La rabatteuse

For most of you, the attraction to this movie is its stunning star, Brigitte Lahaie. In a twist, she is not in that many sex scenes, spending most of her screen time in a supporting role. I won't be seeing all of her films, because they're hard to find in the States, but of the ones I have seen, she is at her most charming in La Rabatteuse.

She plays a woman with the singular talent, not some sex trick, but of being able to convince any woman, in seconds, to have sex with another man. You might think this would be a real nice girlfriend to have. Even better, and less complicated, if she is your best friend's girlfriend. That's exactly the role she plays here. Her boyfriend leaves on a business trip, leaving Brigitte in the care of his best friend and encourages him to let B work her magic for him. The pair hasn't even left the airport dining room when he asks her to start off with a stewardess played by Karine Gambier.

Karine comes to visit the lucky guy, Robert, played Ghislain Van Hove, at a dinner party for three. Robert wants to serve dessert, but the two horny gals pull him into the parlor and make him their dessert. Not only does he have his way with the stew, he gets a throw at Brigitte, too. His best friend's girl! Oh, those French.

The next day or so the two go shopping for lingerie, and Brigitte tries on a virginal nightgown, with Robert and the sales clerk, Danielle Troeger, in the fitting room with her. Big fitting room. Big enough for the clerk to strip down and try on the same model of nightgown, at B's urging, then lose it and her G-string and try on Robert. At B's urging.

A horny countess, played by Emmanuelle Parèze, pays a visit the next evening and there isn't much to be said about this scene other than they try to slow her down and don't really succeed.

Sitting in a sidewalk café, a mother and daughter are at a neighboring table. Robert leaves and Brigitte engages the pair in a sisterly conversation. Cut to Robert's parlor where the daughter, the legendary France Lomay, is guided by her Mom, played by the ordinary Marion Schulz, into the ways of love. They might have had The Talk before this, but Mom is now taking her charge through her first Practical Examination. A naked Brigitte orchestrates the ménage à quatre. After Robert has initiated France's loins, Mom gets a turn.

In movie pacing, directors condense what might be a fifteen-minute real-life encounter to about three. In sex movies, there is the meeting and the set-up, which can take about that much screen time, before the good stuff begins. After a while, though, all you want is the good stuff. That's what you get now. In quick succession, Robert goes through five women: cinema usherette Nicole Velna, dog-walker Samantha, pedestrian Alexandra Sand, petite shopgirl Claude Janna, and pedestrian Barbara Moose. The first four ladies get less than five minutes apiece: ten-second encounter, set-up off screen, then enter Robert's apartment, parlor, and undress, about twenty seconds, make an oral howdy-do to Robert, and let the fun begin. Barbara's scene concludes the film, with the countess coming back for an encore. When her chauffeur crashes the party, there are two men and three women (Brigitte, heretofore a naked non-participant, is back, giving it and getting it), with more hook-ups in more ways and you have to be taking notes to keep track of it all. If Brigitte's boyfriend were to show up the combinations would involve French mathematics currently beyond my comprehension (though I'm a quick study).

Men, if you have ever had the fantasy of having every woman you want to say Yes (do I really need to ask), this film is for you. Women, if you have ever had the fantasy that you just want to cut through the crap and get down to it, this film is for you. What more does it need to offer?

Filmed with high production values, imaginative "choreography," and lots of pretty women. Robert is quite fine, too. If you could have only one sex film (silly thought), this one would be a pretty good choice.

A prime example of how simplicity in set-up and storytelling can yield maximum eroticism from the unsung Claude Bernard-Aubert (signing with his usual nom de porn of 'Burd Tranbaree' which is an anagram of his last name), now released on French DVD as a double bill with Jean-Claude Roy's endearingly loopy MAITRESSE POUR COUPLE, also with Brigitte Lahaye. Great value !

Happy go lucky bachelor Ghislain van Hove agrees to take care of his best friend's fiancée (who else but the radiant Brigitte) while he's off on a business trip, urging him to take full advantage of the girl's special talent for procuring whatever lady he should take a shine to as a ready, willing and able sexual partner within just a few hours ! Now this must be every red-blooded male's ultimate dream come true : to have a woman as flawless as the luscious Lahaye catering to your every whim as well as providing you with everyone else you might be even the slightest bit interested in at the drop of a g-string. Duh !

Handsome van Hove, an overlooked Golden Age mainstay who's nowhere near as well remembered as Richard Allan (incidentally the only other performing male in this outing) or Dominique Aveline, turns out to be an okay thespian and an especially impressive lover as he moves from one obliging young lady to the next, though not always with the traditional pay-off you'd expect from the genre. Given the short shooting schedules for adult features, even in the days of cinematic carnality, this should come as no surprise as the poor man might've expired on the spot from sheer exhaustion. What a way to go though.

Considering the predominant presence of a single male, the large number of sexual encounters (some of them very short) could very easily have grown tedious and repetitive. Yet most of them retain a sharp erotic edge, coming off as varied as a bunch of scenes centered around one man could possibly be. The loveliness of the female cast certainly helps matters along. Brigitte had a glowing youthful beauty at the time (actually, she's still every bit as gorgeous these days), handles her dialog with confidence and is part of most sex scenes in some way or other, making this a must-see for her fans who are rightfully legion. Special mention must also be made of a very young and innocent-looking France Lomay (a full 5 years before she starred in Fred Lincoln's THAT'S OUTRAGEOUS !) as the daughter in the threesome with van Hove and her mother Marion Schultz (from Claude Pierson's JE VEUX TOUT) and the side-splittingly funny Emmanuelle Parèze (also memorable in the same director's extremely popular VEUVES EN CHALEUR) as the perverted countess. Silky blonde Danièle Troeger (from Jean Desvilles' LES PLAISIRS FOUS) is the lingerie shop girl and Teutonic sex starlet Barbara Moose (unforgettable as the incurable nymphomaniac in Gérard Kikoine's stupendous CLINIQUE DES PHANTASMES) plays the white-clad bride in the finale.

As ever, Bernard-Aubert brings an unobtrusive class and professionalism to every aspect of production with glossy cinematography, well-paced editing and a bouncy disco soundtrack (the latter probably being something of an acquired taste...), enhancing that real movie feel Golden Age porn seemed to achieve so matter of factly but which was entirely due to the makers' background in mainstream movie-making. LA RABATTEUSE may be one of Bernard-Aubert's lightest, fluffiest forays into screen carnality. Oddly enough, it is also one of his most charming and engaging efforts, a sort of lightning in a bottle type moment in French erotica when everything came together to create something that was unique, sweet and irresistible, not unlike the incomparable Brigitte herself, come to think of it.