Storefront Theatre Collection 1 Review

All Night at the Po-No

An adult movie review by Flash

Distributor: Vinegar Syndrome Edition Details: Standard DVD Release Specs: Also known as: Storefront Theatre Collection Volume 1: Po-No Video Format: NTSC Format: DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 3

All Night at the Po-No, also called the Storefront Theatre Collection Volume 1: Po-No at stores, is a collection of twelve early 70s low budget adult film. All of the films included in the collection were filmed in the Los Angeles California area. The Po-No Theatre, the storefront theater that the collection was named for, was located between Hollywood and Sunset in Los Angeles.

The collection has its pros and cons. The transfer for the films contained here aren't up to the normal quality standards of Vinegar Syndrome. Some of the titles here have appeared on releases from other companies and others have not. In general, the versions that appear here look better than they have ever looked before and are more complete in some cases than previous versions that have been released.

A lot of the films contained in the collection are complete losers, with only a few gems hiding amongst the rubble. Then again for the purchase price, you are essentially paying for the gems in the collection and the losers are free. Whether good or bad, it is nice that Vinegar Syndrome is offering these films outside of Exploitation.tv for those who don't wish to subscribe to Vinegar Syndrome's streaming service but would still like to see and own copies of these movies.

Vinegar Syndrome has given the collection an interesting presentation. The twelve films, and two loops, are split amongst three DVDs. Each one of the DVDs auto starts and plays through each film continuously until the end of the disc, like you were at one of the old store front theaters. While this is a cute set-up, it is a pain for repeat viewings of the titles you are interested in since you have to manually bring up the menu to start the film of your choosing and after it is over to go to the next of your choosing you have to bring it up again. It would be nice if there was an option when the disc starts to go to the menu or start an auto play of the disc.

The first disc, labeled 7 PM to 11 PM, contains the films Homer...The Late Comer, Erotic Point of View, Porno Mondo, and Sex Before Marriage. It also contains the loop “Girl Acrobatics.” The second disc, labeled 11 PM to 3 AM, contains the films Swinging Playboy (called The Playboys on the print), Suckula, The Big Snatch, and The Erotic Adventures of Hercules. It also contains the loop “Orgy in the Woods.” The third, and final disc, labeled 3 AM to 7 AM, contains the films Shot on Location, The Touch, Carnal Go-Round, and All-American Hustler. There aren't any loops on the third disc.

As far as extras go Vinegar Syndrome has included two on the set. The first disc contains the 1971 loop “Girl Acrobatics.” The loop stars Gene Rowland and Jane Tsentas and is softcore in nature and runs for five minutes. It is presented in the academy aspect ratio and contains poor audio, with very low volume, crackles, pops, and hiss throughout and the print has good color with grain, scratches, artifacts, and print damage.

The second disc contains the 1970 loop “Orgy in the Woods.” This reviewer suspects that “Orgy in the Woods” isn't the original name for the loop and that the loop is actually two seperate loops, “Orgy in the Woods — Part 1” and “Orgy in the Woods — Part 2”, that have been stitched together. Especially since the natural break between the two looops can be seen. The first half features Fran Spector with a male and the second half features Fran Spector, the same male and other male and female couple. The two loops were likely shot on the same day and at the same place. The combined loops are hardcore in nature and runs for 18 minutes. It is presented in the academy aspect ratio and contains print damage, grain, scratches, and artifacts. There are points where the color is faded. The sound doesn't have any noticeable issues.

The loops are a nice inclusion on the disc however Vinegar Syndrome has failed to list known information for the films being presented. A booklet that talks about what is known — yes, I recognize several of the films probably have no information known about them — about the films would have been nice. Also, since this series features a different storefront adult theater for each release, an extra on the Po-No Theatre would have been nice. A featurette on history of the theater, with archival photographs, and any other information on the theater would have fit nicely. Also only one version of The Erotic Adventures of Hercules is included. There are two versions, the straight version and the gay version, since they are significantly different, it would have been nice if Vinegar Syndrome had included both of them.

You can jump to the review of All-American Hustler, The Big Snatch, Carnal Go-Round, The Erotic Adventures of Hercules, Erotic Point of View, Homer...The Late Comer, Porno Mondo, Sex Before Marriage, Shot on Location, Suckula, Swinging Playboy, or The Touch or just keep reading to read them all.

All-American Hustler

Movie Specs: Genres: Classic (1970s Shot on Film), Feature Film, Drama Also known as: The All American Hustler, Once There Was A Flower Run Time: 65 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1972 Director: James Auker (as Huck Walker) Written by: uncredited Director of Photography: uncredited Cast: Mickie Lynn, Candy Kay, Tricia Opal, Michael Pataki, Tina Smith, Frank Rhodes, Tracy Scott, Jack Ackerman, Carol Warren, Sherry Miles, Don Sherman, Jimmy Joyce, Luke Andreas, Angelo Grisanti, Johnny Silver, Esther Sutherland, Ric Marlow, Virgil Frye, Kelly O'Gallaher, Joe Valino, Jackie Winston, Artie Scheiner, Garoth Took, Don Clapp, Widad Spidari Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1

The Movie

All-American Hustler is a strange film and sadly a complete mess of a film. The story, as shown doesn't make much sense at all. From what I could discern, Carol (Mickie Lynn) breaks up with her boyfriend because he is into seeing multiple girls and she isn't. She gets addicted to heroin and starts hooking. The self hatred Carol gets from hooking sends her into a downward spiral of depression.

All-American Hustler appears to have started out life as a softcore, and very depressing, film. Before it got released, hardcore inserts were shot with body doubles and added into the film. Due to how they were shot, it is very obvious that they were inserts that were shot later than the rest of the film. This happened to several films at the time due to the rise in popularity of hardcore films and the decline of popularity of softcore films.

Whether All-American Hustler made more sense prior to being recut into a hardcore film I am not sure. But in its current incarnation the viewer is left not understanding much of what is going on. The sex scenes aren't very good either. Because they are shot as hardcore inserts with body doubles, the hardcore pieces are shot as close as possible in an attempt not to give away that they aren't the same cast members. As a result they are all gynecological shots and not overly appealing.

All-American Hustler is an easy film to skip, due to the poorly constructed film and the sex scenes that fail at any level of eroticism.

The Edition

All-American Hustler is presented in the academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The print contains grain, which is heavier in some places than others, artifacts, and print damage. There are some portions where the film is very dark.

All-American Hustler is presented with an English Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural audio track. The audio track is problematic and probably the worst on the entire disc. The track contains dirt, crackles, and distortion. The film sounds completely horrible in some places. Dialog can be hard to make out.

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The Big Snatch

Movie Specs: Genres: Feature Film, Classic (1970s Shot on Film), Roughie Run Time: 60 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1971 Director: Mark Hunter Written by: Robert Thomas Director of Photography: E. Claire Cast: George Peters (as Mike Maloney), Roy Van der Welt (as Lee Fix), Joan Booté, Pete Fisher, Starlyn Simone, Jane Tsentas, Mindy Wilson Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1

The Movie

The Big Snatch is a gritty, and at times ugly, early roughie that would have been at home playing on one of Avon's screens. Harry Keller (George Peters) is a heroin junkie that rapes and mugs Mary in an alley way one night. It turns out that Mary was part of the She-Devils, a gang, so when the heat gets hot on Harry he hides out at his friend Ruby's while the She-Devils hunt for him.

The Big Snatch is a well done early effort, that while having some issues, is an entertaining adult film. The film was shot on sets, even the alley way, which were well done. Mark Hunter seemed to know more initially than some of his other adult counterparts about film making and the result is very effective. The film, which has a clearly pseudonymous E. Claire as the director of photography, was well shot as well. Hunter was clearly trying to make an attempt at a real movie when he made The Big Snatch.

The sex scenes are a combination of consensual and non-consensual scenes. Some of the non-consensual scenes are ugly and not erotic, others fall into the non-consensual but everyone gets into it quickly. The consensual scenes look good. The cast looks good for the time. A lot of the dialog is stilted and non of the cast is great at acting. The plot isn't the strongest that has ever been constructed for an adult film, but is better than much from around the same time period. The film would have benefited from another 15 minutes of plotted portions to strengthen the film.

Overall, The Big Snatch is a good early effort that is well worth watching for viewers that enjoy the roughies. While not perfect, The Big Snatch is still an entertaining film that is worth checking out.

The Edition

The Big Snatch is presented in the academy ratio of 1.33:1. The print used for the master was in good shape. There is grain present with some print damage and artifacts. Colors look beautiful. No one should be disappointed at all by the image quality.

The Big Snatch is presented with an English Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural audio track. There is some hiss present on the track. Other than that the audio sounds fine. Dialog is clear and can be heard at all times.

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Carnal Go-Round

Movie Specs: Genres: Classic (1970s Shot on Film), Feature Film Run Time: 63 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1971 Director: uncredited Written by: uncredited Director of Photography: uncredited Cast: Becky Sharpe (as Joan Brooks), Carmen Olivera (as Judy Bronson), Ric Lutze (as Bill Rider), George Timpleroman, Sandi Carey, Henry Ferris Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1

The Movie

Carnal Go-Round is a cute little adult film if you give it time to play out its magic. The story is fairly simple, Alice (Becky Sharpe) is a prostitute who runs into Minnie Curtis (Carmen Olivera) outside of the Griffith Observatory in Griffith Park. Minnie is just back in Los Angeles, from back north where she was living with her parents, and has no boyfriend or job. Alice offers to help her with a job and teaches Minnie the tricks of the trade.

At first Carnal Go-Round just appears to be a relatively standard one day wonder where Alice bringing Minnie around and that is just the vehicle for the sex scenes to be played out. Some glaring mistakes, like where Alice is watching Minnie, but Alice was clearly shot in a different room than Minnie is in add to this feeling. And there is one point where it looks like the camera man is smoking while filming. However, if you give Carnal Go-Round a chance to play out, you'll find out that there is actually a cute story hidden within this quickie. The end seems a little rushed, possibly due to lack of budget, unfortunately.

Carnal Go-Round is an oddly constructed film. There are points where it uses intertitles to convey portions of the story despite not being a silent film. There are points where you get the feeling the uncredited director worked for a while in training films since Alice's initial training segments have the feeling of those old poorly done company training films.

The cast looks cute and they perform enthusiastically for the sex scenes. There are some issues with the acting portions though. Not only are there issues with the acting, but there are places where the cast appears to just stumble through their lines. Overall though, Carnal Go-Round is a cute adult film that is worth checking out.

The Edition

Carnal Go-Round has some issues with the transfer. The film is presented in the academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The transfer has heavy grain, print damage, artifacts, jumps, and there are places where the color is faded causing the image to be overly white. The master appears to have been on Eastmancolor stock because there are places where the right side of the screen is red, probably due to color degradation. The film is watchable.

Carnal Go-Round is presented with an English Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural audio track. The audio track has instances of damage that come up but not too many. There are also a couple of segments where the audio is missing, I assume due to heavy damage on the audio track.

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The Erotic Adventures of Hercules

Movie Specs: Genres: Classic (1970s Shot on Film), Feature Film, Fantasy Run Time: 58 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1971 Director: Rik Taziner Written by: Rik Taziner Director of Photography: uncredited Cast: uncredited Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1

The Movie

Before The Erotic Adventures of Hercules was a fake film starring Troy McClure in The Simpsons, it was a real adult film. Sadly, The Simpsons incarnation of The Erotic Adventures of Hercules is far more amusing than this early effort from Rik Taziner.

Interestingly enough, Taziner made two different versions of The Erotic Adventures of Hercules, one gay and one straight. They both have essentially the same story. The male cast in the straight version is the same in both. The gay version has an all male cast and the straight one has half of the roles performed by women.

In this Hercules story, ancient scrolls have been discovered that tell the story of how Hercules is a man. Casmar, the ruler of the Serasins and the Coastal region, has been trying to ruin the power of Hercules, but is constantly defeated by the hero every time. Casmar sends the Princess of Sedina to defeat Hercules once and for all.

The story is minimal here and is told through narration and voice over dubbing (Where all of the male roles appear to have the same voice along with the narrator and one female covers all females.). Some of the story from the gay version has been trimmed from this one. It isn't enough to hold interest and doesn't always make sense either, especially since at the end of the film Hercules is referred to as a god. The sets are cheap and hastily thrown together and Taziner apparently had some beach footage that he was really proud of since he used it repeatedly throughout the film. There are some attempts to make the film look like it took place in ancient times. However there are some glaring errors that stare through at you and most of it comes across as just looking cheap.

The sex scenes are acceptable. They aren't overly great nor are they horrible. The voice over gets a little on your nerves though. And curiously some sexual footage from the gay version of the film was left in this one, not showing any male on male sex but some lead in footage. The film is mostly driven by the always climactic music that is heard throughout most of the film.

Greek and Roman mythology lends itself to the adult realm. If you read the original myths, they are filled with sex and debauchery. Somehow Taziner has managed to mess all of that up in his The Erotic Adventures of Hercules that was shoestring budgeted. Some viewers may want to check this out once but it won't hold up to repeat viewing; most viewers will probably want to skip The Erotic Adventures of Hercules.

The Edition

Rik Taziner made two versions of The Erotic Adventures of Hercules, one gay and one straight, and this release contains only the straight version of The Erotic Adventures of Hercules. It would have been nice if Vinegar Syndrome had included the gay version as an extra on this release. The gay version of The Erotic Adventures of Hercules is currently only available through Hot Movies.

The Erotic Adventures of Hercules is presented in the academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The print contains grain, heavier in some places than others, print damage, and artifacts. The colors are heavily washed out at times and the film often appears to be too bright. This isn't a stunning transfer but it is watchable.

The Erotic Adventures of Hercules is presented with an English Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural audio track. There are some issues with the track, there are pops, crackles, and some distortion. There are times where the dialog is hard to properly discern.

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Erotic Point of View

Movie Specs: Genres: Golden Age Classic (1970s Shot on Film), Feature Film, POV, Drama Run Time: 60 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1974 Director: Peter Small Written by: uncredited Director of Photography: Fagy Joe, Herman Stiff Cast: Al Poe, Dick Cocker Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1

The Movie

Erotic Point of View has a neat gimmick to it but that is all that the film has in its favor. Erotic Point of View tells the story of writer Mr. Cox, who writes erotic books. Cox is researching material for a new book and he and his blind secretary Judy go from sexual experience to sexual experience, all for the book.

In some aspects, Erotic Point of View was ahead of its time. The entire film is shot from Mr. Cox's perspective quite possibly making it the first adult POV film ever made. Erotic Point of View also beat out films like The Blair Witch Project for stream of consciousness style dialog designed to look like real footage.

While the concepts in Erotic Point of View may have been ahead of the film's time, Erotic Point of View doesn't excel at any of its devices and ends up falling flat on its face. As for the POV film style, the concept was a nice idea. The execution wasn't as nice though. Most likely due to the bulk of cameras back in the early 70s, the camera is often stationary with it staged so portions of Mr. Cox are in view, so it looked like it was his POV. However he is often seated or standing in one place so as not to have to move the camera. While POV works as a style now that is due to how light and portable cameras now are.

As for the stream of consciousness style dialog, it gets old fast. The cast often aimless rambles on feeling the need to fill every quiet void with talking or other noises or actions. This become tedious fast. The viewer finds himself begging for a sex scene to start so that the endless mindless chatter will stop. And even when most scenes start the chatter and noise filling continues on. Most viewers will find themselves hitting the mute button at some point during the film just to end the torture.

And even at the sex scenes Erotic Point of View falls flat. For some reason, possibly to build anticipation or due to using the same cast for multiple scenes in a day, all of the beginning scenes are softcore. The first hardcore scene doesn't start until half way through film. And then one of the hardcore scenes is a complete bust since the girl spends the whole scene complaining it hurts and asking the other guy to stop. Whether staged or real, that was a complete turn off.

So while Erotic Point of View may have had some nice ideas in the conceptual stage, it managed to mess all of them up in the execution of the film turning it into just another bad adult film. No viewer will be missing much by giving this film a pass.

The Edition

Erotic Point of View is presented in the academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The transfer came from a rough print that contains significant print damage, artifacts, and grain. The film is watchable throughout but is far from a stellar image.

Erotic Point of View is presented with an English Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural audio track. The audio track is sufficient for the material being presented. Outside of some pops and crackles the audio appears to be in good shape. Dialog is clear and can be heard at all times.

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Homer...The Late Comer

Movie Specs: Genres: Classic (1970s Shot on Film), Feature Film, Comedy Run Time: 57 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1971 Director: James E. Myers (as Ian De Praved) Written by: James E. Myers (as A. Bi) Director of Photography: Van Voyer Cast: James E. Myers, Debra Christian Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1

The Movie

Homer...The Late Comer is a ugly and cheaply shot adult film from the early 70s. What goes for a plot in this venture is Homer (James E. Myers), an unkept slob, lives with his mother and works as a film editor. That's it. In the almost one hour run time nothing really happens at all plot-wise. There isn't a conflict, a resolution, or an attempt to even tell a short story.

There are three sex scenes within the film, which all run way too long. The first scene, which opens the film, takes up almost 20 minutes of the film, or one-third the total run time, and the uncredited actor who plays Homer will make audiences wish that Homer was played by a modern day Ron Jeremy. If this film wasn't so obscure I would say that the Homer character and actor must have been the inspiration for Mike Judge's “Milton.”

The first scene also portrays the hackneyed nature of the film since the set is nothing but a covered mattress on the floor, with a red curtain around it, and a hanging fruit basket. This is the worst set of the film but they honestly don't get much better for the most part. The only one that actually stands out is the food cart, which was probably a real food cart that was handed a little money for a quick bit of filming since almost nothing occurs there.

Homer is also the participant in the last scene as well. The middle scene is snuck in as being in the film that Homer is currently editing, although he seems to have finished his editing since the scene seems to play out as edited already. Music blares over the sex scenes drowning out most of the audio from the scene. There are some attempts at humor thrown in to the film, but none are effective. They weren't well conceived and feel as forced in as the sex scenes do.

Sadly there is no point to Homer...The Late Comer, nor is there anything within this cheaply and quickly assembled one day wonder to be of interest to most viewers. Homer...The Late Comer is just bad porn and will not be of interest to most viewers.

The Edition

Vinegar Syndrome hasn't done their usual amazing job with Homer...The Late Comer, but that is not to say that this is a horrible release. Vinegar Syndrome not putting in as much effort still looks better than what most companies that release films like this do. Homer...The Late Comer is presented in the academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The image contains grain, print damage, and artifacts. Colors look good throughout the presentation, except for a couple of spots of significant print damage.

Homer...The Late Comer is presented with an English Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural track. The audio has hiss and crackles throughout. Dialog is clear and can be heard at all times.

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Porno Mondo

Movie Specs: Genres: Classic (1970s Shot on Film), Feature Film Also known as: Porno Mondo: An In Depth Study of Porno Films Run Time: 61 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1971 Director: Federico Schwartz Written by: uncredited Director of Photography: George Gentilia, Jr. Cast: G. Gasser, Rene Bond (as Sila Lean), Buddy Boone (as Jay Birk), Con Covert (as Al de John), Paul Fry, Ric Lutze (as John Ruby), Kathy Hilton (as Judy Pilot), Penny King (as Alice Doe) Voices: Sam Pope Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1

The Movie

Porno Mondo is an amusing quickly put together adult film. Porno Mondo is set up as a documentary about the adult film industry. The documentary offers, quite obviously, a pro-adult film industry stand, and is 100 percent fake with a who's who list of early adult genre stars filling in as the various positions being interviewed. For instance Rene Bond is Sila Lean the writer, Con Covert is Al de John, the distributor, and Buddy Boone is Jay Birk, the laboratory man. Interestingly at the end, all the stars are billed as the parts they played, not under their real names, obviously trying to keep the documentary concept going throughout the film.

The sets for each of the “members of the adult industry” are nicely done. They are obviously quickly assembled or actually existed in real life at the time, but they look the part. As far as the sex scenes go, the producers used what appear to have been existing adult loops for all the sex scenes within the film. After a portion of each “interview” the film goes into a loop while the audio for the interview continues to play over it.

Knowing the entire film is fictitious, the film, and especially the interviews, comes across as amusing. One would assume though at the time it came out Federico Schwartz most likely expected audiences would not recognize the cast and might think it to be real. Had I seen this under the belief that it was a real documentary I doubt I would have found it as amusing as I did.

Porno Mondo is a fun pseudo-documentary about the adult film industry with loops for the sexual portions of the film. Fans of the early 70s adult cinema may not find a lot of replay with this title, but they should find it to be an amusing and interesting watch the first time around.

The Edition

Porno Mondo is presented in the academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The print used for the master was in rough shape with a lot of print damage. There are artifacts and grain in the image as well. Colors are nicely represented. Despite being a rough print, the film is still watchable.

Porno Mondo is presented with an English Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural track, which works for the material being presented. The sound is good with a slight hiss though out the film. Dialog is clear and can be easily heard.

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Sex Before Marriage

Movie Specs: Genres: Classic (1970s Shot on Film), Feature Film, Comedy Run Time: 61 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1970 Director: uncredited Written by: uncredited Director of Photography: uncredited Cast: Diane Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1

The Movie

Sex Before Marriage is another quickly thrown together adult film that overall won't be of much interest to most viewers. The plot for Sex Before Marriage is poor and completely nonsensical. The film has a man, who is getting married to Penny, break down on his way to the chapel. As he tries to get to the chapel for his marriage he manages to sleep with everyone he comes across.

While this could be a good set-up for an adult film, Sex Before Marriage manages to somehow completely blow it with this one. First he finds a lady who knows a shortcut, so they manage to have sex in a field before he ends up back at the car. He manages to run across a guy with a mattress in the back of his pickup truck since that is such a common sight. He manages to run across Penny's sister (Diane) who, while she is upset the man isn't at the wedding, isn't herself. While adult films are often not known for their intensive plot structure, having one that at least manages not to insult the viewers intelligence is always nice. Had the set-ups been more realistic and comical, this film could have worked. Instead they seem random and whatever the producers could throw together on the fly.

Not only is the plot nonsensical, but the dialog is bad. Not porn bad but just flat out bad bad. The dialog doesn't being the viewer into the film at all. The sets are cheap barely decorated rooms or the aforementioned truck with a mattress in it. The sex scenes are rather monotonous. They don't bring in interest at all and seem mostly to be cookie cutter sex scenes. The cast isn't overly good looking. There is some inventive camera work during the sex scenes, but that alone isn't enough to save this disaster.

Sex Before Marriage is a great example of early 70s bad porn. It was quickly made, without much thought to the viewer and whether they would find anything enjoyable, to make a quick buck and that was it. There is no reason to bother with this title.

The Edition

Sex Before Marriage comes from a heavily damaged print and is presented in the academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The image contains heavy print damage, grain, and artifacts. The film has good looking colors. The film is definitely watchable.

Apparently some versions of Sex Before Marriage include the loop “Orgy in the Woods,” with Fran Spector in it, spliced into the middle of the film. “Orgy in the Woods”must have been added at some later date to pad the run time since it clearly was never originally part of Sex Before Marriage. Wisely this version does not have this footage spliced into the film. Instead it sits on its own as an extra on disc two.

Sex Before Marriage is presented with an English Dolby Digital 2.0 monaural audio track that was also heavily damaged as well. There are crackles, pops, and distortion present on the audio track. The audio is also at a low volume. The dialog in the film can be hard to understand at times.

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Shot on Location

Movie Specs: Genres: Classic (1970s Shot on Film), Feature Film, Comedy Run Time: 61 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1971 Director: Donn Greer (as John Donne) Written by: Donn Greer (as John Donne), Edward D. Wood, Jr. Director of Photography: uncredited Cast: Sandy Dempsey (as Tiffany Stewart), Eve Orlon (as Sunny Boyd), Kim Dupont (as Kim Du Pont), Suzanne Fields (as Cynthia Westcott), Nancy Martin, Shella Bancroft, Rene Bond, Andy Bellamy, Ric Lutze, Bert Davis (as Bert), Wayne Chapman (as Wayne Smith), Donn Greer, Chlorine Stillwater Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1

The Movie

Shot on Location is a fun comedy that tells the story of the behind the scenes struggle at an adult film company while they are filming a dirty western. The producer, Vinnie (Ric Lutze), is constantly battling with the owner, Garrick (Bert Davis). The story presented here is good enough that it would survive without the sex scenes (and indeed it has been also released sans hardcore footage).

Written by director John Donne, likely with legendary bad film maker Edward D. Wood, Jr., contributing to the screenplay, has a far more advanced plot than most of the adult material that is being produced at this time. The film sports a good cast that does well with both the non-sexual material as well as the sexual material. The sex scenes dispersed throughout the film look good and are enjoyable.

The sex scenes are well done. The cast, a virtual who's who of pre-golden age actors and actresses, all give good performances with their sexual roles and their non-sexual roles. The sex scenes fit in well with the plot and don't ever feel out of place or forced in.

While Shot on Location may not be the most accurate look at the behind the scenes of an adult film company, it is certainly an amusing one. Fans of early adult cinema should give this one a watch, it is doubtful they will be disappointed.

The Edition

Shot on Location is presented in the academy ratio of 1.33:1. The print used was in rather good shape. There is print damage, which is heavier in some places than others, artifacts and grain present throughout the presentation. The transfer is definitely watchable.

Shot on Location is presented with an English Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural audio track. The track sounds good and the dialog is clear with no discernible issues at all during the presentation.

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Suckula

Movie Specs: Genres: Classic (1970s Shot on Film), Feature Film, Comedy Run Time: 58 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1973 Director: Sam Weston Written by: uncredited Director of Photography: uncredited Cast: Pat Arno, Ann Finn, Art Gill, Keith Erickson, George “Buck” Flower, Brigitte Maier, Antoinette Maynard, Paul Scharf, Jim Sims, Lilly Foster, George Bondie, Estelle Wagner Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1

The Movie

The easiest way to describe Suckula is to imagine that the writers of Disco Beaver From Outer Space worked for Screw instead of National Lampoon and you will get a very good idea of what Suckula is all about. It is an all out spoof of television with graphic sex.

George Smutnam (George “Buck” Flower) is the evening reporter of a Los Angeles news report on recent vampire activities in LA. He along with roving reporter Sandra Vanocur (George “Buck” Flower) report on the sightings of two vampires, Rodney Alucard, III, and Moona Lisa (Antoinette Maynard).

Suckula is an all-out satire of television; from news programs, to commercials, to silent movies, to late night programs, Suckula takes it all on. And manages to be amusing while it does. Flower deserves much of the credit for the film working as well as it does. He carries the film, very successfully, in his dual roles.

The sex scenes are well done and are well integrated into the film; none seem forced in to the film. The film also includes some tease sexual scenes that aren't often seen in this time period's adult films. Anthony Spinelli shows off his skills as a filmmaker here and shows why he will become one of the greats of the adult film industry. He managed to put together a well done film, that laughs at its own budget shortages, and pulls off being a comedy and an adult film at the same time.

The Edition

Suckula is presented in the academy ratio of 1.33:1. The transfer is good with print damage, artifacts, and grain. The grain is heavier in some areas than others. The color is usually very good although there were a few places it looked off. Overall it is a very good transfer and viewers shouldn't be disappointed.

Suckula is presented with an English Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural audio track. The audio for the film sounds good with clear dialog that is easy to hear and no noticeable blemishes.

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Swinging Playboy

Movie Specs: Genres: Classic (1970s Shot on Film), Feature Film, Comedy Also known as: The Playboys Run Time: 54 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1970 Director: James E. Myers (as Jimmy DeKnight) Written by: James E. Myers (as Jack Leggs) Director of Photography: uncredited Cast: Pete Dawson, Jan Davis (as Jean Dawson), Sheri Rowland, Cindy Pritchard, John Holmes Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1

The Movie

Swinging Playboy is an interesting film. It was clearly cheaply and quickly made, however the film manages to make that work for itself. The story is simplistic, Phil (Pete Dawson), the swinging playboy, ends up with three of his lovers all showing up at his house at one time. He hides all three in three different bedrooms and they are oblivious of each other. Phil tries to satiate all of them since all three are seeking sexual gratification.

Swinging Playboy doesn't try to ever get overly complicated and because of that the film ultimately works. When the film isn't showing the sex, it is always playing for laughs including music that you would expect to hear in very old cartoons to lighten the mood. Swinging Playboy will manage to make you laugh while it manages to entertain the viewer and move the film along so it never seems to plod.

The sex scenes aren't the greatest that have ever been committed to celluloid, but they are functional as well. The cast seems to be having a good time in the various romps and look very “70s.” The sex scenes do suffer from a lack of camera angles, however, shuffling Phil around from room to room helps break the monotony of the lack of angles.

Overall Swinging Playboy is a serviceable film that isn't the greatest one will ever see, but there is enough to it that it will entertain the viewer and won't be seen as a waste of time.

The Edition

Swinging Playboy is presented in the academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The print used for this transfer is in horrible shape. This is flat out the worst transfer I have ever seen from Vinegar Syndrome. The master used appears to have been a Eastmancolor print. Color is poor to completely faded in different portions and the right side of the screen contains a major red hue taking up about one-quarter to one-half of the screen at any given time. The print contains heavy grain, artifacts, and print damage. I would question whether this film would be considered watchable since it is painful to watch most of the time.

Swinging Playboy is presented with an English Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural audio track. The volume is low on it making dialog hard to hear at times and there is a very noticeable hiss throughout the entire film. However, the dialog can be heard, and understood, at all times during the presentation.

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The Touch

Movie Specs: Genres: Classic, Feature Film, Drama Also known as: The Touch of Erotica Run Time: 62 minutes Rated: X Release Year: 1971 Director: uncredited Written by: uncredited Director of Photography: uncredited Cast: Henry Ferris, John Holmes, Jean French, Lincoln Regan, Louise Barnet Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 1.0 Mono Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1

The Movie

The Touch could have been a fun adult film with a story about drugs, blackmail, and revenge. Snow is being blackmailed by drug smuggler Mario (John Holmes) into selling $100,000 worth of cocaine for him. While trying to sell the drugs, Snow works on a plan to free herself from Mario's demands. While this story sounds fun and interesting, unfortunately it falls flat just using the most basic level of the story to proceed from one sex scene to the next.

Sadly there isn't much of Snow's working on a plan, she visits a few people selling the cocaine, with a sex scene at each, and then she suddenly has her plan. The conclusion to the film isn't that fulfilling either. Which was too bad because there could have been a great story here, the potential certainly existed.

The sex scenes are rather mundane as well. None of them really stand out. The cast looks good but everyone seems to be just going through the motions. The sex scenes don't fit in well with the plot either. They feel like there are there just for the sake of having sex. While yes, this is an adult film so graphic sex is the point. It is nice to be entertained by the entire package.

The Touch had a lot of potential but unfortunately the film manage to live up to any of it. In the end, The Touch is another quickly made and easily forgettable adult film.

The Edition

The Touch is presented in the academy aspect ratio of 1.33:1. The transfer contains print damage, artifacts, and grain. The film has good colors and is definitely watchable.

The Touch is presented with an English Dolby Digital 1.0 monaural audio track. For the most part the track sounds good. There are some instances of dirt on the audio through. Luckily they are few.

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Final Thoughts

Vinegar Syndrome's All Night at the Po-No is a collection of 12 quickly and cheaply made early 70s Los Angeles made adult films. A lot of what is presented here after one viewing you will never want to view again. There are a few others that will stand up to repeated viewings. Vinegar Syndrome wisely decided to make the cost not to expensive so it doesn't matter that a lot of the films presented here are duds. The few winners make up for it. The transfers aren't up to Vinegar Syndrome's usual standards but all the films are watchable. Vinegar Syndrome did miss the mark a little on the disc authoring and the extras included. If you like adult films from the transitional period from softcore to when hardcore films started getting actual budgets, you'll want to check this set out.

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If you have questions or comments, feel free to e-mail me at adtflash@gmail.com.

Disclaimer: The views presented in the review are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Adult DVD Talk. Details in “The Movie” section are about the movie in general whereas the details in “The Edition” section are specific to the exact release reviewed. Box cover images are copyrighted by the releasing studio and are used under 17 US Code § 107 Fair Use.