THE
DEFILERS (1965)Director: R. Lee Frost
Image Entertainment/Something Weird Video DVD
THE
DEFILERS (1965)This is another very nice "Drive In Double Feature" DVD from Something Weird, replete with many extras. First, I'll go over story details on the films and then talk about the extra features on the disc.
THE DEFILERS (1965) introduces us to two charming young men named Carl & Jamie. These guys really like the girls, but it seems that they've gone through most of the girls in town already. They've also gone through the book of perversions as well, and we see from early on that Carl has a real problem with violence. During an encounter with one girl, he tells her that she needs "some good old fashioned discipline," then proceeds to pull down her panties and give her a violent spanking! One evening, while smoking some weed, Carl mentions that he needs some new "kicks." In particular, he states that "I'm busting at my seams!" He and Jamie then concoct a plan to kidnap a young woman and turn her into their sex slave. They proceed to do just that and keep her locked up in the basement of a warehouse. Carl seems to be quite sure of himself at times, purring to the kidnap victim that he will "love you sweet and long and make you glad that you're alive!" Finally, Jamie develops a conscience and can no longer tolerate Carl's violence toward the girl. They get into a big fight during which Carl's head is thrust onto a nail sticking out of the wall. Carl dies and Jamie runs for the police. The end!
This film is a prime example of what was known in the sexploitation trade as a "Roughie," which was apparently quite popular. Although a lot of sex is implied in the film, you never see it onscreen. When the sex is about to begin, the camera either pans left or right, or tilts upward. There is copious female nudity, of course. Byron Mabe and Jerome Eden play Carl & Jamie and turn in pretty good performances for this type of film. The female talent is less spectacular in terms of acting, but I doubt that was what they were hired for, anyway!
SCUM OF THE EARTH (1963) was made when producer David Friedman and H.G. Lewis were still working together in the sexploitation trade. It was made two years earlier than DEFILERS and is a tamer picture. It goes a bit like this: Sandra is tired of posing for nudie and sex pics and wants "out of the business." Sleazy Mr. Lang, a smut ring kingpin, won't let her out unless she recruits "new talent" to do her work. She then recruits Kim, a young innocent girl who plans to go to college. The smut photographer Harmon then begins to "ease" her into the business by shooting a lot of G rated stuff. Lang turns up the heat on Harmon and sends the goon Ajax over to the studio to strongarm the situation. Kim needs $500 to enroll in college and finally consents to taking one nude shot. She won't do any more, but is blackmailed into it by threats to distribute the first nude shot "all over town" with the first copy going to her father. Ajax is a really bad guy who likes to abuse women. We see him viciously beat a potential defector model with a belt and presumably rape her. He then sets his sights on Kim in the studio. Harmon develops a conscience (recurring theme, here?) and kills Ajax with a baseball bat (!). Kim escapes and heads off to college.
There are some over the top performances here and many will recognize several members of H.G. Lewis' stock company: Lawrence Wood, Vickie Miles, Thomas Sweetwood, Mal Arnold, and Sandy Sinclair.
As to the film transfers, they aren't bad given the subject matter. THE DEFILERS is by far the better print, with only occasional speckles and dirt present. SCUM OF THE EARTH is very viewable, but has much more negative trash, fingerprints, and dirt on the print especially near reel changes. Both films are presented full frame, as shot. The mono sound on both is clearly audible, but undistinguished. DEFILERS is encoded with 12 chapter stops, SCUM has eight.
The extras are fairly generous on this single sided, dual layer disc. Included are two nudie short subjects (DIARY OF ARTISTS' MODELS and NAKED FURY), two trailers for DEFILERS, nine additional trailers for other films in the 60s sexploitation genre, three sets of classic intermission shorts (including a really appropriate short featuring Julie Andrews explaining the "new" MPAA rating system!), and the usual Friedman Gallery of Exploitation Art (which features an audio ad for a sex book tie-in).
The most important supplement is an audio commentary by producer David Friedman on THE DEFILERS. Although he produced both films on this disc, I think it was appropriate only to include commentary on THE DEFILERS. I own most of the Friedman produced DVD titles available from SWV and must say that his commentaries are always fascinating. I don't know exactly how old the man is, but he must be getting on up there in years. Despite that fact, he is an excellent conversationalist and quite candid in his remarks ("Now this is just an excuse to show some tits"). He gives scene specific comments for THE DEFILERS and tells little stories all the way through about folks both in front of and behind the camera. His memory is amazing! He also discusses the "Roughie" genre in detail and tells an amusing story about director Frost's reservations about the film prior to release.
Finally, this drive-in disc, as with past releases, features the "Let's Go To The Drive-In" button whereby the programs will be played as a vintage drive-in presentation. Of course, you can also access all items separately as well.
All in all, this is another bang up job by the Something Weird Video folks. It is my hope that they keep these discs coming and I would advise any lovers of their product to provide positive feedback to them at questions@somethingweird.com. (Jason R. Casey)