S... comme Sally

Though I'm pretty well-versed in American hardcore pornography of the '70s and '80s, I was until recently a virtual ignoramus as far as its sexploitation counterpart's concerned. Considering that the explicit stuff represents a logical extension of these simulated sex features, I felt like I was missing out on some crucial info to help me fully understand this most peculiar type of cinema – once reviled, now begrudgingly acknowledged ; can full-fledged reverence be far behind ? – so dear to this old codger's heart. So to further my education, I turned to some of the more notable titles unearthed by Something Weird Video's formidable Mike Vraney, my appetite duly whetted by the esteemed Casey Scott's rave reviews on www.dvddrive-in.com. I knew of prolific filmmaker Pete Perry a/k/a "A.P. Stootsberry" of SECRET SEX LIVES OF ROMEO & JULIET infamy by reputation only. Those Southern fried hillbilly haystack romps he made for huckster producer Harry Novak as "Bethel Buckalew" (an actual crew member of Perry's who graciously volunteered his name as an alias), including THE PIG KEEPER'S DAUGHTER and COUNTRY CUZZINS, frequently turned up at my local now long gone skin flick theater, the fondly remembered Ritz cinema – which closed its doors for good in the Spring of '85 – once brazenly facing the uppity town theater right here in Bruges.

With the reassuring presence of awesome adult actress Colleen Brennan (back in her "Sharon Kelly" days) as some sort of security blanket, I ventured forth and watched THE DIRTY MIND OF YOUNG SALLY ! Preliminary research had prepared me for Perry's propensity for low brow humor mixed with copious, not quite all the way but close nudity, so I was kind of expecting SMOKEY & THE BANDIT with T&A which is actually a fair approximation of what this flick has to offer. A sweet little receptionist during office hours, Sally McGuire (Colleen) operates pirate radio station KLUV from the back of a van three times a day (noon, five and late night), talking dirty and spinning sexy tunes to stimulate listeners, aided by trusty technician Toby, engagingly portrayed by the late George 'Buck' Flower whose career encompasses anything from tons of sexploiters to John Carpenter movies like THEY LIVE and his VILLAGE OF THE DAMNED remake ! Trying to stay out of the cops' clutches, who want to rid the airwaves of such smut, provides most of the laughs with bumbling Sgt. Dimwhittle (bespectacled Norman Fields, who supported Uschi Digard in Joe Robertson's affable TOUCH OF Sweden) thwarted at each turn. As some sort of backhanded stab at "socially redeeming value", Sally's only doing the dirty in both word and deed so she can raise enough money for Miss Susie's kidney transplant, although just who that's supposed to be is conveniently forgotten all about in the subsequent deluge of bared flesh !

Just in case you were still laboring under the delusion that dirty movies somehow had more plot back when they sold you the sizzle instead of the whole steak (to quote the great Dave Friedman), here's a little number with a premise as threadbare as any wall to wall fornication marathon. This should not deter fans however, as there's plenty of exquisite epidermis on display. Brennan's both beautiful and bountiful (she would appear as one of Russ Meyer's SUPERVIXENS, after all) and already a pretty good actress to boot. Even though the underwritten part doesn't exactly test her mettle, she has a nice rapport with Flower who even gets to plunder her booty in one surprisingly sensual encounter ! The brunette on the beach is tragic starlet Sandy Dempsey, who was killed in a freak boating accident in the Gulf of Mexico in 1975. With her trademark butterfly tattoo on her right thigh and fetching overbite, she was a popular presence in early '70s flesh fare, crossing the penetration barrier on many occasions such as Richard Robinson's magnificent MARRIAGE AND OTHER FOUR LETTER WORDS. The two blondes with the stupefyingly homely guys (recipients of some surprisingly graphic penile manipulation) are Penny Boran from Roger Gentry's convincingly squalid SLEAZY RIDER and porno pioneer performer Nancy Martin who was in such delectably titled hardcore efforts like HITLER'S HARLOT and TALE OF BEARDED CLAM ! Gay and female viewers may despair of the lack of good-looking male talent, what with even saggy Flower and nerdy Fields getting in on the act. Presumably, as there was no dearth of attractive guys around the industry, this was all part of Perry and Novak's modus operandi, matching the ravishing with the ridiculous, both for comic effect and audience reassurance. The sole decent-looking chap is John Paul Jones, star of Donn Greer's GODDAUGHTER, attempting to make out with prim 'n' proper Robyn Whitting (from Friedman's EROTIC ADVENTURES OF ZORRO) in the back seat of a convertible. Perhaps I was expecting too much from my first sexploitation foray. While a good time seems to have been had by all, I had hoped for something conceivably lost once close-up penetration became the norm, that innocence champions of simulation forever seem to bemoan. Instead, this mostly feels like porn without the inserts and, while certainly pleasant enough in its own right, hardly anything to get all worked up about.

Here in my country, this film got released on a DVD-label that usually specializes in violent but nevertheless sleazy 70's horror films (kind of like the Dutch equivalent of Something Weird Video), but "horror" and "violent" are the absolute last terms you could us to describe "The Dirty Mind of Young Sally". It's a bit weird that the film is part of the same series as much kinkier titles like "The Toy Box" and "Kiss Me Quick", but it's undoubtedly because they were all Harry Novak's productions. This is an insignificant but vastly amusing sex comedy from the early 70's, mainly remembered because it marked the big screen film debut of busty cult siren favorite Colleen Brennan (or Sharon Kelly, as she sometimes preferred to call herself). Brennan subsequently played a handful of smaller roles in 70's exploitation highlights, including Russ Meyer's "Supervixens" and the Dyanne Thorne showpiece "Ilsa: Harem keeper of the Oil Sheiks", before dedicating her career to the professional adult film industry. Suffice to say "The Dirty Mind of Young Sally" doesn't feature a real plot and mainly exists of a series of lewd and luscious sex sequences, connected through an ultra-thin storyline. Sally and her yokel-type technician Toby run a pirate radio station from within the back of a van. With her extremely sultry voice and vivid sexy imagination, she stimulates her listeners to having sex. She occasionally also humps her technician or a random contest winner live on the air. The prudish police forces are chasing Sally and Toby, but without success because they are oh-so-smart! The comedy elements in the script of this alleged sex-comedy aren't exactly effective, but I have to admit the sexy footage is far more arousing than I anticipated it to be. Sharon Kelly obviously is an exquisite and ideally curved lady (with a truly impressive balcony), but even the rest of the female cast members are expediently cast. The teenage beach girls, for example, are all quite stunning and naturally defiant. The men are standard dimwits with seriously unattractive physical defaults, like usual in erotic movies! This also was the debut film of prolific B-movie actor (and John Carpenter regular) George "Buck" Flower. He plays the slow-talking technician Toby, who has a not-so-secret crush on his voluptuous partner and eventually sees all his fantasies come true. Good for him! I've always been a fan of Buck and I'm glad he scored with a prominent 70's porn star, even though I don't think all those shots of his hairy male butt were necessary.

One of a kind, irresistible soft core (not that soft either) staring Sharon Kelly, from time when young girls had naturally large firm breasts. Sharon is a travelling radio artiste who, despite being chased all over by the cops, manages to broadcast three shows a day. These consist of her talking dirty whilst playing with herself, or her engineer, or even a competition winner. Young teens then gather around to listen in and perform along with her, on the beach, at their club or in the back of their car. Essentially therefore the 'plot' allows for multiple activity and minimal dialogue. Just as well because although Sharon is excellent, those around her range from average to unbelievably poor. It matters not, however, because it's her , her activities and those she inspires that's the thing. The individual acts are all slightly overlong but they are so well done that it's a little churlish to complain. Everybody seems to be enjoying themselves, everything looks good, the music is bearable and that evocative mix of furtive fumbling and Woodstock style freedom will always seem good to those of a certain age!