Cultpix Radio (WCPX 66.6) is the official podcast of Cultpix, the global home of classic cult and genre films and TV shows.
Django Nudo & the Smut Peddler
Django Nudo and The Smut Peddler welcome Robert Page, the visionary creator behind the revolutionary sex education series "The Lover's Guide". Page delights listeners with extraordinary behind-the-scenes stories from his illustrious career, including a surreal phone call from Stanley Kubrick seeking advice on directing intimate scenes for "Eyes Wide Shut" and an unexpected encounter with tabloid journalism involving Heather Mills McCartney. Perhaps most surprisingly, Page reveals how his educational series may have influenced the Catholic Church to soften its stance on masturbation after the programme demonstrated how widespread the practice is among both men and women.The conversation thoroughly explores the remarkable origin story of "The Lover's Guide" in the early 1990s, strategically positioned in a unique cultural window between older clinical sex education films and the explosion of internet pornography. Page recounts his pivotal meeting with British film censor Jim Ferman during the AIDS crisis, where he unexpectedly received permission to show explicit sexual content for educational purposes, including erections, intercourse, and oral sex—provided they "didn't linger" on any particular activity and included a doctor as presenter. This breakthrough allowed Page to create what would become a cultural phenomenon that invested the equivalent of £5 million (in today's money) in production values.Page shares fascinating insights into the series' development philosophy, explaining their deliberate approach to portraying intimacy with genuine warmth and respect rather than clinical detachment or pornographic sensationalism. He discusses the considerable challenges of finding performers willing to appear in such groundbreaking content, the scandals that erupted when some were discovered to have pornographic backgrounds. The series ultimately proved so popular that it knocked Hollywood blockbusters like "Die Hard" and "The Little Mermaid" off the video charts and was purchased predominantly by women (55%).The conversation takes several poignant turns as Page reveals personal struggles during production, including his marriage falling apart while creating a series about enhancing relationships. He also shares the tragic story of the series' star couple, Wendy Anne Paige and her husband Tony, who became celebrities through the programme before experiencing a downward spiral that ended with Wendy's death "in penury" in December 2024.There's revealing anecdotes about international reception, including unauthorised Chinese translations that sold millions without compensation, censorship battles in Japan, and Dutch companies that purchased distribution rights only to bury the product while creating their own competing versions. Page expresses particular pride in the series' unexpected success in France, noting the irony of "the English teaching the French about sex."The conversation concludes with Page discussing the enduring legacy of "The Lover's Guide" thirty years after its initial release, with both The Guardian and The Sun recently publishing features acknowledging its continuing relevance. Page shares touching stories about receiving thousands of letters from couples whose relationships were saved by the series and expresses hope that its core messages about communication, respect, and genuine intimacy can still positively impact relationships today—values he believes are needed more than ever in our increasingly divided world.Throughout the interview, Page's passion for his groundbreaking work shines through, along with his sense of humour and genuine belief in the power of education to foster healthier, more loving relationships. This episode offers listeners not just a nostalgic look back at a cultural phenomenon, but a thoughtful reflection on how approaches to sex education have evolved over decades and what might be lost or gained in our modern digital landscape.
Episode 80 finds us back on air after a brief hiatus (and hospital visit!), with plenty of news to share about both the platform and our upcoming releases. We start by addressing the elephant in the room - our transition to GoCardless bank transfers for payments. This change came about because traditional payment processors (boo-hiss Stripe) weren't comfortable with our vintage nudie and erotica content, even though it represents only a small percentage of our library.We delve on our past and present theme months, with January's "Madness Takes Its Toll" exploring psychological and asylum-themed films, while February brings you "Filthy Fiftieth Feb," a look back at provocative cinema from 1975. We were particularly excited to introduce our new team members, Kalle and Tightsbury, who've been revolutionising our social media presence with creative edits and trailers.A major highlight is our announcement of upcoming Blu-ray releases. "Anita: Swedish Nymphet" is getting the deluxe treatment with multiple versions and extensive bonus materials, plus we revealed a partnership with Vinegar Syndrome for US distribution. We're also finally bringing "Thriller: A Cruel Picture" (also known as "They Call Her One Eye") to Scandinavian audiences.We shared our most-watched films of 2024, with "Vintage Erotica Anno 1970s" taking the top spot, followed by "The Swedish Sin 1969-2000." The endless popularity of "Summer with Vanja" continues to mystify us, while "The Intruders" surprisingly topped our "nice list" despite never having received a proper DVD release.Looking ahead, we're expanding our library with several exciting acquisitions. We've secured twelve restored Hungarian films, and we're particularly thrilled about bringing the complete "Lover's Guide" series to our platform - a groundbreaking educational series that made history in the UK. We're also filling some genre gaps with new additions in spaghetti westerns, Euro horror, and American high school comedies from the 1980s.Throughout the episode, we seem to keep returning to "Terror in the Midnight Sun" as our foundational film, being the first we ever released across various formats. We wrap up with an amusing (we think so) segment reading feedback from members who decided to leave Cultpix, showing both the challenges and entertainment value of running a niche streaming service dedicated to cult cinema.Cultpix is more than just a streaming site for classic cult and genre films, as we never tire of saying and we're expanding big time beyond just streaming, with our growing physical media presence and international partnerships setting the stage for what promises to be an exciting 2025 for cult film enthusiasts.
Greetings Cultpix fans! Django Nudo and the Smut Peddler are back with Episode 79 of Cultpix Radio, where we finally crawled back onto the airwaves after a two-month hiatus. Here's what went down during the extended radio silence:The BIG Topics:Why we've been MIA: Turns out credit card companies aren't fans of our "abusive" content (their words, not ours). Stripe kicked us off their platform because apparently showing classic cinema with occasional nudity makes us as risky as selling firearms and dodgy supplements. Who knew?The Great Payment Saga: After trying 35+ different payment solutions and getting rejected for having films containing everything from "strangles" to "berserk" content (seriously, they flagged a family comedy), we're moving to direct debit payments. Take that, censorship!Growing Strong: Despite the payment drama, we've grown 80% in the first six months of this year and were going strongly until we were de-platformed. Not too shabby for an "abusive" platform!Recent Theme Months and Weeks:Satanic September: Hell yeah!Arts-ploitation: When arthouse meets exploitation, featuring heavyweights like Buñuel, Coppola, and LynchThe Jaeckin/Kristel Connection: His name is NOT pronounced Just Jackin'Black November: A diverse collection of films including some fascinating South African B-scheme movies from the 80sComing Up:Estonian Fantasy Week: Including "Arabella the Pirate's Daughter" (think Pippi Longstocking meets pirates)Dirty Docu December: 31 days of "educational" documentaries from the 70s, including the extremely scientific "Sex and Astrology"Apps for big screen viewing are finally coming! (Touch wood)Special shoutout to our favourite user comment: "Your website is dogshit." Thanks for the constructive feedback, matey! A more sincere thank you to our friends and collaborators Kalle and Tightsbury for all their recent video help.And yes, for those wondering - our upcoming Blu-ray releases will have slip cases. Because nothing says "quality cinema" like a good slip case.Stay abusive, stay exploitative, stay with Cultpix!
In this sizzling episode of Cultpix Radio, we're diving horns-first into Satanic September, our devilishly delightful themed month. Prepare your souls (and your eyeballs) for a hellish ride through our infernal collection!We kick things off by bragging about our recent documentaries, including some fancy-schmancy lectures from the Wickman Week film festival - we managed to persuade several professors and international academics to come all the way out to rural Sweden to discuss vintage smut. We've even added subtitles to Christina Lindberg's Swedish chatter - because nothing says "exploitation cinema" like educational content!Then we descend into the fiery pits of Satanic September, featuring such unholy gems as:1. "Satan in High Heels" (1962) - Because nothing says 'devil worship' like fabulous footwear!2. "To Hex with Sex" (1969) - A comedy about making deals with the devil. Spoiler: It doesn't end well (but it's hilarious).3. "Enter the Devil" (1972) - A budget so low, even Satan wouldn't touch it.We also gush about our eternal flame "Alucarda" (1977) and wax poetic about regional exploitation films. Who knew Texas and Florida were hotbeds of cinematic sin?Looking ahead, we tease you with upcoming theme weeks that'll make your head spin (maybe literally):- "31 Nights Until Halloween" - Because 31 days just isn't enough spook for your buck.- "Art-sploit" week - Where we pretend exploitation films are high art. Bring your beret!- Joe Sarno week - Swedish-American co-productions that'll make you say "Uff da!"- A Dutch treat with Just Jaeckin and Sylvia Kristel - Prepare for an Emmanuelle overload!- Irving Klaw week - Betty Page, anyone?We wrap up by sharing the most hilarious excuses members have given for unsubscribing. Our personal favorite? "I was drunk and horny when I signed up." Hey, we've all been there, buddy!Remember, at Cultpix, we're adding new films faster than you can say "Hail Satan!" So stick around, sinners. It's gonna be one hell of a ride!
We're back! After a bit of a hiatus, we're back on the airwaves with a brand new episode of Cultpix Radio. It feels good to be back, and we've got a lot to catch up on. This episode is all about filling you in on what we've been up to during our break, the incredible events we've hosted, and the exciting content we've been adding to Cultpix.First up, we dive into the recently concluded Wickman Week. This was an event like no other—a celebration of exploitation and genre cinema that took place at a truly unique location in Sweden. We screened films on 35mm, welcomed guest speakers from around the globe, and even handed out our very first Torgny Award to the one and only Lisa Petrucci from Something Weird Video. Lisa's contributions to the world of exploitation cinema are unparalleled, and we were thrilled to honor her in this way. We also streamed all the non-film content live on Facebook and YouTube, and it's still available to watch on our YouTube channel, though we'll be moving it to Cultpix soon.Next we take you through the recent themed months on Cultpix. We wrapped up Amazonian August, where we dug deep into the Something Weird Video archives to unearth some truly bizarre new jungle films. There's also the ongoing Italian Genre Maestros week, featuring cult classics like "Massacre in Dinosaur Valley" (1985) and several works by Enzo G. Castellari. These films are quintessential examples of the Italian exploitation genre, and we're excited to showcase them, even if some are geo-blocked to Scandinavia.Speaking of what's coming up, we're especially excited about the impending arrival of Satanic September. This month, we'll delve into the dark and twisted world of satanic cults and rituals with a carefully curated selection of films from Something Weird Video and beyond. We've got everything from "My Tale Is Hot" to "To Hex with Sex," and it's going to be one hell of a month!We've also been hard at work on something many of you have been asking for—apps! Yes, we are finally developing apps so that you can enjoy Cultpix on more than just your web browser. First an app for the Amazon Fire TV Stick, which will make it easier for us to roll out apps for Android TV as well. Roku is also on our list, and after a few bumps in the road, we're optimistic about launching a Roku app by the end of the year. We're even eyeing smart TVs and Apple TV as future platforms.We wrap up the episode by reflecting on the films and events that have made the past few months so memorable. From our juvenile delinquency-themed June to the Swedish Sin celebration in July, we've been busy curating and bringing you the best of cult cinema. And don't worry—this episode isn't a one-off. We're committed to returning to more regular programming, with more episodes, more themed weeks, and more deep dives into the wild and wonderful world of cult films.So, sit back, relax, and let us take you on a journey through what's new, what's coming, and what's making Cultpix the ultimate destination for exploitation and genre cinema fans. We've missed you, and we can't wait to share all the exciting things we have in store.Also, enjoy the five-hour (!) Spotify playlist from our recent book launch - order the book HERE! Outro: "Let's go rent a video
Django Nudo and the Smut Peddler are thrilled with the reception to the Mike Vraney Memorial Month, with a wealth of new films from Lisa Petrucci - the first Theme Month when we did TWO films each day - and an influx of new members. (There will be more news from Something Weird Video soon.) 'Roughies' such as "Unholy Matrimony" (1966) were definitely a favourite of Mike's. We discuss why we don't have any 'subscribers', but only MEMBERS, how we do the Jewish Mother guilt trip to get them to stay and why Cultpix is amazing value at $4.92 if you sign up for a whole year, while some people pay $6.66 to just watch one film. The theme week is the Scopitone, an amazing machine, described as "If a Wurlitzer Jukebox and an old tube television had a love child, it would look like the Scopitone," by Between the Liner Notes (BTLN). It was the tall and grown up version of the jukebox, placed in cocktail bars, where people were prepared to pay a quarter to see a precursor to the music video. The $3,500 machine ($26,000 in today's money) was expensive, but often paid for itself in as little as three months. There was mobster, Kennery and Debie Reynolds connections, all of which we discuss. If you want to dig deeper, look out for Stevenson's essay, “The Jukebox that Ate the Cocktail Lounge”, in his book "Land of a Thousand Balconies: Discoveries and Confessions of a B-Movie Archaeologist", and while we are on the subject of Jack...Cultpix is having a bunch of IRL events in the next month, including:Scandinavian Sin at the Offscreen Film Festival at Cinema Nova 7th March in Brussels, with Jack Stevenson and Christina Lindberg;Nordic Horror Fest at Husets Biograf in Copenhagen, 17th February;We will be at the Berlin Film Festival, so drop us a line if you want to meet up and have a beer. February's theme is Filthy 50th, in which we celebrate the adult films that were released in 1974, right in the middle of the so-called "golden age of American pornography" or 'porno chic'. We kick off with a porn film by Roberta Findlay called "Angel on Fire" (1974), aka "Angel 9", called "The first erotically explicit film ever made by a woman". At least 20 of the films are new to Cultpix. Also in February, we will have a take-down of Ingmar Bergman (with his black sheep daughter Anna Bergman), some cool and culty films from the Estonian Film Institute (Nazis!! In a lunatic asylum!) and a Spotlight on Echelon Studios. We finish with the intro music to "Libahunt / Werewolf" (1968) from Estonia, directed by Leida Laius. "Tiina, the daughter of a woman burned as a witch, grows up on a farm with the orphan girl Mari and Margus, the son of the Tammaru family. Margus loves the hotblooded, energetic Tiina, but his parents want him to marry Mari. Mari thinks Tiina has bewitched Margus, and spreads a rumor that her stepsister is a werewolf."
The Top 10 films on Cultpix in 2023. Top 10 Nice:10. Eve and the Merman (1965) - A 60s nudie, with no (famous) talent behind or in front of the camera! 9. Alucarda, the Daughter of Darkness/Alucarda, la hija de las tinieblas (1977) - An actual classic! Demonic forces and obsession. 8. Killer Workout (Aerobicide) (1987) - Cheesy 80s outfits in a Jane-Fonda-meets-Jason slasher. 7. Skräcken har 1000 ögon/Fear Has 1,000 Eyes/Sensous Sorceress (1970) - “A study in fear, sex and magic!”6. Takin' It Off (1985) - 80's sex comedy, where Kitten Natividad as a stripper who wants to be an actress, but her boobs get in the way. 5. Zero in and Scream (1971) - An extremely obscure film about a lunatic shooter, killing couples in the Hollywood Hills. 4. Kyrkoherden/The Lustful Vicar (1970) - Finally! A restored film! Wonderful nudie classic, in a historical setting and Cinemascope! 3. 42nd Street Forever, Vol. 1 - Trailer compilation with a mix of genres: horror, sexploitation, blaxploitation, mondo, roadshow, Euro sleaze… 2. Inkräktarna/The Intruders (1974) - Low-budget and all but forgotten sexploitation film by Torgny Wickman, the Swedish sex-ed pioneer. 1. Colour Correct My Cock - Trailer and clip compilation by the Canada's Vagrancy Films.Top 10 'Naughty':10. Den k... familjen/Happy Family (1976) - Yet another shoddy Swedish low budget film, by the crappy Heinz Arland (who did Summer With Vanja). 9. Jag vill ligga med din älskare, mamma/Swedish Confessions (1977) - Andrei Feher is an interesting name in Swedish erotic movie history. This is his debut. 8. SexWorld (1978) - A sex parody/spoof of the films Westworld (1973). Sex animatronics satisfy every need…7. Teenage Fantasies II (1980) - Rene Bond! Of course, she has to be on the top 10. 6. Debbie Does Dallas (1978) - A true classic!5. The Young Like it Hot (1983) - From Bob Chinn theme week. 4. Sweet Young Foxes (1983) - Vintage 1983 smut! Also Bob Chinn, also Hyapatia Lee! Are we seeing a pattern here?3. Pretty Peaches 3: The Quest (1989) - Here's a real erotic classic directed by Alex de Renzy. 2. The Summer With Vanja/Sommaren med Vanja (1980) Bad, late Swedish sin porn film. Why, oh, why, did you people want to watch this crap?1. Den svenska synden/The Swedish Sin (2000) - A compilation of scenes from Swedish sexploitation films from 1969 to 2000.
Santa Nudo and the Smut Peddler (aka Satan's Little Helper) are back in the studio after a long break. Lots of things has been happening while we were of air and busy with other (Cultpix things), including finances, applications and great plans for 2024!We had a second Rene Bond Theme Week and there are enough of her films to come for two more weeks. In October we had 31 Days of Halloween, which inspired us to have regular theme months where we highlight existing films and include some new ones. As part of the October Halloween theme we had a Theme Week of UK Horror and Fantasy in co-operation with our good friends at Stream Go Media. This gave us the chance to show great titles suc as Blood of the Vampire, Circus of Horrors, Devil Girl from Mars, The Gamma People, The Snake Woman and many others. Also in October we had the second week of South African exploitation films made during the Apartheid era. This is a slice of film history never screened/streamed anywhere else before. Last week of October we tried something different with a Theme Week of The Golden Age of Gay Erotica, which we thought might upset some members, but which was wel received and (more importantly) watched. November was our Noir-vember, with classic titles (some even considered 'quality') and some titles not previously on Cultpix. Sadly the big blog post about it was wiped by the system. After that we had an interesting find, again thanks to Stream Go Media, in the form of the super-productive Hong Kong director Godfrey Ho, who gave us one-legged hopping Chinese vampires in "Robo Vampire" (1988) in and Cynthia Rothrock in "Honor and Glory" (1992). IN early November we paid tribute to the great Michael Weldon, by looking back of his touring Psychotronic Films festival in Stockholm and Europe at the very start of our careers. He was and remains a huge influence. The Taiwan Film and Audiovisual Institute (TFAI) became our 50th content partner when we signed the deal with them in Lyon, giving us access to two great 1960s films.December was the Cultpix Christmas Calendar theme month, with hand-picked selections of films good enough to hang in your Christmas tree. December was also the René Cardona Jr theme week, famous for ripping of big blockbusters and for using real animals in a way that Hollywood would never dare. Last for December was a bit of a break - an intermission, if you will, with Hey Folks, It's Intermission Time! compilation films.In Januari 2024 we will have a Mike Vraney Memorial Month, to remember 10 years without him, with Lisa Petrucci curating 62 films! Also next year we will have an IRL post exhibition, a new posters coffee table book, the Wickman Week get-together, more theme months/weeks and lots more!We will also get better at doing the podcast and newspetter, we promise.So for now, we wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, you beautiful Cultpix freaks, geeks and c
Count von Nudo and Schmutt P. Eddler do the time warp back to the musical that started a cult phenomenon exactly 50 years ago - The Rocky Horror (Picture) Show. We celebrate the opening song "Science fiction/Double Feature", which name-checks some of the greatest science fiction and horror films of the 1930s, 40s, 50s and 60s. We have been able to include six of the 11 films mentioned in this theme week. The other five, such as King Kong (1933) and The Invisible Man (1933) belong to big Hollywood studios, making it more difficult for us to get the rights to show them (but we will keep trying). Tony Sokol over at DenofGeek.com has a great overview of each song and film reference, from which we have stolen, sorry, quoted extensively. Do read his original article for more context and in-depth insights. It is remarkable how well Richard O'Brien knew his B-movies, given that there was no Internet or IMDb back in the days, but that is a sign of true geek fandom. Respect! The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) - “Michael Rennie was ill the day the Earth stood still, but he told us where we stand.” A science fiction film with a message for earth to get its s#!t together, by the great director Robert Wise. “Klaatu barada nikto”.Flash Gordon (1936) - “And Flash Gordon was there in silver underwear”. An episodic cinema serial with Buster Crabbe fighting Ming the Merciless. Familiar from television re-runs and of course the more famous 1980 re-make. It Came From Outer Space (1953) - “Then at a deadly pace it came from outer space.” An alien spaceship crash lands in the Arizona desert and people start acting strange. More Cold War paranoia, by director Jack Warner. Originally in 3D but shown here in boring 2D. Doctor X (1932) - “Dr X will build a creature.” Doctor Xavier doesn't actually build a creature (Frank N Further does tho), in this pre-code color film by Michael Curtiz, who later directed Bogart again in Casablanca (1942). “See androids fightingBrad and JanetAnne Francis stars inForbidden Planet…”Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-ohAt the late nightDouble Feature picture show”The Day of the Triffids (1963) - “And I really got hot when I saw Janette Scott fight a Triffid that spits poison and kills.” Or as Tony Sokol put it, "Vegetarians eat vegetables. Humanitarians, like Doctor X, eat humans. Triffids are vegetables that eat humans, vegetarian or not." So don't look up at meteor showers, or you'll wake up all "28 Days Later." Freddie Francis co-directs. Curse of the Demon aka Night of the Demon (1957) - “Dana Andrews said prunes, gave him the runes, and passing them used lots of skills.” Jacques Tourneur, of Cat People (1942) and I Walked with a Zombie (1943) fame, directs this British demonic chiller. A special shout-out to RKO Radio Pictures. We have our biggest Spotify playlist EVER, with over 100 songs.
Denmark might not be the first country you think of when it comes to science fiction films, but Django and Smut put it on the space map with the latest theme week, celebrating two film makers that made their mark on the genre: Ib Melchior and Sidney W. Pink. The Dane Melchior was a distinguished World War II hero who was awarded the Bronze Heart, before embarking on writing and directing. He met American producer Sidney W. Pink, who moved to Denmark in 1959, as related in this interview by Ib late in his long and rich life. The two would form an un-easy creative partnership that spanned Denmark and the US across several films - and all because of union issues. Already on Cultpix: "Reptilicus" (1961) - Denmark's first and only Kaiju film sees a giant lizard re-grown from a frozen tail rampage downtown Copenhagen, creating un-Hygge feeling. Dirch Passer sings a song with a bunch of kids about Reptilicus, in a scene cut from the US releases of the film. "Death Race 2000" (1975) - This car race cult classic was based on the short story "The Racer" by Ib Melchior, which you can hear a great reading of in this radio series episode form MindWebs, which aired on WHA Radio in Madison, Wisconsin from the mid-1970s to the mid-1990s."Candidate for a Killing" (1968) - Euro-thriller produced by Pink. Ib said Pink eventually became a personan non-grata in both Denmark and Spain. "13 Demon Street" (1959) - Echoes of "Reptilicus", "Terror in the Midnight Sun" (1959) and "The Thing" (1951) in this TV episode about a women frozen in ice. New on Cultpix:"The Angry Red Planet" (1959) - CineMagic was the process to give this tale of astronauts fighting off carnivorous plants, giant amoebas and a bat-rat-spider-crab creature on Mars a distinctive look. It wasn't quite 3D, but gives the film a unique look. "Journey to the Seventh Planet" (1962) - Cue jokes about probes being sent to 'your anus'. But this film has echoes of 'Solaris' in terms of the UN astronauts' memories creating flesh and blood women appear suddenly. Set in the year 2001. "Robinson Crusoe on Mars" (1964) - Daniel Defoe's classic story re-told on the red planet. Byron Haskin directed the Ib Melchior screenplay with great use of Death Valley. Victor Lundin, one of the stars of the film, wrote an eponymous song that he played at sci-fi conventions. "Keep Off the Grass" (1970) - Ib's anti-marijuana information film from the era of Nixon's 'War on Drugs'. Don't miss the next Theme Week: films name checked in Rocky Horror Picture Show's "Science Fiction/Double Feature" song. There is of course a Danish Dudes Spotify playlist.
Smut and Django are back from their summer breaks, though the films still kept on coming. In this episode, they go over some of the themes, films and fun that happened while Cultpix Radio was off the air. There was no episode on Hungarian 'Easterns' (aka 'Goulash Westerns') or about director Bob Chinn, which might still get their own dedicated podcasts in the future. Meanwhile we have split the Top 10 lists into two - one 'Naughty' (adult) and 'Nice' (scifi, horror and everything else). We were written about in Variety and had a full spread in Scandinavia's largest broadsheet newspaper Dagens Nyheter. We signed deals for more German sex comedies and a brand new genre of South African blaxploitation films. We give a taster of the Bob Chinn Theme Week, the porn director who inspired the Burt Reynolds character in "Boogie Nights" (1997), with an intro clip from "Hot & Saucy Pizza Girls" (1978), with John Holmes interviewing Desiree Cousteau for the part of roller skate pizza-delivery girl. We will definitely return to him, not least with many more of his films beautifully restored by our friends at Vinegar Syndrome. We had a season of martial arts/kung-fu films with two weeks of 'Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting', with Django Nudo's favourite "Black Samurai" (1976), which is martial arts-meets-blaxploitation and features jet-pack flying. Smut Peddler picks "The Vixens of Kung-Fu" (1978), which is martial arts mashed up with porn. We have knock-off Bruce Li in "Edge of Fury" (1978), but also the real Bruce Lee in "Martial Arts Mayhem Vol 1" (1970), Vol 2 and Vol 3. Thanks to our partner Echelon Studios and as part of our Theme Week - The 70's Horror Decade, we had two of our biggest films ever, including the original "Halloween" (1978) and David Cronenberg's "Shivers" (1975). We will have a future Rocky Horror 'Science Fiction - Double Feature' films mentioned in the song. We concluded our Zatoichi third theme week, a film series mentioned in Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" novelisation. There was the Sweden Abroad theme week and Science Fiction Classics, with a current season of Sappho Darling- Lesbian 60's. There is a great Spotify summer playlist.
Django and Smut celebrate Cultpix being named on of the 10 Best New Streaming Services, talks about the next two episodes before the summer break, highlight the launch of the LGBTQ+ sub-genre and mourn the demise of Network Releasing. We have held what is probably the world's most comprehensive retrospective of the films of Ed Wood Jr, including films that he directed, wrote the script or book on which it is based. All-in-all 20 films, TV shows and shorts that Wood is linked to. While Ed Wood is often derided as the 'worst director ever', an image that Tim Burton's loving biopic "Ed Wood" (1994) only partly dispels, there is more to him than midnight screening of "Plan 9". We talk to writer and film expert Jim Knipfel, whose article "Ed Wood: Not Actually The Worst Director in History" goes a long way toward re-appraising Ed Wood, noting that "his films have a unique energy and charm that should be appreciated.""Glen or Glenda" (1953) - It could be argued that G/G is an art film because it has a visual flair and style of its own that would not shame Bunuel. The film is a heartfelt please for compassion and understanding. "Jail Bait" (1954) - Wood's juvenile delinquent film sees several Woods regulars, such as Lyle Talbot, Steve Reeves and Dolores Fuller, with Herbert Rollins replacing Bela Lugosi, only to die on the last day of shooting."Bride of the Monster" (1955) - Despite what Tim Burton would have you believe, the giant octopus was not broken and Lugosi gives a great performance despite being in bad health by this stage. "Plan 9 From Outer Space" (1959) - This Ed Wood film has been screened and discussed to death, but it is far from the worst film ever made. "Night of the Ghouls" (1959) - A semi-sequel to "Bride of the Monster" and "Plan 9", which completes Wood's sci-fi/horror trilogy and his Kelton the Cop trilogy. It is a perfectly serviceable horror film. "The Sinister Urge" (1960) - Considered Wood's last legitimate film, this crime 'roughie' is fairly bleak, rough but also more sophisticated, as Wood was getter better at his craft, even as he fought with alcoholism and setbacks. "Orgy of the Dead" (1965) - The film is "an insane, almost artsy, nudie horror picture featuring an endless stream of zombie strippers." In Sweden it was cut up into loop-style single strip numbers. Criswell is also there, but looking worse for wear. "Necromania" (1971) - An early and interesting example of "soft X" film, where genitals and erect penises are shown, but there is no touching them or action.While he will probably always be known as 'the Worst Director of all Time', Ed Wood Jr. is having the last laugh, because we are still watching and discussing his films long after his death. There is a Ed Wood Spotify playlist.
Smut and Django are at the Cannes Film Festival (technically the Marche - Market) to meet with distributors and sign deals. There was a great article in Variety about the latest batch of Cultpix deals, which mean that we have over 250 more films to add later this year, with some real cult classics. This episode is the third devoted to Doris Wishman, focusing on the sun-soaked 'Daylight Years' and early nudist films. As one of the most prolific women filmmakers in the history of American cinema, "writer-director-editor Wishman created collisions between surrealism and exploitation that feel like they materialized from an alternate universe."Smut interviews film historian Michael J. Bowen who met and knew Doris, as well as having researched her career for years as her biographer. The films of The Daylight Years are gorgeously restored by AGFA + Something Weird Video. They include:"Nude on the Moon" (1961) - Wishman's dreamlike sci-fi triumph about a trip to a nudist-inhabitet moon."Blaze Starr Goes Nudist" (1962) - The famous burlesque dancer discovers the joy in nudism and escapes down to Florida. "Hideout in the Sun" (1960) - A crackpot nudie-noir in which two gangsters on the run decide to hide in plain sight at a nudist resort. "Gentlemen Prefer Nature Girls" (1963) - Tom is fired from his real-estate job when his boss discovers that he is a nudist, but he hatches a very nudist revenge plan."Diary of a Nudist" (1961) - Newspaper editor stumbles on nudist camp and commissions young female reporter to write exposé about the sordid lifestyle. "The Prince and the Nature Girl" (1965) - A prince escapes his castle and falls in love with a woman who turns out to be a nudist. Enjoy all these films and the other Doris Wishman films on Cultpix. There is a Spotify playlist of 13 nudie songs from Doris Wisman's films and three clips where you hear Doris speak.
Django Nudo reports live from sunny California, while the Smutpeddler sits in the cold north of Sweden, discussing with Luca Balbo, in the hopefully sunny Paris! We celebrate our second anniversary, and discuss how the value for money only increases, great news in this world of recession.Cultpix is forming new relationships with amazing rights holders and DVD companies all over the place. Recently we've had films from Japanese Kadokawa, US Deaf Crocodile, the German label Rapid Eye Movies and this week's theme week partner – French company Le chat qui fume.The theme week consists of 10 French erotic classics from the Seventies. Django Nudo and the Smutpeddler discuss four of them, especially enjoying the title "Love Brides of the Blood Mummy" (1973)!But this episode's main course is the great, knowledgeable author Lucas Balbo, who's written among other things about Jess Franco and the French VHS era, but foremost – for this episode of Cultpix Radio – about the French auteur Michel Lemoine (1922-2013), in the book “Michel Lemoine: gentleman de l'étrange” (2020).Lemoine liked to speak in riddles and keep people guessing about his age, when interviewed. Lucas had the chance to meet the director and to talk to him at length.Lemoine lead an interesting life, starting out as a theatre actor, then some French films, until he became big in genre films in Italy, Spain and Germany, for favorite directors like Antonio Margheriti, Mario Bava and Jess Franco. Coming back to France he redefined himself as a screenwriter, producer and director, occasionally also acting in his own movies.Lucas Balbo talks about the many aspects and faces of Michel Lemoine, and goes into detail about the six Lemoine films on Cultpix."Les désaxées" (1972) - Michel Lemoine 's first official film, filmed in 1972, in the midst of sexual liberation, Les Désaxées takes a look at free love, fulfillment in sexuality and the mores of the bourgeoisie. Lemoine's wife Janine Reynaud came back in The Bitches, The Erotic Confidences of a Bed too Inviting and Don't Rip My Tights."Les chiennes" (1973) - Erotic drama against a background of decadent bourgeoisie. "Les confidences érotiques d'un lit trop accueillant/Les Frôleuses" (1973) - Sexy bed stories anthology."Les petites saintes y touchent/Jeunes filles en extase" (1974) - Sexy omnibus film."Les weekends malefiques du Comte Zaroff" (1976) - Lemoine's only horror film, initially banned by the board of censors in France."Tire pas sur mon collant" (1978) - Innocent holiday comedy about seduction.French erotica also on Cultpix, but not by Lemoine:"La révélation" (1973)"Le sang des autres" (1973)"Les mantes religieuses/Les garces" (1973)"Et avec les oreilles qu'est-ce que vous faites?" (1974)
Zatoichi Week 1 - In which we invite our guest, Swedish film professor Johan Nordström, who's been living in Japan for the past 15 years, to discuss Daiei Studios, Japanese cinema in general and specifically the Zatoichi films, the one-of-a-kind star of the films, Shintaro Katsu – and Japanese society.Cultpix owes a lot to Johan-san, as he has been the door-opener to both Kadokawa-Daiei and Nikkatsu in Japan, two major studios with very exciting films. Cultpix is doing three big themes with Daiei films in the Spring of 2023, the Daimajin trilogy, eight Gamera films (the giant flying turtle) and 21 Zatoichi films!These are the initial Zatoichi films (Scandinavia only for now, unfortunately, but we hope to expand them to more countries in time). Zatoichi is the longest-running action series in the history of Japanese cinema. Zatoichi is an iconic figure, played by Shintaro Katsu. It inspired Rutger Hauer's "Blind Fury", 1971 Spaghetti Western "Blindman", a remake by Takeshi Kitano and Donnie Yen in both "Rogue One" (1916) and "John Wick: Chapter 4" (2023). "The Tale of Zatoichi" (1962) - The film that kicked off the hugely popular series about Zatoichi, a humble masseur who livesd by a strict moral code. Two rival yakuza clans are at war. One hires an ailing ronin as their protector, while the other hires Ichi, Zatoichi! Lead actor Shintaro Katsu instantly made the lovable Zatoichi his own. "The Tale of Zatoichi Continues" (1962) - Zatoichi becomes the masseur to a powerful political figure who turns out to be mentally ill. This needs to be kept secret at all cost. Featuring bigger action scenes, a tighter plot, as well as the introduction of the mysterious one-armed swordsman (played by Katsu's brother Tomisaburo Wakayama). "New Tale of Zatoichi" (1963) - The first Zatoichi film in color! Zatoichi wants to lead a quiet life, but is forced back into action when villagers are being squeezed dry by a corrupt clan leader. Zatoichi picks up his sword and upholds his moral code, as well as dispensing kick-ass justice. "Zatoichi the Fugitive" (1963) - The yakuza are unhappy because Zatoichi unexpectedly wins the sumo wrestling match in the village. They hire a ronin to kill him, but it turns out they both have a romantic link to the same woman. "Zatoichi on the Road" (1963) - Zatoichi is asked by a dying man to bring back a girl to Edo. He agrees, but unwittingly ends up in the cross-hairs of two rival yakuza gangs, who both want to kidnap the girl. "Zatoichi and the Chest of Gold" (1964) - Zatoichi is falsely accused of having stolen the villagers' sizeable tax collection. In order to clear his name, Zatoichi is forced to fight corrupt officials, several hired assassins and a giant with a bull whip (played again by Katsu's brother Wakamaya). The stunning cinematography is by "Rashonom" cinematographer Kazuy Miyagawa. Look out for a further 14 (!) Zatoichi films later this spring and early summer.
Django Nudo and Smut Peddler are excited to have new films this week from two of their favourite companies that specialise in the beautiful restorations of lost classics: Denmark's Another World Entertainment and Deaf Crocodile. From A.W.E. we have "Pornography - a Musical" (1971), a series of erotic vignettes with music by amongst others jazz legend Dexter Gordon. (NB: the Bodil scene is NOT included, for obvious reasons.). "Dear Irene" (1971) is an erotic love triangle drama by a director better known for his books on great cinema directors. Lastly there is "The Sweet Life on Mallorca" (1965) about the naughty things that your grandparents got up to when the Danes first embarked on package holidays to the Balearic islands. Separately we also have "Love in Three Dimensions" (1973), which actually does work in 3D, but only if you have those old red-blue glasses in the bottom of some drawer. It is one for Christina Lindberg completionists, as she has a small part in the film. We then talk to Dennis Bartok and Craig Rogers, the co-founders of legendary boutique restoration, post-production and distribution label Deaf Crocodile. The company has specialised in finding forgotten gems and putting them out in gorgeous new versions on DVD, BluRay and DCP. Recent films include 1980s Romanian animated sci-fi "Delta Space Mission" (1984) and they are currently wrapping Kickstarter campaign for Jiří Barta's stop-motion masterpiece "Pied Piper" (1986). Cultpix is thrilled to present no less than six Deaf Crocodile films this spring, with two now and four later this spring. Dennis and Craig talk about their and the company backgrounds, method of finding and restoring films, as well as their cult following. Don't call "Solomon King" (1974) a 'blaxploitation' film, because the black leads are not pimps or pushers but a super secret agent action hero. The only film by director and entrepreneur Sal Watts it was long-lost, until Deaf Crocodile managed to locate a surviving print. In "The Unknown Man of Shandigor" (1967) you get Serge Gainsborough headlining an amazing cast in a Swiss spy-action thriller about nuclear secrets and international intrigue. Marvelous and surreal, part-Dr Strangelove, par-Alphaville, with some The Avengers and Dr Who mixed in, this is a gorgeous restoration. Keep an eye out for four additional films from Deaf Crocodile in the next few months. There is a special Deaf Crocodile Spotify playlist with songs from and relating to this week's films.
This week it's all about Czech Cult Classics!Cultpix is proud to present seven digitally restored Czech cult classics with English subtitles in cooperation with the Czech Film Archive. An eighth film will be uploaded in June, with new English subtitles.Czechoslovakia (as It was back then) was home to some of the most innovative filmmaking in the 1960s, led by the likes of Miloš Forman and Jiří Menzel. But there were many other great films in different genres that seem fresh and fun even today. Joining us to discuss these we had Martin Kristenson, author, researcher, pop cultural expert, with a fascination for Czech culture; film, literature and music! "Ikarie XB 1" (1963) - The sci-fi classic that inspired Kubrick's "2001" is a great film in its own right. The year is 2163. The giant spaceship Ikarie XB1 carries colonists to a new planet. The journey is filled with unexpected dangers, like a strange abandoned ship. Too good for MS3K to make fun of. "Love Harvests in Summer" (1964) - Impressive counter-culture musical, which deeply affected the kids in Czechoslovakia. It is the story of forbidden love and lots of great music - call it "Hop Side Story". "Lemonade Joe" (1964) - A.k.a. "Lemonade Joe and the Horse Opera". Crazy western parody with blackface (bad) and Olga Schoberová (good), who was on the cover of Playboy the same year as Olinka Berova. She also has an un-credited role in "Ikarie XB 1" and a role in "Adela Did Not Have Supper Yet," before appearing in Hammer Horror films."Wedding Under Supervision" (1967) - An absurd comedy that takes places over 24 hours, when two bumbling policemen investigate an alleged rape in a small Czech town."Valerie and Her Week of Wonders" (1970) - A fantasy cult classic that has a fanatic following. Surreal tale in which love, fear, sex and religion merge into one fantastic world, based on a classical Czech novel of the same title."Adela Did Not Have Supper Yet" (1978) - A giant flesh-eating plant! Sounds familiar? The famous detective Nick Carter visits Prague in this thriller/spoof. He gets involved in strange case of a missing dog and a carnivorous plant. Also a celebration of Czech beer, pilsner."The Vampire of Ferat" (1982) - Is there such a thing as a vampire racing car? Doctor Marek is shocked when his beloved nurse Mima signs with a foreign car manufacturer to work as a rally-driver. The car is supposed to run on human blood. Oscar-winning Czech director Jirí Menzel in the lead role here. There's a Spotify playlist with 67 tunes, including complete soundtracks for "Ikarie XP1", "Valerie and Her Week of Wonders" and "Adela Did Not Have Supper Yet."
Djang00 Nudo and Smut Peddler moan (as usual) about Roku's uselessness, but celebrate a productive Berlin Film Festival, with plenty of films in the proverbial bag. They then parachute into the theme week of Euro Spy films, also known as Spaghetti Spy films.These are film produced by 1964 and 1968, mainly in Italy, in response to the success of the first James Bond films. More than 50 of these were made, though few as good as Bond. There are two trailer compilation films: "Operation: Secret Agents, Spies & Thighs" (1965) and "The Late Late Late Show" (1965). These are perfect backgrounds for almost any party. There are three 'Kommissar X' films: "Kiss Kiss, Kill Kill" (1965), "Death is Nimble, Death is Quick" (1966) and "Death Trip" (1967), based on the popular German novels. Christa Linder, star of Swedish erotic film "Bel Ami" (1976), pops up in two of them. "Operation Atlantis" (1965) is a perfectly spy caper right until the (spoiler) science fiction ending. "Last Plane to Baalbeck" (1964) is a labyrinthian mini epic, with Yoko Tani (French-Japanese) and George Sanders in one of his last roles. "Baraka X77" (1966) was called "Baraka X13" in the original, but was mauybe too unlucky in this scientist-secret-formula-fuel caper. "Passport to Hell" (1965) has karate chops, lots of bad karate chops, with sound effects to compensate. Much better is the music by Piero Umiliani, who composed the 'Manah-manah' song form "Sweden Heaven and Hell" (1968). "The Beckett Affair" (1966) stars Lang Jeffries and features 'shapely lesbian heroin addicts' - what more do you need? "Desperate Mission" (1965) is Yoko Tani again, paired with German Cobos of Spaghetti Western fame, but British colonial Hong Kong is the real star of this film.Ridiculously titled "Man on the Spying Trapeze" (1967) has false teeth containing micro cameras with nuclear secrets. Play Euro Spy key word bingo with that one. "The Narco Men" (1968) is a surprisingly grim and fatalistic Euro spy film, but with "hippie" nightclubs. Remember those? No? "Operation White Shark" (1966) stars Janine Reynaud who was in many Euro spy and also Jess Franco films, whose husband Michel Lemoine will be an erotic film theme week this spring. "Password: Kill Agent Gordon" (1966) is an unusual spy film in that the VietCong are the bad guys, trying to obtain a mysterious stolen cigarette lighter. There are x77 swinging Euro Spy songs on this week's Spotify playlist to listen and sip your martini to.
Smut Peddler and Django Nudo cover two big film topics for the price of one, while also cursing Roku for still not having sorted out the missing Cultpix films. First up is Daimajin, the giant demon god stone statue that comes alive and wrecks destruction on the unjust. Daiei produced no less than three Daimajin films in the span of one year (1966): "Daimajin", "The Return of Daimajin" and "Daimajin Striked Again". They are firmly in the Kaiju tradition and trace their roots to an unrealized sequel to the original Gamera, which will also be shown on Cultpix later this spring. They also have a kinship to the North Korean "Pulgasari" (1985). The plot of the first two are fairly identical, with Daimejin saving peasants from an evil feudal lord, but the third has an added kids-on-a-quest sub-plot that elevates it. Interestingly this trilogy was made the same year as several of the films from Doris Wishman's 'Moonlight' period, that is the second season of her films on Cultpix. This is when the maverick cult director moved from the nudie-cuties of the early 60s to roughies, resulting in darker films, but still with tell-tale Wishman touches, like cut-aways to shoes and lamps. These hard-nosed, sex-focused noirs stand tall as some of her greatest, most perverted work. AGFA calls them “triumphant DIY treasures”. We are in debt to AGFA, Something Weird Video and Vinegar Syndrome for these remarkable films being available to share with you.Included are "The Sex Perils of Paulette" (1965), a twist on the The Perils of Pauline films in Wishman's first 'roughie'; adultery and betrayal in "My Brother's Wife" (1966), with Wishman's signature downbeat conclusion; the housewife-on-the-run-forced-into-prostitution-classic "Bad Girls Go to Hell" (1965), considered to be “Wishman's formula perfected,"; the non-cannibal "A Taste of Flesh" (1967), with lesbians and political assassination attempts; a rare male lead in the form of a gigolo in "Too Much, Too Often" (1968); a respectable middle class woman is forced into prostitution in "Another Day, Another Man" (1966) after her husband falls ill; super natural powers over a woman in "Indecent Desires" (1968) leads her to question her sanity. There is also the two Greek film re-edit oddities "The Hot Month of August" (1966) and "Passion Fever" (1969), featuring new dialogue and insert soft-core shots of drama films bought form Greece. We have a Spotify playlist that is full of musical gems and more from the Doris Wishman films.
The Swedish film director Arne Mattsson was active in the film industry across eight decades (if you count him carrying beer to the film crew at a shoot when he was 6 years old).He made his last film in 1990 and passed away in 1995. In 2019 Mattsson would have been 100 years old. But this was not celebrated at all in the gigantic way Ingmar Bergman's 100th was celebrated the year before. Shame! In the 50's, however, Mattsson was truly fetted, with multiple awards at film festivals, and actually bigger than Bergman. Most famously for "One Summer of Happiness" (1951), which won the Gold Bear at the second ever Berlin Film Festival. But his career went downhill, and there's a rumour that his never-published autobiography had the working title “I skuggan av en skitstövel” (“In the Shadow of a Bastard”) – referring to I.B.Arne Mattsson was probably Sweden's most prolific film director ever, with his 60 films (Bergman 'only' made 40). He was an extremely versatile film maker, in genres like drama, action, thriller, comedy, musical, children's film, horror, juvenile delinquent, sexploitation…With the second theme week of Mattsson's films for the production company Nordisk Tonefilm, Cultpix now has 24 of his 60 films.To discuss this amazing roller coaster career on Cultpix Radio, we have invited Jan Lumholdt – journalist, film historian, and author of the anthology "Lars von Trier: Interviews" and "Harriet Andersson – Conversations with Jan Lumholdt".Here is Jan Lumholdt's article on Arne Mattsson, written for his centenary: https://www.svenskfilmdatabas.se/sv/arne-mattsson-100-ar-for-tapperhet-i-film/It's in Swedish, but can easily be translated online.There is an intro discussion about upcoming films (Japanese!) and the outro is the music from Mattsson's film "The Killer" (1967).
Django Nudo and the Smutpeddler discuss this week's theme of 80's American horror films, and why they can only be watched by our North American members. (Clue: rights issues.) But there will also be upcoming themes where the US audience won't be able to watch some films, so it kind of evens out. But, Cultpix's main goal is as always, to be a truly global streaming platform and cult.However, the main theme this week is our prominent guest, filmmaker and artist Robert Flanagan, with both New York and Guatemala as his playgrounds!And more specifically his 1996 film "4 O'Clock", an amazing, no-budget film noir comedy, shot in grainy 16mm!We give him third-degree interrogation, questioning him on the film; the inspirations, the ideas behind it, the budget, the cast, the music, the cinematography, the dialogue, the editing, the props, the legalities of some locations, and New York as a character of its own in the film.And also about the film's recent restoration/makeover from the original 16mm negative!There is mention of Roberto Rossellini, Jean-Luc Godard, Edward D Wood Jr, Tommy Wiseau, European spy movies, Doris Wishman, surf music and lots more!You don't want to miss out on this well-hidden gem, which is finally reaching a global audience, after having been shown theatrically only in New York back in the day.
Django and Smut welcome Kitty back to the Cultpix Studio to look back (slapping alert) in 2022 and ahead to 2023. We start off with what we did over the holiday, mainly the Christmas and Swedish films that were posted, plus a shout out to our three last pod guests: Jimmy, Adrian and Lisa. We go around the proverbial table to pick out personal favourites from the past year, whether film, theme week, podcast guests, event or other. We do an In Memoria of some of the Cultpix greats that passed away in the past year, including funny/sexy Kitten Natividad, "Cannibal Holocaust" director Ruggero Deodato, Tim Lucas' wife, muse and partner Donna and even Olivia Newton John. There is self-congratulation galore as we note how Cultpix has grown over 150% in the past year, even as the like of N****ix lost 500,000 members in UK alone. We count down the top ten most watched film on Cultpix in 2022, all of them with a sexy theme, with a fierce battle for the top medal position between Danish erotica compilation and Swedish erotica compilation, but the winner is a film that 'gives porn a good name.'We look at the top films that people find on Cultpix from sites like Letterboxd, JustWatch and PlayPilot, including "Anita - Swedish Nymphet" (1972), Fleischer Studio's "Superman" serial (1941-1943), and Leni Riefenstahl's "Triumph of the Will" (1935). There is also a good story abput how that last one ended up published on DVD and on Cultpix. A special mention to our biggest fans and members on social media and IRL - would you believe we get letters sent to us? And you won't guess what's in them. A special mention of members Tightsbury, Lee Bailes, Karen R, Dr Retro, John Corbyn, Cousin H, Disapproving Swede and many more. Looking ahead to 2023 we already have lots of theme weeks and films lined up. We will have more theme weeks with Herschel Gordon Lewis and Doris Wishman. Films from Japan's Daiei studio (NB: Scandinavia only), including Gamera - gigantic flying, fire-breathing turtle; Daimajin – a giant stone statue comes to life; and Zatoichi the blind masseur, gambler and sword fighter. There will be more films by the extremely productive Swedish director Arne Mattsson, who single-handedly started the myth of 'Swedish Sin' with his film "One Summer of Happiness" (1951). We will feature All Channel Films (NB: USA only): Theme week 1: 7 80's horror/slasher/gore films. Theme week 2: A mixed bag of cult movies from 1969-1991, including classics like I Drink Your Blood (1970) and three Vice Academy comedies – basically Police Academy ripoffs. We also have Czech classics (wonderful films from the 60's; vampires, sci-fi and fantasy) and more films from Hungary (Hungarian westerns!!!). That's just a little taster of things to come on Cultpix. It's going to be a fun 2023. Please be sure to get in touch with us, because unlike most DJs, we DO take requests.
The Smut Peddler celebrates Doris Wishman – The Twilight Years2022 is Doris Wishman's year. The maverick director was born in 1912 and passed away in 2002, still making movies. She would have turned 110 this year, and it's 20 years since her passing.No one will ever make movies like Doris Wishman. She is one of the most prolific women filmmakers in the history of American cinema, a writer-director-editor who created collisions between surrealism and exploitation that feel like they materialized from an alternate universe.Thanks to Cultpix cooperation with rights holder Jimmy Maslon, and the diligent work of Something Weird Video, AGFA (American Genre Film Archive) and Vinegar Syndrome, we are able to join the celebration, with the first of three theme weeks with a total of no less than 24 newly restored films, starting off with The Twilight Years – a collection of sleazy flicks from the 1970's, that highlights the queen of sexploitation's last era of filmmaking. Followed in the Spring of 2023 by the collections The Moonlight Years (black & white roughies) and the Daylight Years (nudist films).To hold us by the hand and guide us in this week's episode of Cultpix Radio, is none other than our bestest partner and friend, Lisa Petrucci from Something Weird Video! Lisa knows all there is to know about Doris, and then some!Lisa discusses and explains about Doris' personality, filming style, actors, Something Weird Video's amazing Wishman vinyl album, and dives deep into each film of this week's theme.Starting off with the most famous/infamous of all of Wishman's films: “Deadly Weapons” (1974) and “Double Agent 73” (1974), starring the notoriously well-endowed Chesty Morgan. We also get Doris Wishman's own voice from time to time, talking about working with Chesty, and about other films.“The Immoral Three” (1975) is a sequel of sorts to the Chesty Morgan films, but without Chesty. It plays like a female revenge drama.We move on to her gender benders – “The Amazing Transplant” (1970), where a man gets a penis transplant, but the donor was a sex maniac. And “Let Me Die a Woman” (1977), Wishman's only (semi)documentary, about transsexuals and sex change operations, very controversial at the time.Her comedy “Keyholes Are for Peeping” (1972) is a pill hard to swallow, starring “the poor man's Jerry Lewis”, the unbearable Sammy Petrillo, in a mess concocted from various leftovers from the cutting room floor…“The Love Toy” (1971) is a real roughie, which pushes a lot of buttons today, in terms of its controversial theme, and Doris' unsympathetic handling of its subject.From Vinegar Syndrome, we add Wishman's first two hardcore films, which she sometimes denied having directed, and which were made under pseudonym: “Satan Was a Lady” (1975) and “Come With Me My Love” (1976), the world's first “ghost porn” movie?Finally, Doris gets the last word from beyond the grave… and her own Spotify playlist.
"Isabel Sarli squeezes more sexual frisson into the space between breathing in and breathing out than most of us could spread over a lifetime of ordinary love-making." -New York TimesDjango Nudo welcomes the Smut Peddler and this week's guest Adrián García Bogliano, and then leaves for a well-deserved birthday vacation!Smut and Adrián have an in-depth conversation about the week's theme: the king and queen of Argentinian sexploitation cinema – Armando Bó and Isabel Sarli. Their film "Fuego" (1969) was a major influence for John Waters (especially Pink Flamingos, 1972), which he talks about here.The Mexican-Argentinian film director Adrián García Bogliano knows a thing or two about Sarli/Bó and about the modern history of Argentina, as his parent escaped the military junta in the country for Spain, where Adrián was born. He then grew up in Argentina, when the country got a democratic government, and in his youth, he was fascinated by the goddess Isabel Sarli.She was the former Miss Argentina (1955), met the director Armando Bó, who cast her in her first film in 1957, "Thunder in the Leaves", which contains Argentina's first frontal nudity in a film. They became lovers (while he was still married) and made 27 amazing erotic melodramas or comedies together, until his death in 1984. She only did two films with other directors. Cultpix shows: "The Female" (1962/1968). The film was exported to the USA, where it was dubbed, re-cut, and got new sex scenes.This week's theme has 10 films by Bó, starring Sarli. Adrián discusses some of her most famous films like "Carne" (1968) and "The Naked Temptation" (1966) which was a major inspiration for his own "I'll Never Die Alone" (2008), as well the couple's venture into a kind of horror film "Bewitched" (1976).Adrián explains about the Bó family, where Armando's son Victor starred against Isabel, and had sex scenes with her, while his dad was still married to Victor's mom. Victor's son, Armando Jr, is in turn an Oscar-winning screenwriter in Hollywood today.They also discuss the films in relationship to the dictatorship of the country. Isabel had met with President Perón, and the clothes designer in her films also dressed Eva Perón. So, there were mixed emotions about Armando Bó's films, both from the leadership and from the audience.Adrián has theories of why the voluptuous Isabel never made it abroad (like stars like Sophia Loren or Brigitte Bardot), one being that she only worked with Armando Bó as a director, not for the lack of offers, even from abroad.Their career is also interesting, as the films changed with the times; where she in the 60's was mainly a victim in the films, being abused and/or raped, in the later films her characters were much more empowered, taking charge of their lives.The other films in the theme week are: "Heat" (1960), "The Hot Days" (1966), "Nude in the Sand" (1969), "Tropical Ecstasy" (1970) and "The Insatiable Widow" (1976).Thank you, Adrián, for all your great insights, stories and analysis of this amazing phenomenon.
Django and Smut feast on the films of exploitation filmmaker extraordinaire Herschell Gordon Lewis (HGL), aka the Godfather of Gore, who went from journalism and TV and radio sports to making nudie cuties, invented the gore genre, did a bunch of other films and then left the movies to teach others how to be a success in marketing and advertising. "Anyone can point a video camera," he said, "but it takes talent to get an audience to come and watch your film." He sure had that talent. Cultpix has almost all of his films, starting with nudie cuties such as "The Adventures of Lucky Pierre" (1961), "Nature's Playmates" (1962), "Daughter of the Sun" (1962), "Goldilocks and the Three Bares" (1963), "Boin-n-g!" (1963) where Lewis sends up the sexploitation biz, and "Bell, Bare and Beautiful" (1964), with burlesque legend Virginia Bell. Lewis then switched tack completely and single-handedly invented the gore genre with the Blood Trilogy: "Blood Feast" (1963) where the caterer/cultist Fuad Ramses asks the classic question: “Have you ever had… an Egyptian feast?”, "Two Thousand Maniacs" (1964) with its epic theme song "The South's Gonna Rise Again", and "Color Me Blood Red" (1965). His other gore greats included "A Taste of Blood" (1967), "The Gruesome Twosome" (1967), "The Wizard of Gore" (1970) and his last 70s film "The Gore Gore Girls" (1972), "a fascinatingly sick swan song." He also did other genres such as the exposé of smut peddling "Scum of the Earth" (1963), folk horror "Moonshine Mountain" (1964), trippy horror "Something Weird" (1967), delinquents "Just for the Hell of It" (1968) and biker film "She-Devils on Wheels" (1968) and Hillbilly horror "This Stuff'll Kill Ya!"(1972). We also have the documentary "Herschell Gordon Lewis: the Godfather of Gore" (2010). Smut interviews Jimmy Maslon, who saw the popularity of Lewis' films on US college campuses first-hand and had the foresight to start buying the rights to his films long before the advent of VHS. They discuss the movies, music and marketing genius of Lewis. On Lewis'; career, AllMovie wrote, "With his better-known gore films, Herschell Gordon Lewis was a pioneer, going further than anyone else dared, probing the depths of disgust and discomfort onscreen with more bad taste and imagination than anyone of his era."And dig the HGL Spotify playlist.
Django and Nudo are joined by Kitty Lash at Castle Cultpix to reminisce about the greatest screen Dracula of all time, Bela Lugosi. It all started in Lyon, where Django and Smut where attending the MIFC convention, where they met the Hungarian Film Institute, who promised them the oldest known silent film footage of Bela Lugosi on the day he would have turned 140.We start off with a clip from "The Phantom Creeps" (1939), the 12-part cinema serial where Bela plays a mad inventor planning on releasing an army of robots to rule the world - “It can make me the most powerful man in the world.” In this interview Bela talks about being born in Hungary but now being an American, as well as how playing Dracula depresses him. He had to leave post-war Hungary for starting an actors' union and remained politically active, but also an American patriot. Here he is encouraging people to donate blood during World War Two. Yet because of his accent he not only played Central European bloodsuckers but also Nazi's, for example in "Black Dragons" (1941), a quickie thriller in the style of "The Manchurian Candidate". He did win recognition as "one of the finest actors to come out of Europe," in this 1951 interview, where he talks about being typecast and the kind of roles he had back in Hungary. He also gave this very candid interview after he was in rehab in 1955 to deal with opioid and alcohol addiction. Yet his son Bela George Lugosi Jr has spoken about addiction being “the biggest misconception about his father” and a “focus on negative aspects” of his life. Part of the reason for this is Tim Burton's film "Ed Wood" (1994), which imagines how Ed Wood first met Bela Lugosi. Johnny Depp's Ed Wood is in awe of Bela, though he himself feels he is a has-been. “Now, no one gives two fucks for Bela.” Marin Landau discusses the process of becoming Bela, a role that won him an Oscar, and his admiration for him. “In junk movies he was BRILLIANT."Bela did get to play comedy in one of our favourite films, “Bela Lugosi Meets a Brooklyn Gorilla” (1951), with nightclub comedians Duke Mitchell and Sammy Petrillo in roles approximating Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.We end up with a mashup of the classic punk-goth song “Bela Lugosi's Dead”, both the original Bauhaus version and the Nouvelle Vague version. We also have our longest ever Spotify playlist (6h23m), with more cover versions than you can shake a wooden stake at, but also many other tracks about or name checking Bela Lugosi.
Django Nudo and the Smut Peddler are joined by academic Dr. Retro (OK, not his real name), who specialises in film history and is an expert on British cult films and more. The occasion is the 50th anniversary of the publication of the Longford Report on Pornography, an unlikely 520-page bestseller (no pictures) that argued for the banning of 'obscene' publications, films, plays and broadcasts, spearheaded by Frank Pakenham, aka the seventh Earl of Longford. The Swedish sex ed films "The Language of Love" (1969) and "More from the Language of Love" (1970) became test cases for what could and could not be shown in the UK. As one critic pointed out at the time, ‘Nobody makes a sex-education movie like the Swedes. And nobody – but nobody – will make such a supercilious fuss about it more than the British Establishment.' There was particular tension between the British Board of Film Classification/Censors (BBFC), which advised whether a film should get a rating, and the Greater London Council (GLC), which decided for itself as the final arbitrator as to whether to show a film or not in its cinemas - representing one in seven screens across the UK. Far from being censorship prone, the BBFC Secretary (i.e. Director) John Trevelyan and BBFC President Lord Harlech agreed that sex ed films should be accepted, even if they did not allow 'extravagant exploitation'. Trevelyan also engaged in exchanges with foreign distributors to try to understand the films and their social context better. The BBFC passed the buck to local councils as to whether approve "The Language of Love" (1969), which the GLC passed with an 'X' certificate, meaning only over-16s could see it. By 1971 127 local authorities out of 169 that the films was submitted to had approved. But there was trouble ahead, according to Dr Retro's study:"In July 1974 two plain-clothed policemen, Chief Inspector Smith and Police Sergeant Collins, entered the Jacey cinema on Charing Cross Road, where More About the Language of Love had already been playing to audiences five times a day for six weeks. According to Chief Inspector Smith's account, ‘The cinema has a seedy air entirely in keeping with its clientele and the films they come to watch.'"It is unusual to get a detailed. eyewitness report of cinema screenings and habits, but while historians can treasure this today, the result was that the film was accused of being 'criminally obscene'. It was the basis for the trial the following year, Regina v. Jacey (London) Ltd, Lionel Parsons and Fancey Associates Ltd, where the three charged was the Jacey Cinema, the programmer Fancey Associates and Lionel Parsons, the cinema manager. People were thus being prosecuted for screening a film that had been passed by the relevant authorities for public viewing. " If they were to be found guilty this case would have serious implications for the whole system of British film censorship.," Dr Retro notes the defence lawyer arguing. Shockingly, the Crown WON the case, meaning that anyone could be prosecuted on the basis of 'obscenity'. This is where Lord Longford's 'report', or rather moral crusade, plays such a significant role. We talk about the differences between Swedish and British censorship and the implications of the ruling. There is also sound clips from people on the streets (of Dublin) being interviewed about their views on pornography and a clip from the Festival of Light that demonstrated against pornography. We end with Cliff Richards, who marched against the "Language of Love" screenings under a banner proclaiming Sweden to be a hotbed of alcoholism, suicide, gonorrhoea, and pornography, b
Django Nudo and the Smut Peddler are joined by journalist and film expert Brian Iskov, author of "Denmark on the Bedside" (2020), a beautiful study-cum-coffee table book about the Golden Age of Danish sex comedies. A wide-ranging discussion that covers: - The cinema career and life of Brian;- The book and its creative origins;- Danish Sin (origins and different from Swedish);- Annelise Meineche and how "17" got the Danish celluloid nudie ball rolling;- Change in Danish censorship laws;- The Bedside films v. the Zodiac/Starsign films (soft v. hard);- Hardcore makes an entrance (in Denmark and Bedside);- Ole Söltoft (the curse of Bedside), Annie Birgit Garde and Birte Tove;- Mainstream actors appearing in ‘porn' and public attitude;- The legacy of Bedside today. The crazy music at the end is from "Danish Bed and Board" (1972), where everyone is having sex with everyone in the last scene.
Django Nudo and Smut Peddler get their Lederhosen on (proverbially) to celebrate the best of German vintage smut. But first they toast Cultpix's 888th title, the favourite "Death Race 2000" (1975). Not just ooompha-oompha music, but some catchy tunes for this week's celluloid Kraut fest. The Kronhausens x 2:Sexologists Dr Eberhard and Dr Phyllis Kronhausen are Germany's 'white coaters' that give education respectability to scenes of sex and smut in two films. "Freedom to Love" (1969) looks at lesbianism, illegal abortion, swing clubs and Hugh Hefner; while "Sex Freedom in Germany" (1970) also features pornographers Owalt Kolle and Beate Uhse. The Sylt Connection x 2The island of Sylt as a film subject is an excuse for lots of nakedness. "Naked and Free" (1971) not only includes naked Fräulines, but also spliced inserts of Jake La Motta and Rocky Graziano! "Ready, Willing & Able" (1971) is about a Miss Sylt contest (clothing not required) at the Eden Playboy Club. Costume films x 3Historic and literary settings were a great excuse for boobies on display. "How to Play the Seduction Game" (1970) is a historic sex comedy loosely based on Werner Zibaso's French classic. "Teach Me" (1972) is a series of erotic vignettes about the sexploits of Lieutenant Ferdinand with Christine Schuberth and Astrid Boner [sic!] It has a weirdly contemporary poster and international titles such as "Ferdinand - tjuren som inte ville" (Sweden) and "The Games Schoolgirls Play" (USA). In "The Sinful Bed" (1973) we hear from the bed about the romping it has experienced over the ages. A good double bill with Mac Ahlberg's "The Bed" (1965). The Sweden Connection x 3"Daughters of Joy" (1968) is a period piece (of ass) in the 'Sexy Susan' (Frau Wirtin) series with Teri Tordai in the lead and also starring Harald Leipnitz from Swedish sex comedy "Do You Believe in Swedish Sin?" (1970). "Moonlighting Mistress" (1971) is the strangely translated title of the German original "I Slept with My Murderess". "The Erotic Adventures of Hansel and Gretel" (1970) had punny international titles such as "Hans og Grete i den forsexede skov" (Denmark), "Hands off Gretel!" (UK), "The Naked Wytche" (USA) and weird one like "Gymni se mia Rolls Royce" (Greece) and"Favole calde... per svedesi bollenti" (Italy), even though nothing Swedish about the sexy Grimm fairytale.OthersAlso "The Love Keys" (1971), "Massage Parlor '73" (1972), "Office Girls" (1972), "Run Virgin Run" (1973) and "All Around Service" (1974).
Django Nudo and the Smut Peddler mourn Kitten Natividad but celebrate the 100th birthday of Bert I Gordon, the director of big creature and small people fantasy films who is still alive. They also announce that the European Genre Film Foundation has acquired the Joe Sarno collection of costumes, props, scripts and more from his widow Peggy Sarno, including the notorious double-dildo rocking horse from Young Playthings (1972). Kenne Fant was a talented director who was overshadowed by Ingmar Bergman, just like his contemporaries Hasse Ekman and Arne Mattsson. He often worked with the same actors as Bergmen, including Bibi Andersson and Max von Sydow. Other of his actors had no problem switching between arthouse and exploitation films, like Lars Ekborg (Blonde in Bondage, The Dance Hall), Christina Schollin and others. Special mention to older actor Edvin Adolphson.As the films were produced by Nordisk Tonefilm, owned by the Swedish labour movement, there are some recurring political/didactic themes: one being criticism against the church and conservative priests, the conflict between rural and urban Sweden, and how young people try to change their lives, despite the grown-up world.Wings in the Night (1953) - An orphan boy and the vicar's daughter fall in love, but her father is opposed to their relationship.Young Summer (1954) - Helge Lysvik is a farmer's son. He dreams of a future as a musician, but there are many obstacles on the way. He's also torn between the girl next door and big city life.The Taming of Love (1955) - The headmaster's wife in the small town has just published an acclaimed collection of love poems. Everyone is curious about who the young lover of the poems might be.Tarps Elin (1956) - Elin Tarp is an unmarried mother with three children, who lives a hard life in the countryside. Eva Dahlbeck was referred to as “Battleship Femininity” by Ingmar Bergman. The Priest in Uddarbo (1958) - A young Max von Sydow impresses with warmth and humor as a young preacher, mobilizing the whole village to build a church. (No exorcism involved.)The Game of Love (1959) - Colourful and innovative marital comedy. The everyday life scenes are black and white, the fantasy/film scenes are in vivid colour. A weird film. Very hard to understand the target audience for it. But great colour and great performances all around!The Wedding Day (1960) - Star-studded comedy. A surprisingly outspoken and cynical film, where Max von Sydow screws around, despite his love for his fiancée Bibi Anderson. With English subtitles! Done by Smut Peddler himself!!A memorable line from Christina Schollin as young student Titti, talking to Bibi Andersson, who's about to marry Max: “Can't I just borrow him for the night? You'll have him every day!” Schollin is now matriarch of an acting dynasty and back on stage age 83. The Wonderful Adventures of Nils (1962) - Based on Selma Lagerlöf's fairy-tale about a boy who shrinks and flies on a goose all over Sweden. One of Sweden's very few fantasy films, also a great geography lesson.
Django Nudo, Smut Pedler and Kitty Lash devote the 50th episode of Cultpix Radio to celebrate the life and career of the first true male adult star Harry Reems.Born Herbert Streicher into a Jewish Bronx family in 1947, Harry Reems pursued stage acting in New York but did stag loops to help pay for the rent. The pimply kid with the big nose had come out of the Marine Corps with a hard body, plus he could act. Kitty Lash found Bucky Beaver's Stags Loops and Shorts (1970) quite the turn on with its authentic and sweaty humping; in Ape Over Love (1970) Harry goes full gorilla (fake suit); while Mondo Porno (1971) foreshadows obscenity troubles to come, though the "judge for yourself" of the erotic "case studies" got Kitty purring again.Deep Throat (1972) gave Harry fame and notoriety as he became the only US actor to ever be charged for appearing in a film. The case(s) dragged on until 1977 and contributed to his alcoholism. Late in life the love of a good woman saved him as he became a 'church gypsy': "I am not religious. I'm spiritual, 100 percent," he said. He also won belated recognition in the documentary "Inside Deep Throat" (2005). While converting to Christianity he kept his stage name and was happy to discuss his porn past. A Touch of Genie (1974) is what you'd get if Woody Allan had made porn in the 70s, though "Deeps Jaws" (19xx) is also genuinely sexy and funny is Deep Jaws (1976). All beautifully restored by Vinegar Syndrome. The Love Witch (1970) sees Harry do an 'Alex Guinness' and playing multiple parts - with on-screen Batman-style f/x! Sherlick Holmes (1975) sees him playing the great detective, in More (1975) he is Detective Dick (!) Copper, while Dark Dreams (1975) is a hallucinogenic sex and horror trip.Harry was shooting films in Sweden and Germany while his legal appeal was under way in the 1970s.: Justine & Juliette (1975) and Bel Ami (1976) are literary adaptations with a veneer of cultural respectability, but primarily gorgeously shot XXX features. Strangest Harry film of all is the non-nude SS Operation Wolfcub (1983) where he's a mercenary infiltrating a neo-Nazi training camp in Swedish forests. Harry made a return in the 1980s. Trashy Lady (1985) is Harry doing a reverse My Fair Lady on too-classy mob moll Ginger Lynn, while in China and Silk (1984) Harry plays a cop. For anyone wishing to learn more about Harry we recommend the New York Magazine article 'The Afterlife of a Porn Star' by Dave Itzkoff, as well as the excellent podcasts by the Rialto Report here, here and here. Of course we also have a Harry Reems Spotify playlist.
Django Nudo and Smut Peddler welcome Kitty Lash back for a nostalgia-filled look back at some lesser known films that only ever made it out on VHS. Django challenges his fellow presenters with "VHS was a SHIT format - fight me!" It sees them give a spirited defence of the mini-monolith like home entertainment format. And what's with the @kadivideo IG account of new films released on VHS. Are they real? Is it all fuelled by anemoia - n. 'nostalgia for a time you've never known'?Doctor Yes: The Hyannis Affair (1983) - Film roles dried up Brit Ekland when she hit 40 and so she had to do erotic thrillers, including this one that looks like a day-time soap opera, but with nudity. We play the weird intro, that pretty much gives away the whole plot. (No #SPOILER warnings in the 80s?) Heavenly Bodies (1984) - Dance-offs and aerobics were clearly big in the 80s. This one is more blue collar gritty than flashy Flashdance. But there is no denying the pulsating energy of the synth-heavy score.Hollywood Hot Tubs (1984) - B-movie queen Jewel Shepard DOESN'T get naked in this low budget comedy, but there is Russ Meyer's missus Edy Williams putting her charms on full display. Adult director Chuck Vincent also did non-XXX films in many different genres, three of which are included here. Definitely one for the late night cable channels like USA and Cinemax (aka Skinmax). How to Get Revenge (1984) - Linda Blair clearly didn't have a good agent in the 80s. After a series of women-in-prison films, she did this spoof instructional video on how to get revenge. The suggestions might land you in trouble with the law, so don't take this oddity too seriously. Underground Aces (1981) - Some VHS can't even be sold, and Smut Peddler found this for free in a flea market bin. It has an impressive cast, including Dirk Benedict (The A-Team) Melanie Griffith, Frank Gorshin (the Riddler) and Michael Winslow (Police Academy's sound machine), in what is basically a Car Wash-knock off about parking valets, with very 80s humour. Cleo/Leo (1989) - A surprisingly good gender-switch comedy in which adult star Veronica Hart is the gorgeous female body a chauvinist male pig finds himself trapped in. Director Chuck Vincent would often use actors from the adult entertainment industry in more conventional films, albeit still with lots of nudity. Kitty Lash loved it, except the music which she hated. Bad Blood (1989) - Misery-style horror of mother who thinks her recently returned biological son is a reincarnation of her late husband. Georgina Spelvin (Devil in Miss Jones) and Randy Spears prove that XXX-stars can have acting chops in this Chuck Vincent R-rated horror.
No summer pause yet for Django Nudo and the Smut Peddler, who celebrate 5,000 podcast and 1,000 Instagram followers (almost no fakes). Coming up after the summer pause there will be special episodes about the Danish Bedside sex comedies and vintage British smut from Screenbound - with guests!Cultpix kicked off the partnership with Ukraine's Dovzhenko Centre that will see us release old and more recent cult films from the country in the news, partly as a Fuck You to Putin for trying to wipe out Ukrainian culture. Slava Ukraini! Return to Treasure Island (1988) - Zany and wacky award-winning animated adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson's classic about the hunt for a buried treasure, with English dub dialogue. Nordisk ToneFilm was an unusual film producer and distributor that made 58 feature film. It started out supporting community cinemas in Sweden, but branched out quickly to a broad offering of comedies, drama, children's films and more. "One Summer of Happiness" (1958), the first Swedish global nudie export success was one of theirs, as too was the "Lille Fridolf" comedy series. [NB: The below films all lack English subtitles as-of-yet. We promise that we are working on it.]Stora Hoparegränd och himmelriket /The Inventor's Dilemma (1949) - A sort of Swedish Film Noir about an inventor lives in Stockholm's old town in a building for all derelict, drunkards, hobos, prostitutes... and a midget. A melodrama but with beautiful vistas of a lost Stockholm. Bröllopsdagen/The Wedding Day (1960) - Star-studded urban comedy about runaway bride/runaway groom. Director Kenne Fant would go onto greater things. Flygplan saknas/An Aeroplane is Missing (1965) - Possibly made just to show how a sea rescue at sea would be executed and how it looks with as much realism as possible. Two pilots who can't stand each other but have to fly together and crash. Top Gun without the aerial dogfights. Kvinnan gör mig galen/Woman Drives Me Crazy (1948) - Mistaken identity comedy with wealthy aunt plot device, called a "light, elegant, half-crazy Swedish comedy". Music by Boogie-woogie piano player Charlie Norman. Det var en gång/Once Upon a Time (1945) - Anthology children's film that partly feels like a folk horror when watched today. The Christmas film with the Wise owl, Pappa Bear and Little Troll feels very folklory weird. Goda vänner trogna grannar/Good Friends and Faithful Neighbours (1960) - Father and husband who makes life misery for those around him get his comeuppance; a theme also found in "Morianna" (1965) and "Jokerfejs" (1983).Vildmarkssommar/Matty (1957) - Strange hybrid of drama and nature documentary in the style of old Disney Nature film, that fits in most of the fauna of northern Sweden. We will be back in late August/early September with more cult films, guests and the returns of Kitty Lash.
Kitty Lash joins Django Nudo and the Smut Peddler in the studio once again. We kick off with the 800th film posted to Cultpix and the release of Thriller - A Cruel Picture on BluRay, with some Deluxe Limited Edition copies still available form our webshop. Kroger Babb called himself 'America's Fearless Showman', and will always be known for the exploitation classic Mom and Dad (1945) that he whipped up controversy for, self distributed and made it the third biggest BO hit of the 1940s. He deployed every trick in the book, while inventing several new ones himself, to get maximum publicity for his films and pull in the punters. A selection of his most famous/notorious films are now on Cultpix: Child Bride (1938) - An expose of the practice of older men marrying young girls in the Ozarks. Shirley Mills was just 12 when she filmed the controversial skinny dip scene. The films was meant to draw attention to the problem of child marriages, but Kroger Babb maximised the shock value, bypassing the Hays code by claiming it was 'educational'. She Should'a Said No! (1948) - Robert Mitchum and Lila Leeds were bust for drugs at a Hollywood party, but while his career recovered, this became her only lead role and an example of the dangers of the Devil's Weed. Blends Film Noir and exploitation. One Too Many 1950 - Female alcoholism is tackled in this drama that Kroger spiced up with several music numbers. "Is There One in Your House?" the tagline asked. The story of an alcoholic woman trying to hide her booze dependance. Her secret love of liquor destroyed Helen Mason's concert pianist career and family. Why Men Leave (1951) - Housewife who thinks film exec hubby is cheating on her hires Hollywood make-up expert to glam up. Kroger sold $10 make-up kits in the cinemas showing this film. Halfway to Hell (1954) - “The Picture the Communists Are Trying to Stop!” Kroger himself provided the inflamatory opening statement himself form his desk in this red-under-the-bed anti-Communist documentary. It actually makes the point well that there wasn't much distinguishing Stalin and Hitler. Karamoja (1955) - "They wear only the wind and live on blood and beer," was the tagline for this documentary about tribes in Uganda. Lots of tribal boobies. Kipling's Women (1961) - Supposedly "A Picturization of Rudyard Kipling's Immortal Poem---The Ladies." This was one of the first 'nudies' to get widespread distribution in US. Schlock distribution maestro Kroger Babb "four-walled" it, by renting the cinemas for a flat fee and taking all of the box office collections.There's a Spotify playlist of course.
Django Nudo and the Smut Peddler are joined in the studio by Kitty Lash to explore the weird and wonderful world of Mondo films. First we explore parallels between Netflix's "Clark" (2022) and "I - a Summer Lover" (1972), the former starring Bill Skarsgård while the latter his dad Stellan Skarsgård and both getting nude while sleeping with mother/daughters, as well as "The Vicious Breed" (1955). Having argued over definitions of 'Mondo' and whether it is right to call tribes 'tribes', we dive into mondo movie maelstrom: Pigalle Crossing of Illusions (1973) - Spy thriller about stripper smuggling microfilm, but really just an excuse to show off lots of striptease and erotic acts from Moulin Rouge and other Pigalle venues. Include cowboy acts. (In Paris? Pourquois cowboys?) Mondo Balordo (1964) - Boris Karloff guides us through a world "throbbing and pulsing with love, from the jungle orgies of primitive tribes to sin-filled evenings of the London sophisticate." And Bedouin pimps - or maybe Lebanese. Mondo Freudo & Mondo Bizarro (1966) - We have visionary American 'scumbags' Lee Frost and Bob Cresse to thank for adding an American twist to the Mondo genre with their Olympic International films. "Possibly the creepiest of all the Mondo films," according to Kitty, but sexy in bits depending on your fetish and "strangely erotic". Mondo Bizarro also has an opening credit sequence and music track ripe to be ripped off by Quentin Tarantino. The Wild Wild World of Jayne Mansfield (1968) - In which we are taken on a tour of Rome and Paris by Jayne Mansfield, before she is then killed in a car accident (though not decapitated). Graphic, horrific footage from the crash. Made after her death, the film is narrated by a Mansfield sound-alike, talking about getting her bum pinched in Rome and interviewing tranny beauty queens. Her death car can be seen as part Scott Michael's Dearly Departed tours of Los Angeles. Mondo Pazzo, aka Mondo Cane 2 (1963) - Sequel to their ground-breaking shockumentary Mondo Cane is another beautifully photographed but equally disturbing crackpot travelogue of global gross-outs and international insanity. Kwaheri (1964) - We now go into darkest Africa. Warning from Kitty Lash: this Mondo film was the most stomach churning, with the open skull brain surgery by the African witch doctor. Cannot be unseen! Plus "wild orgies of the body and mind." Malamondo (1964) - Early Mondo film about weird teens doing things like skiing nude, distinguished by the soundtrack by Ennio Morricone. The score does not so much support the pictures as beautiful photography seemingly there "to give visual accompaniment to a hauntingly sublime score."Mondo Keazunt (1955) - Four Italians cross the "Green Hell" of the Amazon, with snake fights and piranhas eating a cow alive. Keazuntheit! Don't miss the sublime Spotify Mondo score collection and we promise to have Kitty Lash back soon. We end with a brilliant Mondo radio ad.
A productive week at the Cannes Film Festival for Django Nudo and the Smut Peddler. There was the launch of the European Genre Film Foundation (EGFF), which aims to research, preserve, restore and promote classic niche films, as well as meetings and deals for more films from British and European libraries. Thanks to our friends at Severin we had a 'Shock U Docu' seasons, where the new films included The Real Bruce Lee (1977) cash-in on the kung-fu legend's death, making-of Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Shocking Truth (2000), and Ban the Sadist Videos! (2005) about the UK's 1980s 'video nasties' moral panic. One such film is the low-budget video shocker Suffer, Little Children (1983). We've paired it with obscure Southern slasher A Day of Judgment (1981).From our mates at Echelon we have an eclectic mix of 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s genre bending films. Frankenstein Meets the Spacemonster (1965) - Originally conceived as a comedy, this sci-fi/horror parody became a serious sci-fi but with outrageous costumes and premise of Martian Princess coming to Earth (Puerto Rico, specifically) to kidnap women and re-populate her planet. The theme song could have been a hit. The Magnetic Monster (1953) - Doesn't actually feature a real monster. Instead radiation-electricity 'serranium' threatens to destabilise Earth. A film that put the SCIENCE into science fiction, and is made 65% from recycled stock footage, so much so that an editor was hired to direct it. H.O.T.S. (1979) - Collage sex comedy cashing in on the success of Animal House. The sorority uniform of tight white t-shirts and red shorts is said to have inspired the Hooters informs. Features three (four?) Playboy Playmates, a former Miss USA of 1972, sexploitation actress Angela Aames, and later genre movie veteran Lisa London in her film debut. My Mom′s a Werewolf (1989) - Bored housewife gets bitten by pet store owner in the toe (!) and slowly starts turning lycanthropic. Can she hide it from her family and will her daughter be able to reverse the curse in time? Real 1980s nostalgia viewing, plus a rare female werewolf movie. Time Walker (1982) - Alien mummy from Egypt terrorises US college campus in search of sacred crystals. It was the first rental VHS Django Nudo ever saw, so he goes into a nostalgic reverie. The new BluRay of Thriller a Cruel Picture, with a behind-the-scenes docu by Cultpix, sold out quickly. Meanwhile a new luxurious, limited edition Mexican BluRay release of the film Svart cirkel/Black Circle (2019) is also out. Plus always a new Spotify playlist.
Django Nudo and the Smut Peddler make fun of Netflix for copying Cultpix's policy of no-censorship and spending its members' money wisely. Smut Peddler has been getting public recognition for his contribution to film history, plus the extraordinary amounts paid for old VHS tapes. We then set sail for film Fantasy Island, with lots of flesh exposed.The Beastmaster (1982) - He can talk to beasts and fights evil wizards. He is Dr Doolittle-meets-Gor! Surprisingly this swords-n-sorcery epic was not a commercial hit when first released in cinemas, but became a mainstay on HBO (so much so that Dennis Miller joked that it was short for, "Hey, Beastmaster's On") and TBS ("The Beastmaster Station"). This film spawned two sequels and popular TV series. The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1958) - The first of three Sinbad films, this was made famous by Ray Harryhausen's stop/motion VFX, called Dynavision. Sinbad battles lots of monsters on his quest, but it is the sword fighting skeleton that proved the most popular, resurrected in Jason and the Argonauts, and arguably inspired the original Cyberdyne 101 Terminator model. Also one of the best movie scores ever by Bernard Herrmann. Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977) - The third voyage of Sinbad and Ray Harryhausen spent a year and a half on the VFX, but the stop-motion started to look dated in the age of Star Wars. Still a good kid's fantasy epic, with a baboon playing chess with Jane Seymour. Sinbad has to face down an evil witch, but it's the creatures we remember. Dr Cyclops (1940) - Dr Cyclops has a lab deep in the jungles of South America where his atomic experiments enable him to shrink living creatures. When four explorers try to stop his dastardly megalomaniac plans for humanity, they find themselves shrunk to doll size. Try battling a dog or a cat, let alone crossing a jungle, when you are the size of a barbie doll! It was the first science fiction film shot using three-strip Technicolor and it looks stunning. Amazons (1986) - Roger Corman produced several films in Argentina in the 1980s, including the swords 'n' sandals (and not much else in the way of costumes) about the legendary all-female warrior tribe. "This is a definite "so bad it's good" movie.The acting is nothing short of atrocious,the fight scenes are incredibly clumsy,the dialogue about equal to an Ed Wood movie and the facial expressions are priceless!" says $TEVE McD's IMDb review. It is hard to disagree. Tanya's Island (1982) - Tanya tries to escape her abusive artist boyfriend by dreaming herself away to a fantasy island, inhabited by a blue-eyed man-ape. But her monkey-lovin' enrages her BF and love triangle ensues. Stars Canadian singer-model Vanity, known for the Vanity 6 song "Nasty Girl" by Prince. She went from 'Nasty' to Born Again Christian after this. There are also plenty of other Fantasy films already on Cultpix. Be sure to catch all the musical action in our Fantasy-tic Spotify playlist.
Django Nudo and the Smut Peddler discuss what qualifies as a 'quality' cult film and whether there are enough of them on Cultpix (answer: No, but check back with us after the Cannes Film Festival). There is also the Nigh of the Living Dead (1968) screening at Bio Aspen in Stockholm on Sunday 15 May.Stranger Than Paradise (1984) and Monty Python's Dirty Hungarian Phrasebook ("My hovercraft is full of eels,") leads us to this weeks film theme: Magyar kultfilmek! Courtesy of the Hungarian National Film Institute. Meteo (1989) - A dystopian cyberpunk science fiction thriller with extraordinary atmosphere and plot, like a cross between Escape from New York and Blade Runner. Three friends living in a deserted industrial estate plot of cyber heist of a race track. "Humming with kinetic energy and stylized in punk-industrial neons, a dystopian future-noir from the Budapest outlands," says Mubi. Disapproving Swede points to influences by French “Cinéma du Look” films such as Diva and Subway. Kisértetek vonata / Ghost Express (1933) - Seven people are stranded on a stormy night at a remote, unmanned railroad station past which, every midnight, steams the "ghost" of a train which wrecked there 20 years ago. Notable for performance by Marika Rökk, Hungary's answer to Ginger Rogers and Rita Hayworth, who toured Nazi Germany during the war and was later revealed to have been a Soviet spy. Hitler was so smitten with her that he sent her flowers and a card after one of her performances. Dögkeselyü / The Vulture (1982) - Hungary's answer to Taxi Driver. A man is robbed by two older women and when the police are unable/unwilling to help he takes matters into his own hands. It is the kind of gritty crime films that did not get made in socialist countries, but somehow this one did. According to Wikipedia, "The film was considered so dark at the time that it was only allowed to be shown in certain socialist countries without certain scenes (especially the ending)." Also the first Hungarian film to use steadicam. Away from Hungary, it's a UFO special this week:Invasion of the Saucer Men (1957) - Probably the greatest B-movie sci-fi poster of all time. Horny teenagers making out in cars encounter aliens that have landed in flying saucers. Originally released as a double feature with I Was a Teenage Werewolf, it is a sci-fi film that doesn't take itself to seriously, but was the first film on the theme of US government coverup of UFOs. Fantastic Movie Musings and Ramblings says that, "it may be THE quintessential aliens vs. teenagers movie. It's certainly gorier than you might guess (particularly when the aliens encounter a bull), and there is something about the way the aliens attack with needles coming out of their fingers and injecting you with a fluid that definitely gets under your skin." Consider yourselves warned! Don't miss this week's Hungarian themed Spotify playlist, featuring Marika Rökk and Kontroll Csoport.
Django Nudo and the Smut Peddler thank the early VIP members of Cultpix, over 90% of whom renewed their membership a year after launch. Truly a cult! Looking ahead there is HD films from Echelon, Hungarian Film Institute (wacky!) and Ukraine. More deals to be signed at the Cannes Film Festival this month, plus a bit announcement. And Night of the Living Dead at Bio Aspen in Stockholm 15 May. The Uschi Digard double Theme Week has just concluded, even though we have barely scratched the surface of her voluminous output. Thanks to the Rialto Report interview with Uschi, Smut Peddler finds that online sources claiming that she is Swedish and went to Catholic nun school in Sweden are all fake. Uschi is actually Swiss - and that's not all we uncover, as we work our way through a selection of her early filmography in chronological order:The Scavengers (1969) - First film where Uschi Digard has a credit in a feature film. Lee Frost directed this western roughie with whippings and nudity. Getting Into Heaven (1970) - Sex-lite comedy best described as frothy and frolicsome except that the women in this picture are naked and having simulated sex with deformed looking men.Oddly Coupled (1970) - Shy photo nerd kidnapped by carload of pretty girls, but prefers fish instead of women. Original title: Betta Betta in the Wall, Who's the Fattest Fish of All?Private Arrangement (1970) - The Playpen cruise is actually an orgiastic yacht party. But when a member turns up dead it becomes a whodunnit-with-boobs. Sandra, the Making of a Woman (1970) - Small-town girl relocates to LA where she moves in with Uschi, who promptly makes a move on her. Coed Dorm (1971) - Semi-musical nudie comedy with Uschi a member of The Farouk U All-Girl Topless Tabernacle Choir.A Touch of Sweden (1971) - Uschi uses her best (fake) Swedish äccent tö tell störies öf sexuål ädventures. Skin Flick Madness (1970s) - Loop of Uschi in a grindhouse cinema 'inspires' couple watching to get frisky. Hawaiian Split (1971) - Say Aloha to drugs, violence and nudity. Rene Bond co-stars in this with Uschi as "bimbo". The Big Snatch (1971) - Uschi and four other women kidnapped by lowlifes in this mean and nasty ultra-sexy roughie.The Goddaughter (1972) - Uschi murders a man by smothering his face in her tits; it's not even the strangest murder method. Vagina firing bullets, anyone? The Black Alley Cats (1972) - Black & white female vigilante gang in cool leather jackets. The Secret Dreams of Mona Q (1977) - The film the Troma Kaufmann brothers deny ever making! (Liars.) And of course there's a Uschi Spotify playlist.
Django Nudo and The Smut Peddler crack open the proverbial champagne to celebrate One Year of Cultpix. It is 12 months since the most weird and wonderful collection of film ever assembled for streaming were launched on an unsuspecting world. What a trip it has been.The good news is that with prices of everything going up, Cultpix membership fees stay the same. So if you were one of the early VIP members, renewing will cost you just $49 still - that's less than one dollar per week for unlimited films! For everybody else the price stays $59 for 12 months or $6.66 per month for the rest of 2022. (Spend your savings in our merchandising store! Buy Christina Lindberg coasters!!)DN and TSP discuss memories of what it was that sparked the creation of Cultpix in the first place (declining DVDs, censorious streamers, furlough fun, etc.) and what the build-up to the launch was like. There were some sweaty moments, but we have a great IT team that saved the day many times. We then pick ten things from the past year (five each) to look back on that stood out. These include friends of Cultpix (we have over 25 film content partners - and three more soon), our amazing members and fans, the Weekly Exploiter newsletter, creating our own genres (80s VHS workout tapes anyone?), being a 'safe space' but not woke, Kitten themes and why we love to see our films on the big screen. We play a lot of clips, trailers, music, interviews and other ear candy as we look back. As a finale, we count down the Top 10 most popular films on Cultpix in 2022. What is the obscure Swedish nudie cutie that made the cut? Which three Kitten films are so popular? A woman director in the Top 3? And the #1 film that nobody expected. There will be a break for Cultpix Radio over Easter, but look out for some Cultpix Easter treats on the site in the meantime. We will be back later this Spring with the
It's the big Four-Ooh Episode, so bad luck that Django Nudo has caught Covid and Smut Peddler is not impressed. Two films that were left out of last week's Women-in-Prison theme get name-checked ("Jungle Warriors" 1984 and "The Hot Box" 1972) .Biker films is this week's theme, but while you may know "The Wild One" (1953) and "Easy Rider" (1969) some of these are so obscure that director, production year and official film poster are all unknown. Not even IMDb has this info!Devil's Angels (1967) - John Cassavetes is a bad biker in this Corman sequel .The Hard ride (1971) - Vietnam war and racial issues in a biker movie that tries to make a social statement. 3 from Florida:Savages from Hell (1968) - Bikers, beach parties, body painting, death by dune buggy.It's a Revolution Mother (1970) - Authentic footage of bikers, peace protestors, and the crowd at a rock festival in this self-described "Documentary of Love" with anti-establishment rant dubbed over it. Road of Death (1973) - Marvellously rock-bottom, R-rated, shot-in-Florida biker/revenge flick so cheap and sleazy and amazingly godawful that it's a sick delight from beginning to end. 3 Dirty Ones by A.Non:Hard riders (1970s) - Mix hardcore sex scenes with footage from an oddball, R-rated biker flick and you get this oddity with Rene Bond. Bad Bad Gang (1970s) - Jane, Eve and husbands Kane & Able (!) drive to Garden of Eden campsite, but are assaulted by a Bad Bad Gang of bikers called The Cobras. Sex Bikers (1970s) - Motorcycle gang called The Pigs wear jackets that declare, 'Pigs is beautiful.' Vanessa del Rio pulls a steel chain out of her... well, like a rabbit out of a hat magic trick. (Dig the Dragon Art Theatre disclaimer!)Oldies:Teenage Devil Dolls (1955) - Quasi-documentary style teenage crime drama. Girls from Thunder Strip (1966) - It's male bikers vs. female bootleggers.Acid Eaters (1968) - A bunch of 9-to-5 working stiffs who become drug-crazed bikers on the weekend! Ride Hard, Ride Wild (1970) - Fake 'Danish' biker sexploitation film. Black Angels (1970) - White motorcycle gang vs. a black motorcycle gang.Hollywood Man (1976) - Film crew shooting motorcycle stunt epic v. the Mob. Features a gang of psycho bikers. Because it's the 1970s.Plus Motorkavaljerer (1950).Music was key for Biker films, so we have an extra juicy Spotify playlist and end with 'Born to be Wild' - sung by Kim Wilde!
Smut Peddler has been busy with a film project, while Django Nudo enjoyed a trashy 1980s VHS Rewind revival. But this week it is Women-in-Prison (WiP) films: sadistic lesbian wardens, cat fights, strip searches and shower scenes, are just some of the WiP tropes. Born Innocent (1974) Linda Blair's first of three WIP films. The rape scene in the shower with a brush handle was so graphic and disturbing (in a TV movie!) that it was cut from subsequent releases.Women in Chains (1972) Ida Lupino reprised her role as sadistic female warden, which she first played in “Women's Prison” (1955). Here a female parole officer goes undercover to expose the brutality, violence and deaths, only to be mistaken for a permanent prisoner. Great Escape from Women's Prison (1976) Asian WIP film, set during the Japanese occupation of Korea. A mother and daughter both end up in jail. The torture is far from as sadistic as you might have expected.Women of Devil's Island (1962) French prostitutes and female political prisoners on the hellish French penal colony island are caught between pirates and soldiers. Swashbuckling and sexy, scantily-clad gals galore!Caged Women (1970) - This revolting women-in-prison film looks like it was shot in someone's house. The girls are wildcats, the guards are hairy pigs, there's tons of lesbianism and the action is semi-hardcore. Crude and dirty.Girls in Chains (1943) - Proto-WIP film, set in a female juvenile correctional institution. A newly arrived teacher picks a fight with a corrupt wicked female warden.Swamp Women (1956) - Another steamy break-out WIP; it's really just an excuse for the female convicts to wear as little as possible. Kattorna / The Cats (1965) - The closest Sweden ever got to making a women-in-prison movie: cat fights and steaminess in a laundry. The hated female boss has lesbian inclinations.The Lustful Turk (1968) - Women-in-harem-cum-prison, in what purported to be the most expensive adult film of its time. Love Camp 7 (1969) - Nazisploitation story of an all-female POW women-in-prison film. Black Mama White Mama (1973) - Pam Grier leads a breakout from a steamy tropical jail chained to her white co-star.Also The Hot Box (1972) and Jungle Warriors (1984), plus
Lisa Petrucci of Something Weird Video joins Django Nudo and the Smut Peddler to discuss the career of David F. Friedman, whose theme week it is on Cultpix. (We completely forget to mention that Cultpix is now on JustWatch and PlayPilot!). The Prime Time(1958) - Friedman's debut films had all the hallmarks of the things that would characterise his exploitation oeuvre (spanking!) and showed how much he had learned from film maker showman Kroger BabbThe Defilers(1965) - Friedman "brought his own personal quirks, or fetishes or things he would be passionate about, whether it be carnivals, spanking or whipping to his films," say Lisa. So too in this film about two juvenile delinquents who date and degrade women. He invented the term 'roughie', but also his 'best film alongside She Freak.'The Notorious Daughter of Fanny Hill(1966) - A period piece, for which Dave probably borrowed costumed from one of the major studios. One of only two films his 'discovery' Stacy Walker starred in. The Brick Dollhouse(1967) - More of a crime story, but with flashbacks where everyone is nude. "The pot party orgy scene is the most tame orgy you have ever seen," laughs Lisa, or a pot party through the eyes of a middle-aged square man.Space Thing ( 1968) - "The worst sci fi film ever made," said Friedman. "It makes Plan 9 seem like Citizen Kane." Judge for yourselves. She Freak(1967) - "She Freak is almost a documentary," says Lisa, as all of the carnival scenes were shot at a real carnival. The dazzling new 4K restoration by AGFA, "just makes your eyes happy." Probably Friedman's most mainstream film, which he put his heart and soul into. Thar She Blows! (1968) - A provocative title, to say the least, but it is David F Friedman coming up with a new theme for showing people getting naked: Boat Sex (with castration!).The Head Mistress(1968) - Dave going back to historical nudies. Dave liked to bring a bit of 'fanciness' to his films, this one based on The Decameron. Brand of Shame (1968) - One of 4-5 films Dave made in 1968 and not one of Lisa's favourite films - despite featuring the original Django Nudo!The Lustful Turk(1968) - At the time it was the most expensive adult film ever made! Features spanking (of course).That's Sexploitation (2013) - Directed by Frank Henenlotter (Basket Case) it was a group effort to tell the story of exploitation cinema. It was the last thing Something Weird did with Dave and also the last film of Mike Vraney before his cancer diagnosis. Lisa also reveals the time she wore a nurse uniform and handed out sex ed leaflets to audiences. There is also a Swedish TV special with Dave and Mike. Lastly there is the time Dave dropped acid with Cary Grant! Plus an exclusive on Dave Friedman's unpublished book. Don't miss the Friedman Spotify playlist.
The Smut Peddler is not amused by Django Nudo's bass player jokes. Shameless plug for the Jens Bådd special edition DVD combo package and JustWatch launch is imminent. Then we rock out big time to some of our favourite music films from the 60s, 70s and 80s.Wild Guitar (1962) - Arch Hall Jr might not have been anybody's idea of a rock idol, but his dad was a film producer, so this is how he got his rockin' start. He then went on to appear in The Choppers and The Sadist. Disk-O-Tek Holiday (1966) - One of the best preserved rock films, scanned from the original negative and starring 20 great performances by vintage rock acts culminating in an astounding "almost live" medley by Freddy Cannon and the Ramrods.Musical Mutiny (1970) - The multi-talented Barry Mahon directed this rock film about the ghost of a pirate taking over a theme park and staging a rock concert. Iron Butterfly perform on stage in this lunatic time capsule from an era long gone. Toomorrow (1970) - This bizarre sci-fi musical about a dying aliens seeking 'vibes' from a pop band on Earth was such a disaster that the lead, a young Olivia Newton-John, gave up acting for eight years, until her agent persuaded her to do Grease. Has to be seen to be believed. Rock'n'Roll Nightmare (1987) - Rock band practicing in isolated farmhouse get more than they bargained for when evil haunts the place and turns the band members into demons from hell. Based on the success of this Canuxploitation, director John Fasano would the following year go on to make: Black Roses (1988) - Metal band come to play in a small town. Conservative parents are won over, but wait until they see the band hypnotise their children into crazed murderous hordes. The demon band on stage looks like Finnish band Lordi. Hell′s Bells - the Dangers of Rock′n′Roll (1989) - Documentary warning about the dangers of the Devil's music - if the previous two films were not warning enough. Ola & Julia (1967) - A Romeo-Juliet story of singer meeting actress but their band/troupe don't get on. Stars real-life singer of Ola & the Janglers. Grejen (1966) and Drra på - kul grej på väg till Götet / A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Gothenburg (1967) - popular Swedish 60's band Lee Kings, joined in the latter film by a bunch of other popular Swedish bands (and comedians as their managers) who go on a madcap race from Stockholm to Gothenburg. Singing ensues. Under ditt parasoll / Under Your Parasol (1968) - The band Sven Ingvars went broke (literally) making this bizarre road movie-musical: promenade orchestra 1912, pop band with electric guitars and revolver duelling cowboys in Desperado City!Blödaren / The Bleeder (1982) - Female rock band ends up in an abandoned house with a psycho killer. Rockin' Spotify playlist here.
Fresh blood in the Cultpix Radio studio as The Chilean joins Django Nudo to talk about the quantitative study what our members think of Cultpix. Overall very positive, but still room to improve and requests ranging from Roku app (coming!) to Jess Franco films (working on it).Then The Smut Peddler rises from the grave to introduce our first Mondo theme week, looking at Sexy travelogues from around the world, to be followed by Mondo Tribal this spring. These exploitation pseudo-documentaries originated in Italy - hence great music by Ortolani, Umiliani and Morricone - but soon became a label to slap onto almost any type of episodic film with nudity, gore or more.Hollywood's World of Flesh (1963) - The US version of the Mondo genre the we covered two weeks ago in the Lee Frost theme week. Seedy underside of tinseltown 'exposed'.Women of the World / La donna nel mondo (1963) - A look at customs and rituals of women (often naked) from every corner of the world. Voice over by Peter Ustinov, who voice lends it class and distinction... even during the icky parts! Fascinating documentary featuring actual, often startling, footage from around the globe.Sexy Proibitissimo (1963) - A sort of Mondo Stripteaso with a couple of monsters inexplicably thrown in. It works its way forward from Stone Age, disrobing through historical moments and ending in space. But not before a nudie take on vampire and Dr Frankenstein. A fun, titty-filled Italian “Sexy” released in the U.S. by Bob Cresse (who also wrote the narration).Violated Paradise (1965) - Japanese travelogue, financed by Italians and directed by an exiled Russian. We follow the geisha Tamako on a seditious trawl around the fleshpots of Japan. Topless female pearl divers, bathhouse geishas, and glitzy nude Ginza cabaret. Chained Girls (1965) - Tagline: “Wild Women Who Need No Men!” It's “A Daring Film About Lesbianism Today'. We are informed that 'Psychiatric examinations have shown that lesbians had fathers that are psychopathic, alcoholic, or tyrannical!' Mundo Depravados (1967) - Not so much a true Mondo film as much as a cash-in on the term. Instead it's a sick nudie-whodunit with some nasty murders, a bit of old-time burlesque courtesy of titanic titted Tempest Storm. One minute it's a nudie, then a comedy, then women are getting stabbed, then it's a burlesque show. Your head will start spinning long before it's through.Rio Nudo (1969) - The swingingest, sleaziest travel video that could only be made in South America -- where life is cheap! Rio Nudo is just the ticket for anypone who wishes they could travel back in time and see what Brazil's Rio was like in the Sinful Sixties. Rapport från Stockholms sexträsk (1974) - Never screened outside Sweden, so Cultpix fittingly named it Mondo Stockholm for the international audience. A Taxi Driver-like night time crawl through the sleazy streets of Stockholm with hookers, porn shops, XXX cinemas and more. Don't forget our Mondo Spotify playlist and please rate and review us wherever you get this podcast.
Django Nudo and the Smut Peddler have long been fans of Women in Fur Bikinis. These films roughly fall into one of two camps (tribes): contemporary jungle and pre-historic cave woman films. We have both! "Bowanga Bowanga" (1951). - A tribe of white women in Africa? You betcha. Fifties Glamour Girls in skimpy jungle bikinis! "Nothing less than the Single Greatest Jungle Movie Ever Made." (says SWV.)"Attack of the Jungle Women" (1959) - Developers from the Pan American Highway Commission stumble upon female tribes in the unfriendly jungles of Central America. "Virgin Sacrifice" (1959) - Juicy little jungle thriller "Actually Filmed in Guatemala, Featuring Vicuni Savages!" Brutal opening scene of woman sacrificed by savages in ritual masks. "Tarzana, the Wild Girl" (1969) - Guys love Tarzan. Guys love tits. Combine 'em and you've got the guy-friendly Tarzana, the Wild Girl, a fun, cheesy, wonderfully stupid and marvelously bare breasted Italian jungle epic. "Tarzun and the Valley of Lust" (1970) - A rude and raunchy risque romp in the woods with wild animals, wilder women, and the wildest tribe of ooga-booga native stereotypes. "Trader Hornee" (1970) - A hilarious, big-budget sex comedy from producer David F Friedman ("The Erotic Adventures of Zorro"), who will soon get his own Theme Week on Cultpix. "Jungle Blue" (1978) - Strangest hybrid of exploitation sub-genres: late 70s jungle movie craze meets crime thriller with copious amounts of X rated action. "Prehistoric Women" (1950) - Tagline: "Savage! Primitive! Deadly!" Stone age women hate men but need them for mating. Women capture men. Man escapes. Man discovers fire. Man returns with fire. "Wild Women of Wongo" (1958) - Cute cave girls and beefcake cave men abound in this "enjoyable goofy cult oddity so amazingly stupid that it's almost profound.""Not Tonight, Henry!" (1960) - Nudie cutie where henpecked hubby drinks away his sorrows in a local bar and dreams himself back to historical romantic settings, all the way back to the sexy Stone Age. "Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women" (1967) - Peter Bogdanovich direct Mamie Van Doiren wearing seashell bikini in this second re-edit of Soviet sci-fi film. "One Million AC/DC" (1969) - Nudie caveman comedy with a script by Ed Wood! Rubber dinosaur tears fur bikini off woman and then eats her. Fat cave man looks directly into the camera: "Tragedy is done." "Cave Women" (1979) - Annette Haven takes an anthropological look at sex in the stone ages. "Cave Girl" (1985) - High-school nerd accidentally travels back in time and encounters stunning cave girl that he tris to bed. Listen to our rockin' Spotify playlist. Also the Norwegian James Bond parody "Jens Bådd" DVD and t-shirt are now available to buy.
Django Nudo gives Smut Peddler a verbal spanking, celebrate George A Romero's birthday; free-to-view films on Cultpix; a new Top 10 and the kids film by Boarna Vibenius. The career of Lee Frost (1935-2007) pretty much covered every genre going: nudies, comedies, westerns, war films, thrillers and more, as director, producer, DoP, editor and sometimes actor. According to IMDb: “Lee Frost rates highly as one of the best, most talented and versatile filmmakers in the annals of exploitation cinema.” "Surftide 77" (1962) - Frost's directorial debut, about a private eye who has to find a girl with a butterfly-shaped birthmark on her breast. So an excuse to show lots of breasts."House on Bare Mountain" (1962) - is a particular obsession of ours, not least as it is where the Cultpix Radio ident comes from with the still of the werewolf and the beauty. Producer Bob Cresse is back in drag as Granny Good who runs a charm school that's actually a bootleg operation. "Hollywood's World of Flesh" (1963) is Frost's early take on the Mondo genre, a hilariously bogus “documentary on the film capital of the world”. "The Defilers" (1965) - Two amoral and sadistic rich kids "guzzle liquor, smoke grass, cavort with masochistic beach bunnies, and eventually kidnap and imprison a beautiful young girl.""Hot Spur" (1968) sees Frost tackle the Western, as a young man takes a job on a ranch, just so he can take down a high-and-mighty 'cowbitch' - kidnapped, beaten and tied up in revenge for what the woman and her husband did to his sister. "Love Camp 7" (1968) - created the Nazisploitation genre. Two busty female US officers seek to infiltrate a women's POW camp in Nazi Germany to... well, it's not important to the plot. They get caught, with torture and misogyny ensuing. "The Animal" (1968) - Perhaps Frost's most disturbing film. Ted Andrew boozes, smokes pot and spies on women neighbours through his telescope. "He made her an animal... Now all he needed was a leash!" is the unforgettable tagline. "The Pick-Up" (1968) - Another legendary 'lost' roughie that SWV found in Copenhagen of all places, thanks to a Scandi tour arranged by Klubb Super8. Friedman and Cresse play mob gangsters out to collect some money and torture chicks who steal it."The Scavengers" (1969) - Tagline: “They spell love like you'd spell lust, and they've already turned ten towns to dust!” This western sees Confederate soldiers trying to rob a Yankee coach of its gold."Ride Hard, Ride Wild" (1970) - Cashing in on the twin-trends of biker films and Scandi nudies, this pretend Danish film sees Lee Frost credited with 'Dubbing Supervisor', but we suspect the 'Elov Peterssons' directing credit is one of his many aliases. We end this episode with the movie's theme song. "Zero in and Scream" (1970) - "When a man climbs on top of a woman, she becomes ugly!" explains a proto-Incel sniper. Tapping into the Manson/Zodiac zeitgeist, this film is unique in being filmed extensively through the scope of a rifle. This week's Spotify list.
Django Nudo and the Smut Peddler sink their teeth into a bevvy of sexy vampire-themed films - Peddler from inside a tomb (sorry for mic problem). But not before celebrating new features on the site, including a Comments field for every film, a weekly Top Ten, movies Free to View for all (registered) and a special category for Vinegar Syndrome films. Integration with PlayPilot, JustWatch and Letterboxd is imminent and Roku, Android and iOS apps not far off. There is also the cinema screening of "Besökarna / The Visitors" (1988) at Stockholm's Klarabiografen this Sunday 30 January 14:30. "Dracula (the Dirty Old Man)" (1969) finds the Count living in a cave, sporting a Jewish accent, bad hairpiece and called 'Mr Alucard' (Dracula backwards). His sidekick Irving Jackalman brings nubile women to the cave to be tied, stripped and have their breasts bitten by a bat. "Guess What Happened to Count Dracula?" (1970) is wackiness of the highest order. Sporting a goatie beard and bad Bela accent, Count Adrian and his ghouls run "Dracula's Dungeon," a bizarre Hollywood nightclub. "Sex and the Single Vampire" (1970). John Holmes is Count Spatula in his acting debut, where he tried to be funny and only gets his famous schlong out towards the end. Horny couples arrive at a haunted house for the Count to ogle and try to drain them of blood. Rude, raunchy, and ridiculous horror sex comedy. "The Vampire Happening" (1971) is what happens when you cross "The Fearless Vampire Killers" (1967) with "Rocky Horror Picture Show" (1975). Pia (Elvira Madigan) Degermark is a Hollywood actress who inherits a castle in Transylvania. Director Freddie Francis considered this nudie horror parody a 'disaster', but it is fun viewing today. "Dracula Sucks" (1978). Prof Van Helsing thinks bite marks on patients at a sanatorium are the work of Dracula in this film, considered the most star-studded X rated film ever made, with Annette Haven, Seka, John Leslie, Serena, John Holmes (again) and many others. "Vampire Hookers" (1978) sees a bevy of female vampires lure their customers back to the lair of aged vampire (John Carradine)."Mad Love Life of a Hot Vampire" (1971) is a horror comedy where Dracula lives in Vegas and sends out his female vampires to collect blood in the most unusual ways. Guess where they bite their male victims. Ouch! There is also "The Sadist With Red Teeth" (1971), "Condemned to Live" (1935) and "House on Bare Mountain" (1962), which all feature vampires in some erotic variant. We've also curated a Sexy Vampire Spotify playlist for your enjoyment. If you are reading this far, write us to tell us what you would like to see on Cultpix and please rate this podcast wherever it is that you're downloading it from.
It's time for Django Nudo and the Smut Peddler to head to the celluloid ghetto, as they unearth some sweet, sweet Blaxploitation classics. Included here is every type of genre: gangster, women-in-prison, war, thriller, western, motorcycle films and more. "Black Rebels" (1960/1965) - Delinquents! Drugs! Interracial Violence! And - yipes! - Topless Sex Scenes! Yes, kiddies, here's another excellent ·but forgotten B-movie, full of racial tension and a couple of big name stars, turned into Sixties Sexploitation via nudie-movie inserts. "Black Brigade" (1970) - Made-for-television war drama with an impressive African-American film cast: Richard Pryor, Rosey Grier, Robert Hooks, Moses Gunn and Billy Dee Williams. A redneck officer is put in charge of a squad of all black troops charged with the mission of securing an important hydro dam in Nazi Germany. "Black Angels" (1970) - This loopy yet cynical biker flick about a white motorcycle gang vs. a black motorcycle gang that's jam packed with absurdities, semi-authenticities, and even some ass-kickin' action."The Black Alley Cats" (1972) - An interracial bevy of beautiesbecome the Black Alley Cats - an ebony and ivory female vigilante group that robs from the rich and gives to the poor. They even force Uschi Digard and two other white chicks to have sex with the token black guy at the party: "You want to integrate? You're gonna integrate!" These Cats have political claws in their sexual paws!"The Spook Who Sat by the Door" (1973) - A secret black nationalist is trained by the CIA and later trains and leads black freedom fighters in an uprising against the U.S. government. 70s spy thriller meets Blaxploitation!"Black Mama White Mama" (1973) - This women-in-prison film unites Pam Grier and Margaret Markov in a feminist/blaxploitation version of "The Defiant Ones" (1958). Cemented Grier's status as female action icon and Queen of Blaxploitation cinema. "TNT Jackson" (1974) - Jean Bell was only the second-ever African-American centrefold when she appeared in the October 1969 Playboy issue. Here she kicks kung-fu ass in yet another Blaxploition hybrid as the eponymous T.N.T. IMDB review: “This is so '70s bad Far Eastern martial arts meets black power that it hurts, but boy it hurts so good! I am ashamed to admit that I almost enjoyed it.”"The Black Godfather" (1974) - Typical gangster/guns/ghetto theme for a blaxploitation movie, where the black hero/thug/anti-hero takes on the bad white mob/drug dealers/cops! Rod Perry just one of many Black sports stars who crossed over to acting. "Joshua (Black Rider)" (1976) - Western Blaxploitation is which Fred Williamson is Union soldier turned bounty hunter, who hunts down the thugs that killed his family. Fun fact, in 1973 Williamson posed nude for Playgirl magazine and was known as The Hammer form NFL."Mean Johnny Barrows" (1976) - Produced, directed by and staring Fred Williamson this pre-Rambo films sees a Mafia war between the Da Vinci and Racconi family. Time for Johnny to step in. Don't miss our cool Spotify Blaxploitation playlist.
New year, improved Cultpix, same old Django Nudo and Smut Peddler. Season three of Cultpix Radio WCPX 66.6 starts off looking forward to everything new coming in early 2022: more films (lots of Something Weird!), exciting theme weeks, new colleagues, new features to the site and more cinema partnerships, including with Klara Bio, central Stockholm's hippest cinema. Cultpix kicked of 2022 with a two-week retrospective of the amazing Francesca 'Kitten' Natividad, who combined humour and sexiness in everything she did. Starting out as a burlesque dancer she is probably best known for her two films with her partner of 15 years Russ Meyer. However, before she did those she had already appeared in "Deep Jaws" (1976), a soft-core comedy trying to ride the wave of "Deep Throat" and "Jaws" in the story of a failing movie studio trying to make an erotic mermaid film. In the 80s Kitten got to play the lead in "Taking It Off" (1985) and "Taking It All Off" (1987) where she played Betty Bigones who tries to shrink her legendary bust to get more regular acting gigs and later helps a fellow stripper overcome her shyness with hypnosis. Previously she made her own Jane Fonda-type exercises tape "Eroticise" (1983) demonstrating her fitness proves. Kitten had cameos in several mainstream comedies, including two "Police Academy" knockoffs, "Doin' Time" (1985) and "Night Patrol" (1984), both of which have proved surprisingly popular with Cultpix members. Perhaps more notable than even Kitten in "My Tutor" (1983) is that it was Crispin Glover's film debut, before he went on to "Back to the Future" and weirder roles. Kitten even did a stint on television, not least as the evil Pumpkin Princess on teen spy comedy "The New Adventures of Bean Baxter" (1987) and showed that her comedic talent went way beyond jiggling her jugs. Kitten did not do any male-female hardcore until the 90s, but she appeared in several adult films in the 1980s, many of which are from our friends at Vinegar Syndrome. "Eat at the Blue Fox" (1983) is about the infamous night club across the US border in Mexico, famed for its 'Donkey show'. "Let's Talk Sex" (1983) is an example of slick and sexy 80s porn. "Ten Little Maidens" (1985) is that rare thing, an Agatha Christie-style porn film with some truly strange kinks. Death by Arsenic-laced vagina, anyone? More hard-boiled type of detective porn in "Titillation" (1982), which is a film that combines funny dialogue, decent acting and hot sex, so much so that it gives porn a good name. Lastly "Bodacious Ta Tas" (1985) is a chance to see Kitten's burlesque skills on stage, as well as doing a female-female scene rather than getting it on with Ron Jeremy.As always we play clips, trailers and music from her films. Also check out the full podcast interview she did with fellow burlesque dancer Angie Pointani.