A Smell of Honey a Swallow of Brine

Smell of Honey, A Swallow of Brine, A (1966)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

A notorious sex roughie from David Friedman is considered by many to be the Citizen Kane of sexploitation flicks. In the film, a beautiful blonde virgin (Stacey Walker) gets her sexual kicks by stripping down in the nude, turning her boyfriends on and then screaming rape. She sends on guy to prison, another to suicide but she meets her match when she meets a real rapist. As you can tell, this type of storyline isn't going to be for everyone but the first half of the film is played for cute laughs and it manages to get quite a few. The dorky guys who the woman has to lead on are all rather funny and Walker is pretty good in her role. I wouldn't say good performance but her body and girlish charms work well. The second half of the film falls into S&M and dream sequences, which are all very boring but I guess this was the only way to stretch out the running time of 69-minutes. The film also contains the classic line where the woman gets hit on by a lesbian: I may be a bitch but I'll never be a butch!

Fairly interesting exploitation flick in black and white written by David F. Friedman. The lead actress Stacey Walker is well-cast and strangely attractive. She resembles a deranged Renee Zellweger with a bad hair-do. This chick only made two of these films and then moved back to Texas. The music is terrible. One of her boyfriends is played by Sam Melville (from the TV show THE ROOKIES) using a different name.

Best line in the film from Tony - "Are you putting me on, doll? None of my chicks put me on". Good B/W cinematography from Laslo Kovacs (EASY RIDER & TARGETS & many others). Good locales (cool swimming pool, also used in THE DEFILERS). Strange ending but fitting. A 4 out of 10. Best performance Stacey Walker.

David F. Friedman, the producer king of 60s sexploitation sinema, is best-known for SHE-FREAK (a 60s remake of FREAKS) and this movie. I much prefer this one. It's interesting, well-made and doesn't disappoint.

Sharon Winters (Stacey Walker) is a virgin secretary who loves to tease men and entice them to bed with her. When they get close enough to having sex, she accuses them of rape and ruins their lives! In her spare time, she teases her lesbian roommate and when they finally almost get down 'n' dirty, Sharon throws her out! But Sharon meets her match in a nightclub singer who likes to rough up women.

The plot is simple and quick. How can it stretch into an 75-minute movie? There's lots of scenes of bathing, changing clothes, and elongated foreplay scenes that lead to coy nudity, but never sex. Stacey Walker is a fantastic actress who carries the movie on her own. She's pure bitchery and is quite sexy. It's just her hair that bothers me... She made only one other movie for Friedman (NOTORIOUS DAUGHTER OF FANNY HILL), then returned home to her state of Texas and went back to high school (she had dropped out to make movies). No one knows where she is today, but she is sorely missed. Look quick for David F. Friedman playing the juror in the opening courtroom scenes. The musical score by el petra is great, basic garage band rock and roll that is complex in its simplicity. It certainly gives the film atmosphere and a soundtrack CD would be appreciated. Director Byron Mabe (who also directed SHE-FREAK) does a superb job handling the black-and-white cinematography and his editing during the foreplay scenes is wonderfully done.

A SMELL OF HONEY is the best introduction to 60s sexploitation sinema for anyone interested. Everyone should see at least one example of this type of movie to (if anything) compare to the pornography we have now. Something Weird Video is the only source for this on video and their print is rather scratchy and jumps at times.

I don't know what it is, but Stacey Walker, the lead character in this film, has a real screen presence. She is riveting, exuding a real sexiness that transcends physical beauty. Otherwise, there would not be much to recommend this film, as it drags at times and the plot is very predictable once the general premise becomes known. I thought Stacey was at her most erotic in the final scene of the film, when she was hanging out on a street corner with a cigarette dangling from her lips, waiting for a John.

According to the Director, David Friedman, he discovered Ms. Walker on the beach in Santa Monica when she badgered him to buy het a hot dog. While I find that hard to believe, it could possibly be true. Alas that Stacey Walker made only two feature films before disappearing into obscurity. I think she could have been a real star in the sexploitation movie industry had she wanted to. But I suppose it is always better to leave them wanting more. I do however recommend this fiim for Stacey Walker alone.

"Paula, I may be a bitch, but I'll never be a butch!"

A hilarious line in an otherwise rather tiresome skin flick which features a pretty honey in Stacey Walker, but that's about all. This gal's a real tease who lures her boyfriends, co-workers and even her lesbian roommate Paula into her bedroom, but then turns into a whack job who cries "rape" and calls for the police!

The schizophrenic personality of this certified c**t is interesting for maybe a little while, but this story ultimately turns into a real repetitive one-note affair. At least the ending is worth the wait, for those who will still care by that time.