarily free-spirited screwing shot with an eye for composition and some occasional dashes of humor. Dietrich seems to enjoy putting Lina in positions that test her physical flexibility, we see this with the yoga scene and just as obviously we see it when Eric buries his face between her legs thereafter. She also manages to contort her frame into interesting positions in the back of the car, greeting her passengers with her legs spread and a cigarette holder hanging out of her mouth, her dark eyes and hair framed by her wide brimmed hat. And she goes for it. She's as enthusiastic as she is beautiful and she appears comfortable here, her performance has an admirable naturalness to it. The rest of the cast are enjoyable as well, and Eric Falk once again gets into some odd naked kickboxing (at which point you have to draw an inevitable comparison to Mad Foxes!).
The movie is nicely shot, it features excellent locations and wonderful use of color. It's decadent and elegant at the same time, and as plot-less as it might all be, it's ridiculously watchable if you're a Lina Romay fan.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Rolls-Royce Baby arrives on Blu-ray in AVC encoded 1080p high definition presentation, framed at 1.78.1 widescreen, is a strong upgrade over the previous DVD release (which looked very good for its time). Any print damage that pops up is minor as there are some minor specks here and there but no massive scratches or anything like that. The elements used for the transfer were obviously in good excellent shape. Detail is really strong here and you'll notice this in close up shots (some more than others!) and medium/long distance shots as well. Colors are nice if maybe slightly faded in spots. There are no problems with compression artifacts or edge enhancement issues and print damage is never problematic despite the presence of a few small scratches here and there. A welcome bit of grain pops up from time to time and there's no evidence of noise reduction. Flesh tones, of which there are plenty on display here, look nice and natural, never waxy, and the blacks of Lina's lingerie and of the car in which she's driven around look nice and strong. For such a fringe title, Ascot Elite have done a very nice job bringing Rolls Royce Baby to Blu-ray.
Audio options are provided in both German and English DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio tracks and in German and French Dolby Digital 2.0 options. The clarity of the English track is fine, but don't expect much in the way of surround activity as the rears are used primarily for the occasional bump in the score. Dialogue stays clean and clear and the music has some good depth to it.
The main extra on the disc is featurette entitled Ms. Lina And The Chauffeur which is an interview made up of newly shot footage of Erwin C. Dietrich and Eric Falk and some archival interview clips of the late Lina Romay. Right out of the gate when asked about this movie Dietrich says that he co-directed it with Jess Franco and that Lina was 'on loan' from him, which is at odds with what most have believed about this film for years (it was commonly held that that Franco was not involved in it this movie at all). Dietrich mentions that he didn't know Franco and Lina were an item until she told him one day they were going to get married. Falk talks about Dietrich's directorial style, noting that he was a man who was always smiling and that because he was a bit of a father figure to him, he could talk him into doing things in front of the camera that others would not be able to. He also talk about his preference for pubic hair grooming techniques and notes that upon revisiting the film Lina was considerably more attractive than he remembered her being. Lina's comments really just cover what it was like for her working with Dietrich, who she describes with some fondness. It's a fun featurette and stands as further confirmation that Eric Falk may be clinically insane. Falk also provides a video introduction to the movie but it is in German and there are no subtitles on it.
We also get a still gallery as well as a 'trailer show' that includes promo spots for a bunch of other Ascot Elite titles (but no trailer for the feature itself). Menus and chapter selection are included. It's also worth noting that this release comes in a cardboard slipcover (none of the other Franco or Dietrich Blu-ray's from Ascot Elite have so far, making this an interesting anomaly!).
Oh, and for the BD-Rom equipped out there, if you pop the disc into your computer you'll have access to a thirty-six page text interview with Dietrich from an issue of a German fanzine called Splatting Image. This is all in German but it's got some very cool pictures and stills accompanying it. Additionally, the disc also includes the complete text of the incredibly rare one hundred and ninety seven page book on Dietrich's films, Mädchen, Machos und Moneten: die unglaubliche Geschichte des Schweizer Kinounternehmers Erwin C. Dietrich. It's also all in German but it's loaded with pictures and archival images.
The Final Word:
Rolls-Royce Baby isn't heavy on plot but if you're a fan of Dietrich's sex films or, more importantly as far as this film's merits go, Lina Romay's ample charms then this is pretty much essential. The Blu-ray offers a very nice upgrade in the audio and video departments and the brief featurette is interesting and entertaining. A fine release overall!
Click on the images below for full sized Blu-ray screen caps!
Great review BTW. Hope you're doing some more of the Franco releases!