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Released by: Kino Lorber
Released on: October 29th, 2019.
Director: Fritz Umgelter, Francis Ford Coppola, John Wallis
Cast: Randy Brent, Gabrielle Bennett, Marianne Bennett, Shelly Forbes June Wilkinson, Lorraine Sheldon, Barbara Stanley Leigh Sands
Year: 1962
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The 3-D Nudie Cuties Collection - Movie Review:
Kino, in collaboration with the 3-D Archive, presents a super-sweet double dose of vintage smut with The 3-D Nudie Cuties Collection. Don't come to this one looking for deep plots or social commentary, and don't expect good acting or much in the way of production values. But if pretty naked ladies float your boat, then step right up, because there's a whole lot of them here to ogle. And if you're 3-D capable, so much the better.
The Bellboy And The Playgirls:
First up, we meet George (Don Kenney), a stagehand working at a theater. Here he checks out the girls and goofs off a lot, sometimes reading a book that he hopes will teach him how to make it in the detective business. George is also a bellboy at a hotel and here he becomes quite concerned that there's a brothel of sorts being run by a woman (June Wilkinson) out of one specific room. George decides to start poking around and see what's what and eventually discovers that there's no whoring going on here at all, but there are lingerie sales taking place. See, the girls are good salespeople and not at all opposed to showing off the goods if it helps move product.
Eventually, George is found out and invited in for a game of strip poker. When he later suspects that a dirty movie is being shot, nope, he's wrong again - it's just a commercial for women's undergarments. George isn't a very good detective at all, but he sure seems to be having a good time peeking in on the lovely ladies doing their thing.
The bulk of this film is not in 3-D, just the last fifteen-minutes or so, and there isn't a whole lot of nudity in here either, though some of the ladies do get topless in the latter half of the film so it isn't a complete wash in that regard. Interestingly enough, this version is actually an edited and dubbed revamp of an old German film from 1958 entitled Sin Began With Eve which is about an actress and her objections to a play she's to star in. This version includes newly shot color footage (the German film was black and white) that was directed by a young Francis Ford Coppola and then inserted into the picture, which was dubbed for American release, to spice things up a bit.
In addition to Wilkinson, the movie also features Karin Dor from The Torture Chamber Of Dr. Sadism and Ann Perry from The House On Bare Mountain and The Toy Box. All the ladies look good here but there isn't much to the story. Like a lot of sexploitation pictures from this era, it's a whole lot of sizzle and not much steak, but it is an interesting curiosity piece for the 3-D aspect and Coppola's involvement.
Adam And Six Eves:
The second film on the disc was directed by John Wallis and it stars Andy Brent as Adam, a prospector out looking for gold with his donkey, Toby. He gets lost on his quest for gold but his lucky changes when he comes upon an oasis of sorts populated by six beautiful women - Gabrielle Benett, Marianne Bennett, Shelly Forbes, Leigh Sands, Lorraine Sheldon and Barbara Stanley - with an aversion to clothing.
And that's about it. There's really not much of a story here at all, but the film definitely delivers in the 'nude' and 'cuties' departments. Narrated by Adam's donkey, who is pretty quick witted and funny for being a genuine jackass, the film offers up a whole lot of skin pretty much throughout. It takes about five-minutes to get to nudity-land but once we arrive we get to hang out there for the next sixty-five and the film is literally just a showcase for a lot of beautiful naked women to prance around and, well, be naked. They do try to use their feminine charms to throw Adam off the scent of the loot he's looking for, but mostly they just hang out and look hot without clothes.
The film features some pretty nice cinematography. It is well shot and does a nice job of accentuating the physical attributes of the actresses that populate it, and the fantastic loungey soundtrack is reason enough to give this a spin.
Adam And Six Eves might not be high art or particularly intellectual, but hey, points for truth in advertising - as the one sheet for this one promised, 'the desert swarms with exotic forms!'
The 3-D Nudie Cuties Collection - Blu-ray Review:
The Bellboy And The Playgirls is framed at 1.851. widescreen and is a mix of color and black and white footage. It's taken from a composite 35mm negative but was originally shot in 16mm, so expect some mild print damage throughout and some pretty thick grain. It's certainly more than watchable, but less than perfect. Adam And Six Eves is framed at 1.66.1 widescreen and it looks considerably better than the first feature. Colors look great, skin tones are perfect and the image is much cleaner and feature better detail. Both are presented in 3-D and 2-D version on a 50GB disc.
DTS-HD Mono tracks are available for both films in English only. There are no alternate language or subtitle options provided. The audio for The Bellboy And The Playgirls noticeably dubbed, as mentioned earlier, so lip movements don't always match exactly, but hey, that's kind of amusing in its own quirky way. Otherwise, both movies sound fine. The tracks are basic and limited in range but of course they are, they're old low-budget sex films, that's how it tends to go.
As far as extras, we get Beauty In The 3rd Dimension, which is basically a still gallery of 3-D nudie photos (keep an eye out for the lovely Bettie Page in here) from the fifties. Anyone with an appreciation for vintage boudoir photos will enjoy this, the photography is great and the models are quite tantalizing. We also get fun short called Love For Sale, which is a burlesque film featuring lovely Bella Starr dancing about but keeping most of her clothes on. Still, it's a fun little diversion and presented in both 2-D and 3-D options.
Rounding things out, we get a trailer for the feature, menus and chapter selection options.
The 3-D Nudie Cuties Collection - The Final Word:
The 3-D Nudie Cuties Collection is a fun little set sure to appeal to those with an interest in earlier, more innocent sex films. The first movie is pretty clunky, but amusingly so, even if it is light on the promised skin quotient. Adam And Six Eves, however, is a consummate nudie cutie that gets everything right. The presentation here is solid and the bonus material adds to the fun.
Click on the images below for full sized The 3-D Nudie Cuties Collection Blu-ray screen caps!
