Blood of the Iron Maiden

1968's "Is This Trip Really Necessary?" was shot in June 1968 as "Trip to Terror," and apparently slipped out through Hollywood Star Pictures under a more exploitative title two years later, "Blood of the Iron Maiden." A rose under any other name cannot describe the amateur nature of this Ray Dorn production, with a director in Ben Benoit with no other credits, a cast derived from television to make do with less plot than one could get in a one reeler, and virtually no blood to speak of. What comes off as a psychedelic exercise in extreme tedium might have passed muster during 1967's Summer of Love, Marvin Miller (star of THE MILLIONAIRE) top billed as a has been movie director spending the entire film trying to undress his female cast for his latest sex epic. The running time of this unwatchable drek finds Miller endlessly plying his girls with drugged coffee, the difference between being chased or chaste. Little known actress Carole Kane quietly retired by 1970, not to be confused for the younger, better known Carol Kane, Peter Duryea a familiar face from the original STAR TREK pilot "The Cage." The only whimsy is provided by veteran John Carradine as quack Dr. Goolie, popping in and out for a sequence spread out for a half hour from the midway point, the kind of physician who had long ago run out of patients but still goes through the motions: "there's no danger, I've done this thousands of times, and after every malpractice suit I'm even more convinced how effective it really is...I've even tried it on my dear mother, God rest her soul!" It could not have been worse had the filmmakers been making it up as they went along, and the viewing experience appears to last exactly the same amount of time. Essentially a lost film for over three decades, many commentators still report that Carradine plays the crazed director, but had he actually switched roles with Marvin Miller only a devoted Carradine buff would still have any reason to brave its dubious merits.

In his book, JOHN CARRADINE:THE FILMS, Carradine biographer Tom Weaver lists this as a lost film, as he was unable to locate any copy of it while writing his book. Since then, this long-unseen cheapie has been slowly reappearing in the offerings of some obscure Internet video distributors, so if you are dying to see it, start surfing! The film's original title, IS THIS TRIP REALLY NECESSARY?, was far less misleading. There is no Iron Maiden in evidence until late in the film, and the current title is derived from the last 30 seconds of screen time (I kid you not!). Contrary to word-of-mouth, this is NOT a horror film! The current title must have been thought up to con grind-house patrons into thinking this is a horror film.

The plot involves a Russ Meyer-type nudie filmmaker (played by an outrageously hammy Marvin Miller) who drugs his actresses with Speed so they will lose their inhibitions and strip on cue. Meanwhile, the boyfriend of one searches all of Los Angeles to try and rescue her from the porn king's clutches. Despite the plot, viewers will undoubtedly be disappointed to learn there is no actual sex or nudity on screen.

Since the film had been unseen until recently, many people wondered if co-star Carole Kane is actually famous actress Carol Kane before she was "discovered". The answer is no; Carole Kane does not look at all like Carol Kane. Sorry, folks! John Carradine has a cameo as a crazy doctor, and he has a string of genuinely funny one-liners. The sequence looks like it belongs in some other movie, and is the highlight of the film. Aside from Carradine's hilarious cameo, there isn't much to recommend this movie. It is virtually plot less, with Marvin Miller ranting and raving to his girls about how great he is, which comprises much screen time. This gets old very quickly. Bottom line, it should be seen perhaps by Carradine fans, and by people who have wondered about the film all these years, but they will be disappointed. Others are better off avoiding it.