Familiar story spiced up for American release
VIOLATED LOVE is a typical example of how American distributors, to enhance a foreign film's chances at U.S. theaters, would add "hot" footage and otherwise alter the movie to fit Yankee tastes.
In this case, it is somewhat ironic what happened to this ordinary mystery/suspense tale, in that the soft-core sex scenes were tossed into a film by Emilio Vieyra, whose later work was lurid to begin with. He's famous for THE CURIOUS DR. HUMPP, a sexy horror film which also received soft-core amplification shot in NYC and pasted on.
Storyline actually has been done umpteen times, most famously (and thanks to Mike Hodges & Michael Caine the best) as GET CARTER. It concerns the brother Martin of a dead man traveling to the city where bro died and determined to get to the bottom of what happened to him, while local authorities couldn't care less.
Our hero suspects Otero, a gambler who runs in a circle of many other potential suspects, but the police tell him not to get involved. He poses as a millionaire mark allowing himself to be bamboozled by the gamblers, and there are solid action scenes and suspense en route to a suitably surprising resolution to the central mystery.
Film doubles as a vehicle for the beautiful local singer/actress Libertad Lablanc, who later starred in another U.S. import memorably retitled THE PINK PUSSY. She reminds me of the '50s star Joi Lansing, but was undoubtedly a bigger deal down Argentine way than poor Joi was here, unfortunately (she deserved better in the sweepstakes of who would become the new Monroe (see: Mansfield, Van Doren, etc.)).
The added porn scenes are poorly matched and sometimes ludicrous, notably a mixed combo display of two women topless with whipping going on in front of a mesh backdrop resembling a tennis court net - simply to provide lesbian overtones. Libertad's beautiful body is on display throughout the film, but tastefully - clearly the nudity-starved Adult theater patrons of the mid-'60s wanted more and there were plenty of would-be pornographers around to deliver.
The Something Weird dubbed version runs quite short but there's enough story to keep one's interest between the moments of cheesecake.
In this case, it is somewhat ironic what happened to this ordinary mystery/suspense tale, in that the soft-core sex scenes were tossed into a film by Emilio Vieyra, whose later work was lurid to begin with. He's famous for THE CURIOUS DR. HUMPP, a sexy horror film which also received soft-core amplification shot in NYC and pasted on.
Storyline actually has been done umpteen times, most famously (and thanks to Mike Hodges & Michael Caine the best) as GET CARTER. It concerns the brother Martin of a dead man traveling to the city where bro died and determined to get to the bottom of what happened to him, while local authorities couldn't care less.
Our hero suspects Otero, a gambler who runs in a circle of many other potential suspects, but the police tell him not to get involved. He poses as a millionaire mark allowing himself to be bamboozled by the gamblers, and there are solid action scenes and suspense en route to a suitably surprising resolution to the central mystery.
Film doubles as a vehicle for the beautiful local singer/actress Libertad Lablanc, who later starred in another U.S. import memorably retitled THE PINK PUSSY. She reminds me of the '50s star Joi Lansing, but was undoubtedly a bigger deal down Argentine way than poor Joi was here, unfortunately (she deserved better in the sweepstakes of who would become the new Monroe (see: Mansfield, Van Doren, etc.)).
The added porn scenes are poorly matched and sometimes ludicrous, notably a mixed combo display of two women topless with whipping going on in front of a mesh backdrop resembling a tennis court net - simply to provide lesbian overtones. Libertad's beautiful body is on display throughout the film, but tastefully - clearly the nudity-starved Adult theater patrons of the mid-'60s wanted more and there were plenty of would-be pornographers around to deliver.
The Something Weird dubbed version runs quite short but there's enough story to keep one's interest between the moments of cheesecake.
- lor_
- 19 may 2015