Vixen - Ohne Gnade Schätzchen

The print I saw was in terrible condition, with several minutes eliminated by jumping and scratching and the colour a uniform washed-out pink. On the bright side, this added an even more surreal layer to Meyer's already fairly radical editing style. Anyway, a lot of it, although entertaining enough, is pretty basic stuff of Gavin pouting and staring and flaunting herself and jumping on every man in sight with an infectious shameless pleasure. It gets radical when she seduces her own brother in the shower, with little moral hesitation (at that point she's already gone through another woman, a Canadian mountie and a couple more guys). The most intriguing aspect is embodied by the black character whom she relentlessly and openly taunts; he then falls in with the IRA guy and...well, see for yourself. The juxtaposition of nudie exploitation with such open rabble-rousing politics is fairly startling just as an idea, but Meyer pushes it so far that the woman goes beyond mere feistiness and carefreeness into a systematic challenger of all niceties and convention - she calls the black guy every racist epiphet, but her lack of bull ultimately opens his eyes.

Vixen! (1968)

*** (out of 4)

Vixen Palmer (Erica Gavin) is the wife of a bush pilot in Canada and when he's out of town she undresses and does anyone she can get her hands on. Vixen's sexual charms turns on her brother who she will have sex with without an issue but she refuses to sleep with any black man as she feels they are dirty animals. Yes, this is Russ Meyer's take on racism mixed in with everything the cult director is known for. If you're afraid of sex and nudity then you might as well skip this film because we see the beautiful Vixen taking on various men, her brother and even a woman. Needless to say, Gavin has very big breast and Meyer isn't afraid to show them at any chance he gets. Gavin's beauty certainly shines through and I also felt she gave a pretty good performance as she's able to handle Meyer's dialogue and deliver all the goods. Harrison Page is also very good as the black guy Vixen is constantly throwing racial slurs at. It's rather strange how Meyer deals with the racism because he clearly gives the message off that it's wrong but the first half of the film tries and gets comedy from the subject as Vixen throws out all sorts of watermelon jokes as well as other slurs. At the end of the film is when the comedy stops and Meyer pours on the drama about racism in general as well as the Vietnam war. It's rather amazing at how he can make you laugh for half the film and then turn on a dime and deliver a message but he pulls it off. The film runs 70-minutes, which is the right running time to get everything covered and in the end the cult director manages another fine film if you can handle his type of movie.

I find it amazing nobody has yet commented on this film, which it's certainly impossible to ignore (just like any other Russ Meyer fare).

So I'm not going to comment either. I won't talk about how ignored Russ Meyer is as a genuine auteur or how misinterpreted his films are by the vast majority of critics. And I won't mention how I think Russ Meyer has a great talent for writing dialogue with deep, philosophical implications (though some people would never know it).

If I have one complaint, it's that the film (or filmette) is rather too short at only 70 mins US, 63 mins Deutschland. Those poor Germans had fully 10% of the movie slashed, and one wonders why; it was rated 18 or X anyway, and though the film has "adult themes" (in case you didn't notice) it's in no way "pornographic" (for that matter, neither is ANY Russ Meyer film, in my opinion).

The most entertaining aspect of the movie is undoubtedly the unique style of acting. Actually, I don't think the acting in this movie (or for that matter ANY Russ Meyer movie) is "bad". It's just self-consciously mannered in a style that immediately tells you, as soon as you switch on the TV, that you're watching a Russ Meyer movie. Russ worked hard (I'm sure) to coax such performances from his interesting casts. There is no other director I can think of whose work is so strongly styled that it's immediately identifiable as one of his films. When you watch a Russ Meyer film, you enter a parallel universe much stranger than reality.

SYNOPSIS: The escapades of an insatiable wife living in the backwoods of Canada.

CONCEPT IN RELATION TO THE VIEWER The sexual revolution and the concept of hedonism. Pushing the limits of what is acceptable to show.

PROS AND CONS I have always been a big fan of Russ Meyer. Along with Federico Fellini, I consider him a true innovator in film. Many write him off as a sexploatation film maker of the "B" movie genre. I beg to differ, he was a true pioneer and a maverick and his films have stood the test of time.

What always captivated me about Meyer's work was how he got so much out of a film by doing the basics and doing them well. His films are low budget and look it, but they captivate you regardless. The dialog is crisp and quick, the editing is sharp and the story moves along quickly. This film is only an hour long but you wouldn't know it when it is all over.

Meyer financed most of his own movies, used the same troop of actors, did his own cinematography and writing along with most of the editing. He ran the whole show and answered to no one. What you see on the screen is his vision and no one elses. You have to admire an artist that can create such a large body of work under those terms.

This was Meyer's first 'big' film that got wide release. It was also the first mass distributed film to be given an "X" rating, which is laughable by today's standards. There is no explicit sex scenes or graphic nudity in this film. But there is a lot of implied sexuality and topless women. What made the film controversial in its day was its portrayal of wanton sexuality and taboo subjects such as incest and lesbian relationships.

The plot is rather simple. Vixen likes to fool around and does so with wild abandon. Thrown into this mix are subjects of infidelity, racism, patriotism, honesty and morals. You don't really like Vixen in this film. She is beautiful to look at, but she is a bitch to almost everyone and only appears to seek self gratification and cares for no one but herself.

Vixen Palmer (Erica Palmer) is the wife of a Canadian bush pilot… She and her husband run a resort for vacationers, but she utilizes the place more for her erotic exploits than for making money… To say that she is having sexual relations with many is an understatement… She provokes many of the young boys in a nearby town, and basically has a good time...

Everyone seems to know about Vixen's exploits except her husband, who constantly considers her a loving, loyal housewife… The plot moves into high gear when a Communist hijacks the husband's plane and orders him at gunpoint to fly to Cuba…

While Meyer never moved into graphic sex, "Vixen" was one of the early expressing films for the adult market… It contained much simulated intercourse, a lot of nudity, and sex jokes... The film by nature is exploitative, but Meyer always lets the plot move in and out of the erotic encounters, creating a distinct stimulating sex comedy rather than a series of cheap shots… The performances are always exuberant, and—despite the hilarious action—the characters are very realistic