Tweet
Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: April 21st, 2015.
Director: Chris Warfield
Cast: Sandy Dempsey, Judy Medford, Sondra Currie, John Alderman
Year: 1972/1975
Purchase From Amazon
The Movies:
The latest entry in Vinegar Syndrome's Drive-In Collection features two low budget exploitation pictures directed by Chris Warfield.
Little Miss Innocence:
First up is 1972's Little Miss Innocence (also known as Teenage Innocence), which begins when a music mogul named Rick Engels (John Alderman) stops his car on the side of the highway to pick up Carol (Sandy Dempsey) and Judy (Judy Medford), two foxy young ladies in need of a ride to Hollywood. He drops them off unaware that they found his address info while poking around in his stuff and later that night they show up at his door expecting to be put up. The night goes well for Rick as he winds up in bed with one and then the other but the next day, after returning from work, he finds that the girls have gotten too comfortable in his place and have turned it into a bit of a flophouse.
Rick, understandably, objects to his but he's obviously very perceptible to their feminine charms and the girls seem to have a knack for making him see things their way. Eventually, however, Rick has had enough. He goes to give them the boot but then they let it slide that Judy is only sixteen and as Rick did the dirty deed with her, they'll rat him out and he'll wind up hauled in on rape charges! Not sure what else to do, Rick lets them continue to crash and he continues to provide for them in more way than one. Time passes and Judy starts to think they should soften up and take it easy on the old guy but Rick's starting to get fed up while Carol's mean streak is only now just starting to show how intense it really is.
With none other than Ray Dennis Steckler attributed with the camera work on this one and George 'Buck' Flower the assistant director, this is a weird mix of sexploitation, comedy and quirky melodrama that throws in plenty of skin and goofy line readings. John Alderman is fun to watch as the male lead in the film and he suits the part well. He's a bit lecherous at first, as you'd expect given that he's an older guy picking up two young ladies, but as the tables start to turn on him his performance becomes more interesting than what it started as. He gets nervous, understandably, and he plays the part well.
Of course, most will tune in not for him but for Judy Medford and probably more specifically for Sandy Dempsey. Both ladies are in fine form here and do decent work. Dempsey plays the bitch character well Medford the supposedly more innocent type just as well. It's not a fancy or flashy film but it's got some cool music and plenty of odd details throughout that keep your eyes darting about.
Teenage Seductress:
The second feature is 1975's Teenage Seductress follows Terry (Sondra Currie, and yes she is the sister of a certain Runaway), a serious case of damaged goods thanks to the strange manipulative ways of her mother (Gwen Van Dam). It seems that when her dad split, her mom sort of lost it and did a whole lot of trash talking but this hasn't stopped Terry from heading out on her own to track the guy down.
To do this she poses as a journalist and eventually figures out her old man is an artist named Preston King (played by director Warfield) and that he lives out on a ranch in the middle of nowhere. She shows up at his door and quickly tries to con him into a roll in the hay, but he declines. Despite her odd behavior and warnings from his maid, Elena (Sonny Cooper), Preston winds up hiring Terry as his personal assistant much to the dismay of his lady friend, Victoria (Elizabeth Saxon). Will Terry's plan to get every female Preston knows so that she can have dear old daddy all to herself succeed?
This is an odd one. The incest theme will obviously and understandably turn some heads but the movie does a kinda-sorta-okay-not-really good job of setting up the why behind Terry's yearnings for her dad. It gets an A for effort, even if it isn't entirely convincing in that regard. Some strange flashbacks and weird flourishes of bizarre camerawork help to keep things visually interesting even when the movie slows down - and at about the half way mark it really does just that. Yet there's some novelty here, not just in seeing the sister of a rock n roll legend playing the lead in a sleazy drive-in picture but in the ways that the film addresses and dissects the relationship that does/doesn't exist between father and daughter in the movie.
This is a weird film.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Both features are presented in new 2k transfers taken from the original 35mm negatives framed at 1.85.1 anamorphic widescreen. There are some minor instances of print damage but nothing so serious as to prove irritating, while the colors are reproduced quite nicely. Detail is about as good as you can really expect while both films retain an appropriately gritty, grainy look throughout. Generally speaking, these look quite good.
It's English language Dolby Digital Mono across the board, no alternate languages or subtitles options provided. Both films feature clear, well balanced audio though some minor hiss pops up now and again if you're listening for it. Nothing really too problematic though, the movies sound fine.
As far as the extras go, each film is represented by its original theatrical trailer while Little Miss Innocence is also accompanied by the Teenage Innocence alternate title card. Static menus and chapter selection are also included.
The Final Word:
Vinegar Syndrome's double feature release of Little Miss Innocence and Teenage Seductress is a good one, offering up both movies in very fine shape in uncut transfers taken from the negatives. The movies themselves are trashy little melodramas that worth as much for the female cast members as for the stories they tell!
