Score

This film, from the early 70's, was a milestone for adult sex comedies. It presented an attractive couple who are into both sexes without shame or guilt about their sexual proclivities. Indeed, it is the "straight" couple (played by Claire Wilbur and Calvin Culver) who question their own sex life. After lifting the barriers of guilt, the young couple are able to enjoy sex with whichever partner they're with, whether they are male or female. The relaxed pacing of the film, combined with the restrained performance make the same sex lovemaking seem almost childlike. This "forbidden" topic has rarely been seen or handled as deftly since.

"Score" is a very interesting film! I was captivated with it the very first time I saw it, and it was even inspirational to me. Score's main characters are Jack and Elvira. They are married and bisexual swingers in a swanky fashion. They play a game of seduction in which each takes a turn trying to seduce someone of the same sex. This time it's Elvira's turn, and her target is a younger, married girl named Betsy. Elvira seems to be having some trouble getting Betsy in the sack, and her time limit is fastly approaching. Jack seems to take an interest in Betsy's husband, Eddie, as Elvira continues to attempt to seduce Betsy.

"Score" is an adult comedy/drama, and the sex scenes are interestingly crafted. The film is full of tacky charms, witty lines, and memorable images. It's a great reflection of the swingin' 70's, and the sexual revolution. I think "Score" deserves repeated viewings.

A swinging couple (Claudia Wilbur and Gerald Grant) seduces a straight-laced couple (Lynn Lowry and Casey Donovan). That's about it for plot, but the movie is fascinating. It was made long before AIDS (and, ironically, two of the actors later died of the disease) so there are no boundaries on what the couples will do and there's no moralizing on what is right or wrong. That's the great thing about the movie-it doesn't judge. I saw this years ago at a film festival and was just astonished. It's hard to explain WHY I liked it but I did. It dealt with sex roles, male and female sexuality, bisexuality in an uninhibited and fun way.

As for the sex...there's not much. I saw an uncut version and while somewhat explicit, it's tasteful. There's a man/woman coupling, and two long lesbian and gay sex scenes. In fact when this came out in 1973 it was a bomb. It was X but it wasn't explicit enough for the porno crowd or intelligent enough for the "intellectual" audience. Now it's being realized for how good it is.

It's beautifully shot in Yugoslavia, has great dialogue and all the acting is good. Also the cast is attractive and look great with their clothes off. It's available uncut on DVD (previous versions were edited) and well worth getting.

"Score" is an amazing cult classic that should be seen by everyone. Even though I have only seen one other of Radley Metzger's movies ("The Lickerish Quartet"), I don't hesitate in calling him an "auteur of adult film." To call his movies "soft-core porn" would be an insult. "Score" and "Lickerish Quartet" are both top-notch turn-ons.

What I liked about "Score" was the fact that nothing about it ever seemed gratuitous, given the subject matter. The same-sex seduction scenes in the movie were fun and genuinely erotic. I especially loved the oh-so subtle ways the characters would flirt and come on to each other. The fact that the nudity was used very sparingly only added to the erotic tension. The movie literally teases and arouses the viewer from beginning to end. And the love scenes between the two men (Jack and Eddie) and the two women (Elvira and Betsy) were done in beautiful taste.

While very elegant and aesthetically pleasing, "Score" never takes itself too seriously. I think anyone could easily be hypnotized by this movie if they give it a chance. It is beautiful.

SCORE

Aspect ratio: 1.85:1

Sound format: Mono

A sexually liberated couple (Claire Wilbur and Gerald Grant) set out to seduce a young newlywed couple (Lynn Lowry and Calvin Culver).

Having explored familiar heterosexual obsessions in well-regarded softcore dramas like CAMILLE 2000 (1969) and THE LICKERISH QUARTET (1969), director Radley Metzger upped the sexual ante with SCORE, a good-natured bisexual romp which crosses the boundary into hardcore territory popularized in US theaters by the likes of DEEP THROAT and THE DEVIL IN MISS JONES (both 1972). Based on a play by screenwriter Jerry Douglas, SCORE pits a couple of worldly, uninhibited predators against naive, conservative-minded 'virgins' during a weekend get-together at Wilbur and Grant's luxury Riviera villa. Having plied the hapless duo with drink and soft drugs ("I'm not a very good junkie!" Lowry complains) and dressed them in costumes which tally with their sexual fantasies (cowboy, nun, sailor, etc.), Wilbur and Lowry pair off for a lesbian encounter, while Grant and Culver descend into the basement bedroom for a full-blown gay seduction.

Artfully photographed by Metzger himself and veteran cinematographer Franjo Vodopivec on location in Yugosalvia, and framed as an adult fairy tale (the delightful opening narration locates the action "...in the lush little land of Plenty, in the enviable state of Affluence... deep within the Erogenous Zone"!), the movie is distinguished by clever dialogue which removes outmoded notions of sexual parameters from the outset. When asked how she differentiated between sexes during the orgies she's attended in the past, Wilbur replies: "First you don't know, then you can't tell, then you don't care!" The plot is wafer-thin, and the acting is merely OK (the women fare best in this regard), but Douglas' script - played out for the most part in a single interior set, with only a handful of outdoor sequences - allows Metzger to build slowly and surely to the climactic double seduction, using reflective surfaces (amongst other devices) to convey sexual dualities within the characters. Viewers hoping for a non-stop flesh-fest may be irritated by the long narrative preamble (punctuated by Wilbur's rough-house tumble with studly repairman Carl Parker), but there's still plenty of uncompromising nudity, and the film manages to stimulate the brain whilst simultaneously tickling your, er... fancy. Great music, too, including an ultra-groovy (and uncredited) theme song! The film exists in two separate versions: Metzger is said to prefer the softcore edition (85m), but the all-important sex scenes are seriously compromised by jarring edits and obvious gaps in the soundtrack. Try to see the full-on hardcore print (92m), which includes rather more graphic detail during the gay sex scenes.

'Calvin Culver' is actually gay porn performer Casey Donovan, star of groundbreaking titles like BOYS IN THE SAND (1971) and THE OTHER SIDE OF ASPEN (1978), though he later re-teamed with Metzger for the director's hetero masterpiece THE OPENING OF MISTY BEETHOVEN (1976). Co-star Grant only appeared in two other films - Metzger's NAKED CAME THE STRANGER (1975) and Umberto Lenzi's EATEN ALIVE! (1980) - and it's sad to report that both he and Donovan have since passed away. Wilbur featured in the original stage version of SCORE, but her only other screen acting credit appears to be TEENAGE HITCH-HIKERS (1974), while the beautiful Lowry has since pursued a career in mainstream movies, including THE CRAZIES (1973), SHIVERS (1975) and CAT PEOPLE (1982). Writer Jerry Douglas adopted the pseudonym 'Doug Richards' and made a name for himself in gay porn, writing and directing a number of celebrated productions, including THE BACK ROW (1973), BOTH WAYS (1976) and MORE OF A MAN (1991), the latter featuring Joey Stefano and Chi Chi LaRue, while SCORE's production manager Branko Lustig has since become a major Hollywood producer, with titles like SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993) and GLADIATOR (2000) to his credit!