A Taste of Bette

Shaun Costello makes a halfhearted attempt at telling a story here, but it's all rather vague and illogical.

The action takes place at Dane Inc., a company serving as a front for a weird sex cult whose leader – the enigmatic and never seen T.M. – dies and leaves a will for his right hand man S.R. (the ubiquitous Costello) to execute. Apparently, the old man had "programmed" two mistresses (Bette and Paula, respectively Pola Black from Costello's SUMMER OF SUZANNE and Leslie Lamour, titular star of his down-market DARK SIDE OF DANIELLE) who are to inherit the cult's substantial earnings. After banging her across the desk, S.R. sends out henchperson Terry (Marlene Willoughby, given disappointingly little to do but looking quite alluring all the same) to bring the girls back to the fold. A whiff of a flower held under their noses and posing the question as to what was the name of T.M.'s dog (the answer to which is "Eloise") appears to be enough to reactivate their hypnotic spell.

At the offices, the women are submitted to a training video (probably the best part of the movie) presented by hilariously straight-faced Jeb Goldfarb (Eric Edwards) who explains in great verbal detail as well as demonstrates "the female response to the male emission" by way of Sharon Mitchell. The rest of the film's taken up by rather unimaginative orgy stuff in the company's recreation room.

Matters aren't helped much by focusing on plain-faced Black, a particularly low rent starlet by Costello's standards, who at least attempts to make up in gusto for what she lacks in looks. A tired effort on all accounts with most of the name cast going through the motions and even a generic library soundtrack supplanting the director's customary quirky selections.

My name is Shaun Costello and I did not make this movie, which is really a bottom of the barrel one day wonder, but considering that it's a 60 minute feature made for five thousand bucks I guess it's OK. As far as I remember Ron Dorfman made this one. Ron was a friend and asked me to be in most of the movies he made. His films were darker and murkier than mine, which tended to be brighter and livelier. That's not criticism, it's simply a question of style. This movie is one of the fifteen films in the ridiculous Alpha Blue Shaun Costello Collection. Out of the 15 films in their collection I think I made ten. I have tried to correct discrepancies in the IMDb list of films they have attached my name to, many of which are incorrect, but have gotten no response from them. So I'm trying this method of correction. If anyone out there knows how to get a hold of the IMDb people, tell them to listen to the directors which, in my case, they have not done.

Ron Dorfman's A TASTE OF BETTE attempts to shock the viewer with BDSM and crappy sex footage, and fails. Its survival after four decades is of dubious interest.

Though only in an acting capacity this time out, Shaun Costello tends to dominate the film, pun intended, as he semi-improvises in a monologue a complicated storyline for what is in essence mere wall-to-wall depravity. Kidnapping two young girls off the streets of Manhattan as part of a dynastic succession in a sex cult's leadership makes no sense and just kills time.

In the lead role, Pola Black merely made me feel sorry for her - I wanted to take her to the nearest diner and order her a square meal. She projects a pallor which is not conducive to arousal, though she goes through the sexual motions including the Costello trademark of two dicks in the mouth at once.

The only point of interest for me was the serendipitous similarity of the setting, a loft with bondage and sex going on while a TV set plays silly instructional porn/BDSM starring Eric Edwards and Sharon Mitchell. It reminded me in look and tone (minus the explicit sex) of Abel Ferrara's East 18th Street editing loft in the '80s and even the drab, nearly identical setting for Willem Dafoe's apartment in his recent disaster 4:44 LAST DAY ON EARTH. Pure coincidence, but valuable in supporting my theory about the continuum of cinema, with NYC indie director Abel Ferrara (whose first feature film was X-rated) not all that far along the spectrum from '70s BDSM porn.