Autumn Born

There were apparently a lot of films from around this time, that were heavily influenced by the movie "Story of O," and "Autumn Born" is definitely one of them. A young and beautiful heiress is kidnapped, and taken to a strange "school of discipline," in an effort to torture her into relinquishing her inheritance, which includes control over a family empire, to her corrupt uncle. Dorothy Stratten is so stunningly beautiful that it is sometimes difficult to notice anything else. But "Autumn Born" is actually a bizarre, and atmospheric film, filled with some beautiful and surreal imagery. As someone else mentioned, this is a textbook study on the art of brainwashing, which some will consider very unpleasant subject matter. The heiress, Tara is subject to random whippings, and other sexual humiliation, as well as some real psychological torture. At one point she is raped by her captors, who she later wins over to her side, with her charm and innocence. When she starts to become unhinged, Stratten actually shows some competent acting skills; she is so much better in this film than I thought she would be. She had definite screen presence, and would surely have gone on to make more films, had her life not have been ended so soon. She had that same ethereal and innocent quality as Marilyn Monroe had on camera. "Autumn Born" is surely an odd film, as well as a fascinating late 70's time capsule, made even more interesting by the story around the film and the actress. It is a must-see for fans of cult cinema and erotic films from that period. It was also nice to see that there is actually very little nudity and sex on camera, which means that Miss Stratten wasn't really 'exploited' in the making of it. It is also interesting to note that "Autumn Born" is rated as a better film here, than the more well-known "Galaxina." Recommended, if you can actually find a copy..

All the acting is poor. The plot is weak. The film is merely a vehicle to display Dorothy Stratten's body. On that count, well done. But, even that is not enough to maintain an interest to the end.

The fictional filming of this movie is shown in the Bob Fosse film STAR 80, which is about the death of Dorothy Stratten, and is called "Wednesday's Child" instead of "Autumn Born". In STAR 80, Dorothy Stratten, played by Muriel Hemingway, is being slapped by an actor, and she bites into a blood pellet too soon, and the director gets mad at her. And then Eric Roberts, who plays Strattens crazy boyfriend/husband Paul Snider, calls her up and gets her to cry on the set. That's in STAR 80 and the movie "Wednesday's Child" is really this movie, "Autumn Born", and it's plain awful. It looks like a porno, has acting like a porno, has music like a porno, but doesn't pay off at all... There is lesbianism involved but they kiss each others noses and that's it... The sex is all edited out for the most part, and all that's left is horrific acting... They cut out so much sex that it doesn't even seem as if this movie deserves an R rating... It's awful, but somewhat fun to watch I guess. In one scene, Stratten falls in love with a wind up mouse (!!!), and then she hears voices in another room singing the Three Blind Mice song, about the farmer's daughter cutting off the mouse's tail, and Stratten begins crying and trying to hide the mouse inside the walls. Since this film mainly deals with lesbianism, they should have at least shown some real kissing, or something other than badly edited nose pecks. To note: other films mentioned in STAR 80 that in real life starred Stratten are "Ballbearings" that is really "Skatetown USA", and there's the movie "They All Laughed" shown, but that title isn't mentioned in STAR 80. Anyhow, since the Fosse film is one of my all time favorite movies, I checked out this one, "Autumn Born", aka, "Wednesday's Child", and I wish I hadn't, because it was a big tease and nothing more.

Dorothy Stratten is a haughty, self-absorbed girl who spends recklessly and goes to discotheques in the middle of the day. She's going to turn 18 in a few months...at that time she will accede authority in her late father's financial empire, much to the chagrin of her uncle who is currently in-charge. He concedes that the only way to avoid her interference in the family business is to have her drugged and swept-off to a covert and very pricey corrective obedience-training facility overseen by a hatchet-faced lesbian and her deranged lackeys. Gradual disempowerment through physical, sexual, and psychological torment proves successful. The girl's spirit is broken, rendering her a docile and obedient subordinate(with a "thing" for the "ladies"). Surprise! She also gets the family fortune.

Ms. Stratten was a stellar beauty, and that beauty is showcased here in a multitude of ways...we see her helplessly tethered, trussed, and fettered, and donned in a variety of lingerie, corsets, and slinky dresses(when she's not nude, of course). It shouldn't surprise that her presence is the cynosure attraction of AUTUMN BORN, and that the production itself is patternedly frugal. This is not to say it's a BAD picture, just that it's traveling noticeably light in several departments. And, as is often the case with erotic cinema, it's pitched with that recherché, pseudo-European sfumato-softness...an obvious effort to veil the film's sleazy soft-porn bedrock beneath a gauzy layer of feigned Left Bank delicacies and specious artistic intent.

Not too bad of its type, actually, and with Dorothy on board, any old thing becomes watchable(even the otherwise abortive GALAXINA).

4.5/10.

My review was written in July 1983 after watching a Monterey video cassette.

Made in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1979, "Autumn Born" is an unreleased softcore pornography feature which would have undoubtedly have remained in the vault except that it toplines the late Dorothy Stratten, former Playboy playmate and victim of a sensational murder. Of obvious curiosity value, this amateurish film is currently circulating on the home video market.

Already the subject of a tv biopic starring Jamie Lee Curtis and an upcoming Bob Fosse-helmed biopic starring Mariel Hemingway, Stratten is featured here in the film's lead role, that of heiress Tara Dawson, who is kidnapped on her uncle's orders and taken to Morgan Estates, an "obedience" school for girls.

Tedious picture lamely attempts to present Victorian-era porno in modern guise, with poor Stratten subjected to frequent birching and sensory deprivation in four months of isolation, in order to break her spirit and have her sign over her inheritance to the uncle. Bondage motifs and a stock lesbian head mistress of the school are the primary diversions of the repetitive, uneventful footage.

Though there are some nude scenes. The sexual content of "Autumn Born" is quite tame by contemporary standards. Stratten is literally on display in her undergarments for voyeuristic purposes, but the device ultimately becomes fetishisticl Amidst generally awful, one-take acting by the cast, her transition from sexy 17-year-old to submissive little girl is earnestly portrayed and projects some of the appeal shown in her smaller role in Peter Bodganovich's "They All Laughed" and far more interesting than her walkthrough as a robot in her other film "Galaxina".

Ragged editing, sloppy sound and a dull keyboards musical score create a dull film, which is heavily padded by opening and end creidts to reach a 75-minute feature length.