Die teuflischen Schwestern

The most positive thing you can say about this movie is that it's looking fine. There's LOTS of sex and most of it manages to find the line between trashy and too clean; those are some good scenes and nearly nothing embarassing. Well done! Sadly, the movie is lacking in all other departments. The plot is paper-thin and the final resolution completely without any tension. The music - while not bad - pales in comparison to some other Jess Franco movies. And the camerawork, while excellent doing the sex scenes, stays boring and pedestrian during all other ones. (Man, what you could do on screen with a beautiful car like the Alpine ... no, doesn't happen).

Also, there is no levity ... it's much too serious for a movie with so much carnal lust; the only obvious "joke" is that the "hero", sporting a James Hunt hairdo, is wearing a Niki Lauda jacket ...

Not recommended save for Jess Franco completists.

Enticing brunette Pamela Stanford plays a countess named Edna von Stein, who prowls after hours clubs for guys she can take home. She frequently picks up guys specifically for the purpose of getting it on with her disturbed younger sister, Millicent (Karine Gambier), who is kept chained to a bed. Among these men is a well meaning dude named Joe (Kurt Meinicke), who finds himself taken with Millicent. Edna actually has an ulterior motive for treating Millicent the way that she does, however.

There actually *is* something of a story here, for those who wait for it. But to explain it more would also be to spoil it too much. Still, good old Jess Franco doesn't let story get in the way of lots and lots of sex. People hoping for plenty of full frontal female nudity will get exactly what they wish for. Therefore, this serves its purpose as erotica, and the ladies present are all sufficiently sexy (also including Esther Moser as Sarah, and Marianne Graf as Maria). The story that eventually emerges is an entertaining one, but also a familiar one; we've all heard tales like it before. "Sexy Sisters" is additionally noteworthy for being well shot by Peter Baumgartner and for its appealing jazzy music score by Walter Baumgartner.

The performances are acceptable right down the line. Franco regular Jack Taylor is amusing as a slimy doctor, Gambier is rather endearing, and Eric Falk has fun with a small role as a stud hired to pleasure Millicent.

Overall, a typical 70s Franco outing, combining pure trash with an artistic sensibility.

Six out of 10.

Following a number of disappointments viewing some highly-regarded Jess Franco movies, I warily approached this Erwin C. Dietrich production - which came none too soon, considering that I'd had the VHS of SEXY SISTERS for six days before I could summon enough courage to try it!

It's similar to SINFONIA EROTICA (1979) in that its characters are motivated either by greed or sexual frustration, and in its general depravity. Like SINNER (1972), then, while the film purports to be the character study of a single nymphomaniac, sex is virtually the only thing all the characters - and, by extension, the director himself - think about!; having four women in the brew, for instance, was a bit much, though the nurse's character (torn between her 'boss', Jack Taylor, and her genuine feeling for Karine Gambier) is quite interesting.

The formal look of the film (especially interesting is the interior design of the sisters' mansion with its proliferation of feline imagery) extends itself to the trim plot line, the effective but unobtrusive score and the generally balanced performances (though it must be said that no member of the cast is particularly taxed by the level of acting necessitated by the film). Pamela Stanford gives a fine 'bad girl' performance in the style of Britt Nichols from A VIRGIN AMONG THE LIVING DEAD (1971). The predictable 'climax', however, ends the film on a bit of a whimper: a more dramatic conclusion would not have been amiss.

It's superficial in comparison with other Franco films, but made in a refreshingly self-mocking way (the early scene involving Stanford and the gear-shift of a car, the 'mannerisms' of the numerous studs who 'visit' Gambier {reminiscent of the campy sex films being made contemporaneously by Russ Meyer in the US}, the unorthodox way in which Taylor takes Gambier's temperature) that it's not really oppressive - despite the extensive nudity involved - as others I've watched had been. The relationship between the two sisters does not convince, however - particularly their age difference (which cannot be great) as revealed in a flashback. Besides Gambier does not display enough charisma to sustain her basically one-dimensional role (unlike Monserrat Prous in SINNER and Lina Romay in SINFONIA EROTICA); in fact, her constant 'whining' becomes fairly annoying - to say nothing of unintentionally funny - after a while! The film really falls to pieces every time the characters open their mouths...to speak, that is; for a sex film, it's got an awful lot of dialogue - and practically all of it's silly, would-be titillating talk!

I watched this via a 20-year old VHS: hideously dubbed as always; non-OAR; occasionally fading colors; and, most surprising of all, no credit titles! Even if the film has been released on DVD as part of VIP's "The Jess Franco Collection", it's not substantial enough to merit a purchase from me...

I watched this in fast forward mode to the sex scenes, which were, although not explicit, lenghty and frequent. Lots of boobs on show etc. The women look quite sexy although they aren't drop dead gorgeous. Acting was OK, dubbing was so-so too. Plenty of cheesy music, nice locations & 70's style. You could find a worse way to pass the time. The film is well shot and better than some other Franco efforts. It is available in a box set from Anchor Bay with a lot of other Franco films; Love Letters of a Portuguese Nun etc at a good price although some of the films are cut (BBFC) in UK. Not as good as Lulu's Talking Ass.

I don't think the other reviewers are being fair. How can someone who fast forwarded through most of the movie believe he can give a fair review of it? I'm also getting a little tired of the childish jabs other reviewers give these types of movies. It gets old when every review is coming out with them and is like what I would expect from schoolchildren, not in any way clever.

There is lots of sex in this movie and yes you could justify calling it a porn movie. However there are interesting scenes in it also, the characters and situations are often spectacular and really striking. Direction, acting and characters are all great. True, the plot is very simple, but it's more an artsy type of movie. There are all kinds of themes running through it which anyone can see.

These beautiful and elegant scenes doesn't just come about by chance or by having beautiful girls, which are dime a dozen. If you think that then you need to watch some bad adult movies and you will appreciate the huge difference.