Mädchen im Nachtverkehr

Phew!... just finished watching ABC-DVD:s release of this Franco curiosity. It's been a very long time since I've slapped my knees this much watching a movie. The DVD contains both the soft version (still some erections and millisecond hardcore footage left in). "Mädchen I'm Nachtverkehr" was clearly shot with full-on hardcore scenes. The editing of the soft version is all jump-cuttie where the hardcore kicks in.

The movie (soft version) is typical Dietrich-era stuff. Great photography, smoking' hot women... and, of course, the one and only Eric Falk. Story comes down to this: Three women living together, supporting themselves through prostitution, want to change their situation. They save the money they make from their clients, so they can move on to a decent living, once they've made enough money. We're shown in flashbacks how these women met and episodes from their dust-ins with various clients.

This is where the knee-slapping comes in full force, with weird peccadilloes like having sex in a coffin with a weirdo that outholmes John Holmes himself (trust me, my jaw dropped), and bored sex with a Turkish guy, who keeps his Fez on, during the act. I squirted coffee out of my nose in this sequence. He babbles non-stop about Allah, Muhammed and Tutti Frutti(?!!!). Franco must've had an absolute ball making this. You've gotta hand it to the old fart. He always, no matter how crappy the movie is, digs out a nugget of pure genius... or two - The coffin sequence is pure brilliance as well.

"Mädchen I'm Nachtverkehr" is mainly for the initiated, but I would definitely recommend Francophiles-in-the-making to give this one a spin as it will only increase your appreciation for him, and his monumental work. Skip it if you're offended by scenes of explicit hardcore. It's evident on the look of the actors faces that it's all in good fun, though. Unlike some contemporary pornography. All in all classic Franco.

Apemolecule

Girls in the Night Traffic (1976) Wilde Lust (1976)

* (out of 4)

Jess Franco film that has three hookers sitting around telling stories of their previous nights work. One of them gets picked up by a so called artist but he turns out to be a pimp who kidnaps the girl. The other two go to her rescue and take revenge on the pimp.

As with several Franco movies, Girls in the Night Traffic is a softcore version while Wilde Lust is the hardcore one. For starters, both films are completely lazy even for Franco standards when it comes to the story. The story that I mentioned above makes no sense in either version and what story there is adds up to around seven minutes while the rest of the running time has sex. Three beautiful women making out is always erotic but when watching a movie it becomes quite tiresome after a while. Girls runs 68 minutes while Lust runs 93 and I'm sure you know what that extra running time is made of. It's rather difficult to say which version is the "director's cut" because the soft version has cuts in the print, which are obviously where the sex goes. The hard version, during some scenes it's clear the inserts are from other movies while some are real with the current actors. Either way, a mess.

Being a devoted fan of director Jess Franco, and also of Erwin Dietrich, I was expecting some kind of coherent storyline from this movie. But there is really no linear story to speak of. This is 90 minutes of footage of three attractive women, lying around and touching themselves, and each other. It just goes on and on. Considering this is not hardcore, the film really has no reason to exist. I checked this one out to see Eric Falk, whose work I admire, but he is barely in the movie. This one is awful. If you want to see three women sitting around naked and talking and masturbating for 90 minutes, then go for it. Persoanlly I want a little more from my entertainment. Surprisingly it is not even stylish or artistic. I can't believe Jess Franco made this; it is not at all his style.