THE
PIGKEEPER'S DAUGHTER (1972)/SASSY SUE (1972)Director: Bethel Buckalew
Something Weird Video/Image Entertainment
THE
PIGKEEPER'S DAUGHTER (1972)/SASSY SUE (1972)THE PIGKEEPER'S DAUGHTER and SASSY SUE were directed in 1972 following the success of TV's "Hee Haw" and Southern-fried sex romps came back into style for a short period. Harry Novak delivered these two backwoods nudies to drive-ins, along with SWEET GEORGIA, the conclusion to his "Country Cutie" trilogy.
PIGKEEPER is the story of Moonbeam, the daughter of a slob pigkeeper (played by the fat biker from DRACULA VS. FRANKENSTEIN!) whose best friend is Hamilton, a baby piglet. Moonbeam rolls in the pigpen with local stud Jasper after he is rejected by virgin Patty, but her mother plans to get her hitched to the first respectable man who comes through the door. Enter a traveling salesman, who screws the pigkeeper's wife in exchange for his entire catalogue of beauty products and is coerced into a shotgun wedding! Even though PIGKEEPER's sex scenes are raunchy and border on hardcore (contrary to Psychotronic Video's review, none of them actually do cross the line), there is still a flair of innocence throughout the film. The women (none of them thespians) are beautiful; one memorable vixen who has a roadside encounter with the salesman wouldn't seem out of place in a Russ Meyer epic! The one bizarre kink in the cast of luscious ladies: the pigkeeper's wife's right breast is beet-red for its entire appearance on-screen!! Don't ask, I don't know why. SWV's transfer suffers only from a lot of dirt during the opening credits and final two minutes. The rest of the film ranges from sparkling digital clarity to grainy, but acceptable full color.
SASSY SUE is a cow on the Willard farm, and the object of affection from idiot son Junior. Pa Willard brews a mean jug of moonshine and manufactures outhouse toilet seats, but the majority of his days are spent banging the local honeys in his longjohns (reminiscent of the early days of nudie cuties), and then trying to get them to deflower Junior, whose love for his Sassy Sue remains strong. SUE has no plot whatsoever, but this doesn't stop it from being an entertaining series of vignettes with some damn beautiful women. Most notable is Sharon Kelly, a true talent whose beauty and personality were unbeatable in films like this. Later graduating to triple-X adult films under the moniker Colleen Brennan, she also appeared in mainstream films like SHAMPOO and HUSTLE (wonder if she ever bedded Warren Beatty or Burt Reynolds?), plus had a hilarious cameo as SuperCherry in Russ Meyer's SUPERVIXENS ("I came in the shower this morning without even touching myself!"). I am a huge fan of Sharon, the only redhead with sex appeal that I have encountered in cult cinema. She's a good actress with spunk and a sunny girl-next-door charm. But she isn't given a lot to do here (despite second billing) and her best film, THE DIRTY MIND OF YOUNG SALLY, would be a great future selection for SWV to release on DVD.
Sandy Carey plays Sharon's sister, and is also quite a good actress for films of this type. The two of them partake in a quite steamy bath; incest has never looked so good... what did I just say?? Fans of Steve Apostoloff films will recognize Forman Shane as the drunk accosted by Sharon and Sandy in a "love shack," billed under the alias "Harvey Shain." Unlike PIGKEEPER, this film does feature a semi-hardcore sex scene at the climax of the film, where Sandy plays with Junior's member. SWV's transfer is on a par with their PIGKEEPER print: some moments of digital beauty, others of bright color amidst grain, but very little dirt after the opening credits. For trivia fans, the liner notes of this release are of particular note. Turns out Bethel Buckalew took credit for a good number of films produced by Novak, but he didn't direct of any of them!
In addition to both films' theatrical trailers, the disc includes long trailers for COUNTRY CUZZINS (featuring Rene Bond pre-boob job), COUNTRY HOOKER (featuring Rene Bond post-boob job), MIDNITE {sic} PLOWBOY, SOUTHERN COMFORTS (featuring SWITCHBLADE SISTERS' Monica Gayle), and TOBACCO ROODY. Great stuff, these trailers, and some of the films look even better than PIGKEEPER or SUE! The gallery of Harry Novak Exploitation Art is great visually, but the "Radio-Spot Rarities" are mostly the long audio track from the MONDO MOD theatrical trailer! This isn't the first time audio from trailers has been passed off as radio spots on SWV's discs, and it's still a fun listen if you don't expect real radio spots. To cap off this sordid excursion into the steamy South, the b&w featurette THE OLD MAN'S BRIDE is fitting. A senile old man traveling home with his new bride (at least 50 years his junior) picks up a hitchhiker, who drives off with the car and the bride! The bride doesn't mind, and miles up the road, they stop off for a skinny-dip and a quick shag before the thief drops dead of pure excitement! Yikes!! The bride continues to seduce and sleep with the old man's neighbors until they catch onto the fact that she's a gold-digger. No, ya think?! The film reminds me of LORNA, Russ Meyer's classic, except that BRIDE has terrible dubbing, acting, camerawork, lighting, and is nowhere near being sexy. All this equals great entertainment and 32 minutes of your life well spent.
For me, the best type of sexploitation films are either a) Southern-fried sex or b) NYC roughies. This double feature delivers all the goods and makes the South look more stimulating than it really is (did anyone watching these films at the drive-ins actually think horse manure and smelly hicks were instant aphrodisiacs for Southern women?). (Casey Scott)