The Liberty Belles

As a fan of "storyline porn" I was given a wakeup call by THE LIBERTY BELLES, a vintage XXX film that demonstrates the obvious fact that it's the sexual content that counts. Oh well, I can still dream of a balanced approach.

Issued on a Lilly Foster double feature for Vol. 114 of Something Weird's Dragon Art Theatre series, BELLES actually spotlights her co-stars Orita De Chadwick and an enthusiastic brunette who remains nameless. Foster's all-over-tan stands out, as the talent in porn in this era tended to the hospital pallor look, though Orita is certainly a beauty.

De Chadwick plays Helen, publisher of a skin mag, whose roommates are Cheryl (Foster) and Theresa (she who will be unnamed). Helen hires goofy Roland Digby (played by goofy Ric Lutze) as her private secretary, working out of their home. This is a cheapie and a quickie, so saving on sets is a must.

Meager plot line revolves around Roland's unpublished novel "A Woman in a Web". Helen is a domineering type who scoffs at the idea of even looking at the dog-eared manuscript, but when Theresa becomes simpatico with Roland she kindly forwards it to her boyfriend, who scores a big publishing deal. After many sex scenes the cast of six all get together for a finale orgy, though it is staged strictly two by two (all in the same living room) rather than group sex per se.

Not much meat on them story bones, especially since (as telegraphed by the title) a theme of Women's Liberation is introduced, emphasized and then largely lampooned to no effect. Ric, giggly as always, is cast as a mama's boy who takes the Ashley Montagu position (a big deal back when this was shot) that women are superior to men. (Montagu is best-known today as author of THE ELEPHANT MAN, but back in the '60s he was a terrific guest on all the chat shows hosted by Johnny Carson, Jack Paar, Merv Griffin and Dick Cavett).

By film's end Ric has grown a set of balls, and even tough gal Orita becomes a submissive pussycat. Talk about pandering to the target porn audience! But the anonymous filmmakers of BELLES score high marks in the XXX department. The humping scenes are well-lit, use varied camera angles and are concisely edited for a change, with the Something Weird video using a very nice print for transfer. With all 3 girls attractive and uninhibited, it's a recommended package.

Recently the film was reissued in a slightly shorter version (about 8 minutes missing here & there) by Alpha Blue Archives, also a nice quality print as belated homage to Orita De Chadwick in a 4-film omnibus that includes interesting rarities Anthony Spinelli's THE NYMPH TAPES (about incest) and '69' SUNSET STRIP, both subsequently added to IMDb as listings.