The Sexploiters

Review by Fuggy

More vintage smut from Retro-Seduction. This one comes from 1965, and is a black and white effort from some New York filmmakers who supposedly were in the circle of pre-indie film legend John Cassavettes. Like most of these old school softcore flicks, the only interest here is camp value, or historical curiosity. It's topless only, and not very sexy.

The plot revolves around some New York housewives who make a little extra cash during the day working for a "modeling agency." Some of them do model on occasion (when the paying customers remember to put film in the camera), but mostly they entertain guys on outcalls. Of course, nothing is terribly explicit. They may kiss a guy now and then. The ever-present jazz music is pleasant.

The main actress is a hausfrau from New Jersey named Terri Steele. Another is Jackie Miller, a woman well on her way past 40, who manages to be both hard-faced and zaftig in her endless modeling and bathing scenes. It's all about as erotic as a vintage Fabulous Moolah wrestling match. There's also a very annoying narrator who seems to think he's Rod Serling, but actually comes off more like that creepy guy who does those hooker documentaries on HBO. 

What's most remarkable about this is how dated it seems, considering that only six or seven years later these girls' little sisters would be doing full-on hardcore. This seems to be from a whole other world. That is, until Terri Steele attends a "college party," which is indicated by the presence of cans of Pabst lying around, and then you realize that some things never change.

It's ultra-low budget filmmaking at it's best/worst. I wish I could say that some of Cassevettes' traits rubbed off on director Ruban, but the jury's still out. Genius? Umm, definitely not. Misogynist? Yeah, probably. Alcoholic? Well, gosh, two out of three ain't bad…

There's a nice little moment where a girl and her client are lying on a bed, head to toe, just sort of lazily feeling each other up. It could easily belong in a Cassevettes film, actually. Until Ruban goes in for a close-up, and it's horribly out of focus. Oh well.

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