DEEP THROAT PART II (1974)/PANDORA AND THE MAGIC BOX (1965)/A TOUCH OF GENIE (1974)/THE SWITCH (1974) Blu-ray
Director: Joseph W. Sarno
Film Movement

The third volume of the Joseph W. Sarno Retrospect Series is a two-disc quadruple feature focusing on the Ingmar Bergman of 42nd Street's comedic output.

With Gerard Damiano's DEEP THROAT (1972) ruled obscene and litigation to come, producers Lou Peraino (of Bryanston Distributing) and Damiano Films successor Phil Parisi hired Joseph Sarno to helm an R-rated softcore sequel to their hit property in DEEP THROAT PART II. Lovelace returns as "Nurse Linda Lovelace" who replaces Carol Connors (CANDY GOES TO HOLLYWOOD) as nurse to psychiatrist Dr. Young (Harry Reems, BUTTERFLIES), administering sex therapy to male patients and the good doctor on the side. Their latest client is a real headscratcher: sexually-frustrated Dilbert Lamb (Levi Richards, THE INTRUSION), a computer engineer who leaves Linda just as frustrated during their sessions of "play therapy." Dilbert has reprogrammed the national security memory bank computer Oscar to think like a human and to speak only to him. Since the schematics for the changes he made are stored only in his head, the CIA – white-coated Jamie Gillis (THE OPENING OF MISTY BEETHOVEN) and his agents (INSIDE SEKA's Ashley Moore, THE PRIVATE AFTERNOONS OF PAMELA MANN's Marc Stevens, HERE COMES THE BRIDE's Roger Caine, and TEENAGE MASSEUSE's Tanya Tickler) – is concerned about his loyalty and the KGB – black-coated Sergei (NAKED CAME THE STRANGER's Kevin Andre), Rosinsky (HIGH RISE's Guy Thomas), and Sonya (ABIGAIL LESLIE IS BACK IN TOWN's Chris Jordan) – want to extract the plans from him while consumer protection advocate Ken Whacker (David Davidson, THE DEVIL AND MR. JONES) and his "Whacker Attackers" see the computer as a threat to First Amendment rights. All three parties target Dilbert sexually, the first two by way of "recruiting" Nurse Linda and the third by way of Dilbert's political science major girlfriend Penny (BOTH WAYS' Andrea True).

DEEP THROAT PART II is softer than softcore. All sex scenes occur offscreen, nudity is almost strictly from the waist up – Lovelace does not even get the opportunity to simulate her signature act – apart from Lovelace's opening stroll and perhaps a flash of Reems' testicles as he hops around the room trying to pull his pants up, and the double entendres are strictly grade school. Although there are plenty of opportunities for sexual set-pieces, this is no cut-down softcore edit of a hardcore film – although a handful of bigger porn productions from this time did get that treatment – and the cutaways from the sex scenes never feel like blunt edits, and the film might have been a bit more subversive had Sarno and company made it seem as though it was the censors who were gypping the viewers. While it is not a surprise that the film tanked, it is not the fault of the actors who are engaging even when the comedy is at its lamest. Lovelace is not as good an actress as her co-stars but does convey a sense of melancholy at times, such as when she learns that the doctor's receptionist (Helen Madigan, CONFESSIONS OF A PEANUT BUTTER FREAK) is also his fiancée, making her a fifth wheel in their threesome. Tina Russell (SLEEPY HEAD) is made up as Dilbert's elderly aunt – introducing a Sarnoesque element of incest – and Georgina Spelvin (THE DEVIL AND MISS JONES) cameos as Whacker's secretary while future comedian Judy Tenuta (LOVE BITES) and soap actress Jackie Zeman (GENERAL HOSPITAL) also have blink-and-you'll-'em roles as office girls.

PANDORA AND THE MAGIC BOX film finds Zeus (Steve Vincent, DRIVE-IN MASSACRE) eager to hide his "box of troubles" from the prying eyes of his harridan wife Hera (Marla Ellis, MOONLIGHTING WIVES) while he is off trying to seduce Grecian women disguised as trees, bulls, and swans. Although Zeus is Father of the Gods, he is actually a supporting player in a tale narrated by his Goddess of Love daughter Aphrodite (Judy Young, FLESH AND LACE) in which whining hero Theseus (William Donaldson, STEP OUT OF YOUR MIND), strongman Nereus (John Aristedes, MY BODY HUNGERS), and vain Leander (M.E. Taylor) step ashore on Crete on the mission of finding the rightful heiress to the throne, much to the consternation of her uncle the current King Minos (W.B. Parker, OLGA'S HOUSE OF SHAME) who offers slave Pandora (Ria Milan) her freedom if she will guide Theseus off the trail to Circe (Kimberly August) who will grind him and his men into pork sausages or, that failing, to the Amazons who will chop them into mincemeat. Witnessing this deception, Zeus decides that Theseus is just the kind of schnook who he can trust with his box of troubles. When Leander is able to use his traffic-stopping looks to rescue Theseus from Circee, Minos rushes to the Amazons to warn the queen of Theseus' invasion while his wife Scylla is wearing down the latest captain of the guard. The queen has started to think that the Amazons would be just as happy exercising their bodies in other manners as in battle, and risks being banished when she finds her match (in more ways than one) in Nereus. Meanwhile, Pandora has started to fall for Theseus who has discovered his twin brother who was carried off by wolves as an infant is the island's wild man Urg.

Although made after Sarno's first successful forays into erotic obsession SIN YOU SINNERS and SIN IN THE SUBURBS, PANDORA AND THE MAGIC BOX is more of a nudie film of the burlesque variety. Shot against a cyclorama backdrop with minimal props and costumes, with anything requiring more occurring entirely offscreen ("Look at those waves!"), the film trades on stale humor like Theseus refusing a tongue sandwich because he cannot bring himself to eat something that comes out of an animal's mouth only to then be offered a couple of eggs. Pandora, Scylla, a couple of sirens, Circe, the Amazons, and the "troubles of all shapes and sizes" are burlesque dancers of the veil and pasties variety doing dance numbers livened not by the choreography or monochrome photography but by the editing which attempts some quick cuts and the percussive score and sound effects of Sam Fiedel. While overall entertaining, it feels like a concession to producers Harold and Earl Bradley for greater creative freedom on SIN IN THE SUBURBS.

Released theatrically by Bryanston Distributing, DEEP THROAT II had a VHS release from successor company Arrow Film but its first DVD release was the unauthorized Alpha Blue Archives LINDA LOVELACE COLLECTION (paired with LINDA LOVELACE FOR PRESIDENT), followed by the authorized 2009 two-disc JOE SARNO'S DEEP THROAT SEX COMEDY COLLECTION which paired the film with Sarno's A TOUCH OF GENIE and THE SWITCH. Bearing a 2016 "restored version" copyright – presumably by virtue of being the first new transfer this film has had in ages since the DVD just matted off the video master – Film Movement's 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen transfer apparently comes from a print which is generally clean and crisp with non-distracting wear like a pair of vertical scratches during the first reel, some dings and dents, but the colors appear to have faded little or been restored as what few saturated colors there are in the art direction and the title opticals do pop against generally muted seventies décor and wardrobe. The Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio is also fairly clean with the score – including three original songs – coming across nicely. PANDORA AND THE MAGIC BOX has only been available on home video courtesy of Something Weird Video's VHS and DVD-Rs, and Film Movement's 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen transfer likely comes from the same print material. The monochrome image is handsome with light wear while the Dolby Digital 2.0 mono soundtrack is clean but unspectacular.

DEEP THROAT II is accompanied by an audio commentary ported over from the DVD with actor Richards (billed as Richard Livermore) and Sarno (who comes in at the seventeen minute mark) moderated by Michael Bowen and Michael Raso. Richard discusses how he went from nudie magazine modeling and loops on the West Coast to features that were pretty much "extended loops" to studying acting and appearing Off Broadway on the East Coast while also appearing in hardcore films. He and Sarno discuss the cast, including Lovelace who they both describe as the unlikeliest of porn stars and note that her later boyfriend/manager Chuck Traynor was on the set (a blackout for a few moments on the track might have included a deleted follow-up comment). The track also includes discussion of Sarno's other collaborations with the cast and Richards' other works with Shaun Costello, Carter Stevens, and Eduardo Cemano. Sarno also appears in a 2004 interview (11:19) from the DVD in which he recalls his disbelief that a film like DEEP THROAT could be made and feeling that hardcore was bad for the sex film business. He reveals that the producers wanted the sequel to be softcore with the potential to add hardcore scenes or inserts later (which was never done) but otherwise rehashes the same comments about the cast as the commentary track. The theatrical trailer (2:07) is also included. PANDORA also includes a newly-created "teaser".

The second Blu-ray disc features two bonus films, alas upscaled from standard definition. In A TOUCH OF GENIE, nerdy thrift shop salesman Melvin (Douglas Stone) spends a lot of two-hour lunches at the local raincoat theater when not being henpecked by his domineering mother (Ultramax, THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS) and pining for the love of his life Janet Geckel (Tina Russell, THE SENSUALIST) who is being romanced by a gynecologist. When he acquires an odd vase with a very suggestive opening, his efforts to "rub" the inside of it conjures up spunky genie Harama (Chris Jordan, ABIGAIL LESLIE IS BACK IN TOWN) who offers him five wishes. He uses the wishes to become insurance salesman Eric Edwards (THE PRIVATE AFTERNOONS OF PAMELA MANN), milkman Levi Richards (THE ABDUCTION OF AN AMERICAN PLAYGIRL), private detective Marc Stevens (SYLVIA), and gynecologist Harry Reems (DEEP THROAT) in sexual scenarios with dream girl (Russell without nerd glasses) and Sandy Fox (SATAN WAS A LADY). These fantasies, however, are usually frustrated by appearances by Melvin's mother who drops in to affirm his discomfort with her as a sexual being having flings with the mailman (and possibly some of her female friends). Having fallen in love with Melvin herself, Genie can only hope that he uses his final wish for her.

A light-hearted but uncharacteristically hardcore effort from Sarno – whose subsequent softcore works were of a higher quality but usually sold poorly in the burgeoning hardcore market – A TOUCH OF GENIE relies heavily on the New York Yiddish comedy but is less grating than the likes of A CLOCKWORK BLUE. Sarno's humor along with the acting talent of the cast keep the dialogue scenes amusing while the sex scenes are well-shot but betray the director's lack of interest in hardcore sex even in the soft edit which more realistically preempts its money shots with the comic relief boner killer of Melvin's mother (who makes things especially awkward when she makes the moves on him as the milkman). Stone does not actually "perform" in any of the sex scenes, nor does Jordan who usually had nonsexual roles in hardcore films and was best utilized in Sarno's softcore films. Fred J. Lincoln (LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT) appears in the background as a porn audience member (along with a guy looks like Paul Thomas) two years before he would launch his own directorial career in the genre.

Myopic and homely scientist Dr. Shirley Jekyll (Rebecca Brooke, THE IMAGE) has developed an enzyme that has the potential to transform anything into its physically perfect form, and her discover is the only reason that handsome college Dr. Bill Jenkins (Eric Edwards, LAURA'S TOYS) briefly takes an interest in her. Instead of experimenting on lab rats, Shirley tests the drug externally and becomes so heated that she throws herself at the schlubby boyfriend (Raymond Serra, THE PURPLE ROSE OF CAIRO) of her promiscuous sister Louise (Chris Jordan). When he laughs off her advances, Shirley is desperate enough to test the drug internally, whereby she turns into stunning Cheri Hyde who drives men and women alike to distraction. Spurning the advances of nurse Myra (Jennifer Welles, CONFESSIONS OF A YOUNG AMERICAN HOUSEWIFE), Cheri instead accepts Bill's invitation to a fundraising party thrown by playboy Huntington Van Huff (Sonny Landham, THE PRIVATE AFTERNOONS OF PAMELA MANN) and his sister Gwen (Lisa Beth). Huntington is immediately physically drawn to Cheri, but it is his poetry that entrances Cheri/Shirley as the rest of the party devolves into an orgy around them. As the drug wears off, Cheri makes a Cinderella-type escape and resolves not to take the drug anymore, letting it be known that Cheri has left town. Unfortunately the drug proves too addictive and she becomes Cheri again, but her libido proves insatiable and she starts a downward spiral of hunting down partner after partner while a lovestruck Huntington and his sister try to track her down.

The most successful of Sarno's softcore comedies, THE SWITCH is on the surface a variation of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by way of The Ugly Duckling and Cinderella. The first half-hour relies on the broad comedy of Sarno's other comedies and other more pornographic efforts about love drugs, but things "transform" once Shirley does. The performance of Brooke (aka Mary Mendum) becomes less broad and far more compelling, as she realizes the effect of her porcelain beauty: at first taking pleasure in the reactions of others until she realizes that it is a chemical reaction to the vague scent of amino acids that she is giving off, and that Huntington's love is not only chemically-induced but for Cheri. As she takes on a number of sexual partners, progressively draining them to death to satisfy her libido, the actual physical pleasure proves fleeting and she becomes alternately aggressive and pathetic in her desperation until the film's tragic ending which is bold for a comedy (although the end credits provide a humorous capper). As with Sarno's other softcore – excepting the cut-down edition of hardcore A TOUCH OF GENIE and DEEP THROAT PART II which was shot with the possibility of adding hardcore scenes later – the sex is real but filmed largely above the waist, giving the scenes a heat that is lacking in the others films, so it is unfortunate that this one is not better known. Darby Lloyd Rains (NAKED CAME THE STRANGER) and Barbara Benner (SENSUOUS VIXENS) are among the orgy participants.

Released theatrically in its full hardcore version, A TOUCH OF GENIE was long unavailable from the usual suspects until After Hours Cinema put it out on DVD as part of the aforementioned DEEP THROAT SEX COMEDY COLLECTION in a newly-created softcore edit mastered in HD from a 16mm element (also screened theatrically in 2007). The full hardcore version would appear in a 2K scan of the original camera negative on Blu-ray/DVD combo from Vinegar Syndrome last year. With the HD master of the soft edit seemingly unavailable and/or presuming that the soft version was not worth the expense of remastering, Film Movement have presented it here not from the old HD master but in a 1080p24 MPEG-4 AVC 1.78:1 widescreen upscale from standard definition. Detail is considerably softer owing both to the 16mm print source and the upscaling, but it is the digitization of the only available Swedish-subtitled tape master source of THE SWITCH – which humorously adds the Swedish end card "SLUT" over the final shot – will make one wonder why the second disc was not a dual-layer DVD instead. It is a pity that there is nothing better available since THE SWITCH is the best film on the set.

A TOUCH OF GENIE is accompanied by its theatrical trailer (1:31), an interview with Sarno (8:04) in which he contrasts his approach to sex comedies with others who mine humor from the act itself along with the usual accolades for his cast and their comic abilities, noting that Jordan could give results from what she was given, Reems demanded direction, and that Stevens able to deliver within set limitations. In the Doug Stone Interview (4:36) shot during the 2007 screening of the film, he discusses starting into theatre and replacing the original actor chosen by Sarno. He also recalls that his father was mortified but his mother was amused that he made his screen debut in a porno film. The "Touch of Genie" Screening from 2007 (5:33) featurette consists of comments from audience members, Sarno, his wife Peggy, son Matthew, and associate Anthony Lover (RED ROSE OF PASSION). His wife and son are particularly proud of the recognition he has received from young people and from the arthouses with recent international screenings and awards. THE SWITCH is accompanied by a Joseph Sarno Comedy Interview (9:57) in which he recalls the film as being a work commissioned by producers who actually wanted to do a softcore film when hardcore was killing the market. He has the usual compliments for the cast but is especially effusive in his praise for Brooke who he would write for specifically in his subsequent trio ABIGAIL LESLIE IS BACK, LAURA'S TOYS, and MISTY. Video Watchdog's Tim Lucas contributes a booklet in which he quotes from Peggy Sarno who states that the "only person who though Joe's comedies were funny was Joe" and his love for Jewish comedy. He also provides some background on the Sarno's repertory players of PANDORA AND THE MAGIC BOX that might not be so recognizable to fans of his work in the late 1960s and seventies, the good qualities of the work-for-hire DEEP THROAT PART II, and also touches upon the tragic aspects of THE SWITCH. (Eric Cotenas)

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