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Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: July 8th, 2014.
Director: Gail Palmer
Cast: Carol Connors, John Holmes, John Leslie, Wendy O. Williams, Georgina Spelvin
Year: 1978/1979
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The Movie:
Vinegar Syndrome's ongoing line of 'Peekarama' double features continues with their highly anticipated release of this late seventies double feature starring the one and only Carol Connors alongside an impressive roster of noteworthy co-stars.
The Erotic Adventures Of Candy (1978):
The first film starts off with a scene in which Candy (Connors) and her friend walk down the steps of their school, ignoring the cat calls from the guys in the car nearby. From here the movie breaks the fourth wall as 'director' Gail Palmer (who probably didn't direct any of this, as Bob Chinn is widely believed to have been behind most of the film's she's credited with helming) chats us up and introduces us to Candy. We learn that she's a fully developed but sexually frustrated young woman thanks to the efforts of her father (Eddy Cannon). Anytime she shows any interest in the opposite sex, chiefly their gardener Manuel (Don Fernando), he scolds her. This doesn't stop her from fantasizing about Manuel (whose name she pronounces Man-you-ell) and then coercing him into her room late one night to deflower her in the flesh. This turns out to be less of an experience than a debacle when his performance is horrible and her dad walks in on them - freaking out and then winding up in the hospital.
When Candy goes to visit her dad in the hospital she makes a wrong turn and ends up in a masturbation clinic. Realizing the error of her ways she has a nurse guide her to the right room where her father is being visited by his identical twin brother Dick and her mouthy Aunt Kraven (Georgina Spelvin). Chaos ensues when Uncle Dick gets fresh with his niece but a timely visit from the nurse puts an end to that. Dad busts out of the hospital and Candy decides to leave Michigan for California to stay with her Aunt Em (Pat Ray) for a while. Before she can get to her Aunt's place, however, she strolls through a park where she meets a Shawn (John Holmes), a used car salesman decked out in a track suit on his lunch break. He talks her into going back to his place and then complains about how his massive dong ostracizes him from the rest of the world. One thing leads to another and they get it on, but once they're done she has to run out the door to catch her bus (watch as this scene ends to see Holmes start cracking up before the edit cuts him out). Eventually Candy thinks she might be pregnant because her period is a day late so her Aunt sends her off to visit a gynecologist (played by John Leslie). He examines her internally with his own instrument. She splits, and on the way home meets a Hare Krishna named Graham Hollander (Paul Thomas) who takes her to his shrine for some one on one time before bringing her to an orgy.
Candy Goes To Hollywood (1979):
This follow up film begins when Candy (Connors again) hope off the bus in Los Angeles and stroll down Hollywood Boulevard. Shortly after she meets a talent agent named Johnny Dooropener (John Leslie again) he hypnotizes her into showing off some of her special skills. Once they've done the deed and he's sure of her talent he books her a spot on The Dong Show, a zany sexualized game hosted by Chuck Bareass (Richard Pacheco). Here she does a musical rendition of 'Hey Big Spender' and bests The Plasmatics' Wendy O. Williams skill - shooting ping pong balls from her hoo-haw. Candy's performance earns her a Golden Dildo and sends her climbing the stairway to stardom.
From there, Johnny books Candy a spots on The Last Night Show hosted by Johnny Farson (Gary Grime), who wants to rehearse with the young starlet before having her on the air. This results in a late start and her appearance winds up getting cut but he makes it up to her by having her to a fancy Hollywood party the next night. From there she auditions for a big time film producer named Samuel Goldlicker (Turk Lyon) but soon after she realizes that maybe a career in Hollywood isn't what she wants after all.
Both of the Candy films are a blast, poking a lot of self-referential holes in film industries both adult and mainstream. Everyone Candy encounters wants something from her, and it's typically tail, but Connors plays the part with such wild eyed enthusiasm and Marilyn Monroe-esque bubbliness that you can't help but love her. The fact that she looks as good as she does here doesn't hurt either and while almost all of the sex scenes in both pictures are definitely played with a wink and a nudge, there's some legitimate steam in pretty much all of them thanks in no small part to the leading lady's enthusiasm and gusto.
Of course, the supporting cast are great here too. John Leslie is goofy and fun in both movies and Holmes, looking quite healthy here and not drugged out or stoned at all, is pretty hilarious in the first film. Georgina Spelvin is perfectly cast as the catty, greedy aunt and seeing Pacheco and Wendy O. Williams pop up in the second film alongside the likes of curvy cutie Desireee Cousteau and Ronda Jo Petty is a rare treat. Both films play out almost like a 'who's who' of the adult film industry of the time and there's no lack of talent on display.
The pacing is great here too. There's also a lot of good comedic timing in both movies, the first focusing primarily on Candy's loss of innocence and attempts to find a good lay and the second really going for more of a satirical attack on the entertainment industry. Both pictures owe a good deal to Candide as a source material, but so do countless other adult films - at least here we get a pretty original spin on the tried and true formula. Music is used well and the camera work and lighting are solid across the board. The locations are nice and colorful and there's really just a sense of 'fun' to all of this that makes these two pictures hard to resist.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Scanned in 2k from its 35mm original camera negative, both Candy films arrive on DVD framed at 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen in a pair of impressive transfers from Vinegar Syndrome. Though there are a few vertical scratches here and there harsh print damage is never an issue and the transfers are in excellent shape. Colors are reproduced very nicely so the various locations used throughout the two movies really shine. Additionally the fashions worn by the various performers are as bright, brash and bold as you'd want them to be. Black levels are solid as well. Detail is as good as it's going to get on a standard definition offering and there are no noticeable issues with typical authoring quirks like noise reduction or compression artifacts.
The films get the Dolby Digital Mono treatment, in English and without any optional language options or subtitles provided. Clarity of the mixes is fine. The scores sound good here and the levels are properly balanced in both films and as such the dialogue is easy to understand. There is minor hiss in a few spots but it's not really a big deal.
Outside of a static menu and chapter selection, the only extras on the disc are the original theatrical trailers for the two feature presentations. The trailer for the second film is basically identical to the final sequence at the end of the first movie that advertises and announces the second.
The Final Word:
Vinegar Syndrome's Candy Double Feature offers up two really fun vintage adult features in excellent condition. The extras are slim but the presentations of these enjoyable and genuinely 'classic' films are top notch and the movies themselves are here, uncut and in their proper aspect ratio. This is probably the best entry in the Peekarama line so far!
