With its politically incorrect title and a typically absurd and irresistible American ad campaign, THE SINFUL DWARF was a perfect addition to the catalog of sleaze films distributed by Harry Novak’s Box Office International. Shot mostly in London, this Denmark/U.S. co-production is one of the most bizarre, grungy, depraved and tasteless efforts you’ll ever see, and it never comes short of the sensationalized, perverted ingredients, making it an undeniable guilty pleasure. Something Weird Video (who released it on VHS in the early 1990s) was supposed to put out a DVD though Image Entertainment some years ago, but ultimately Image backed out for obvious reasons. Now Severin Films, the most eclectic DVD outfit to emerge in the last few years, carries on with no trepidation in releasing what they proudly deem the “Long-Reviled ‘Mother of Dwarfsploitation Films’”.

Young married couple Peter (Tony Eades) and Mary (the blonde, drop dead gorgeous Anne Sparrow) are down on their luck. Peter is a writer desperately searching for a decent paying job (I hear ya man!), and with hardly any dough in their pockets, they rent a cheap room at the decrepit boarding house of alcoholic ex-diva Lila Lash (Clara Keller), who lives with her dwarf son Olof (Torben Bille, here billed as just “Torben”). Unbeknownst to Peter and Mary, a hidden room keeps a trio of naked, starved and half-crazed young women as prisoners, or better yet, sex slaves. With his mother’s blessing, Olof invites emotionless, scrawny johns to use these poor girls as pleasure toys when he’s not injecting their buttocks with heroin. When Peter finds a job which conveniently calls him out of town, Mary is left alone to snoop around and discover more than she bargained for. Is she stripped naked and forced to become one of the helpless abductees? You bet she is!

Originally known in Demark as “Dværgen”, THE SINFUL DWARF (which also played in the U.S. as ABDUCTED BRIDE) is a hard film to describe in words, but it’s doubtful you’ll ever see anything else like it. Torben (who is practically the only lead player in the film with additional acting credits, and was apparently a kiddie-show host in his homeland) is fascinatingly depraved as Olof. Like Gilligan and The Skipper, the Sinful Dwarf always wears the same outfit (in this case a red plaid shirt and dungarees) and hobbles around with a cane, fiendishly giggling and mumbling about like a pint-sized Sidney Greenstreet. Aptly described on the back cover as resembling “Jack Black in a trash compactor”, Torben gives the exploitation film performance of a lifetime, playing a voyeuristic, sadistic, child-like mama’s boy to the hilt, and when he’s abusing, groping and drooling all over naked and chained Anne Sparrow, the film reaches new heights in crudeness, albeit crudeness that’s hard to turn away from.

THE SINFUL DWARF also embodies a ridiculous opening shot of Olof luring a too-tall teen girl with a clockwork animal (mechanical toys are a recurring theme throughout), the scar-cheeked cake make-upped mother played by Clara Keller belting out dance hall tunes (sometimes dressed as Carmen Miranda or Marlene Dietrich) while her son accompanies her on piano, a secondary toyshop owner character (Werner Hedman, who kinda resembles Severn Darden) who smuggles drugs inside cute stuffed bears, and a “what the F?” stance on police ethics. All of the above, plus overly graphic depictions of heroin use are very reminiscent of early John Waters efforts, but since it was shot in England with mostly English actors, its cut-rate production values also come close to the feel of such U.K. trash favorites as VIRGIN WITCH, WHO’S CHILD AM I? and KILLER’S MOON. There’s a ton of nudity on display, and many of the softcore simulated sex scenes borderline on hardcore. And letting Clara Keller’s grotesque Lila character appear topless proved that the filmmakers had no shame and that they were out to shock and offend from onset, and they did a good job of it. Buy THE SINFUL DWARF, watch THE SINFUL DWARF, but also buy a loofah and a new soap-on-a-rope for the long sweltering shower you’ll be indulging in immediately afterwards.

Displaying their appreciated sense of humor, Severin’s press hyped that the transfer was “made possible by the recent discovery of a pristine 35mm print found hidden in a janitor’s closet at the Danish Film Institute.” Well, the transfer was actually taken from a 35mm U.S. release print, running its full immoral 92 minutes. There’s nothing at all to complain about here, as THE SINFUL DWARF is always going to look dingy and grainy but the print source is in good shape, with only a few abrasions and colors fair pretty well, despite occasionally being muted. It’s presented full frame, and that seems to be a wise decision as matting would probably make it too tight, and it’s doubtful that the cameraman was skillfully framing it for theatrical showings when shooting this puppy. As the English and Danish actors all spoke in English, the English soundtrack is what’s included here, and the mono Dolby Digital audio track is absolutely clear as a bell and surprisingly clean for such an impoverished production. No subtitle options are included. Another version of the film exists containing some hardcore footage (mostly inserts), but this is the sleazy enough export edition.