Directed by Warren Kiefer
Cast: Maria Pia Conte, Christine Delit, Angela de Leo
Rating: NR
"Juliette (Maria Pia Conte) is a schoolgirl expelled from the convent for engaging in autoerotic activity. She travels to Rome where she vows to fulfill her wild sexual fantasies. There she has some conventional affairs before encountering an older man who is a proponent of the Marquis de Sade. She also falls for a lecherous lesbian and takes an LSD trip in this mild exploitation feature." ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide*
Has anyone seen this 1968 Italian-Swedish co-production? Or does anyone have a video copy? There is a German video according to the IMDB review. The story seems to predate Franco's modern Sade adaptations: EUGENIE, HER JOURNEY...; EUGENIE DE SADE (both 1970). I might be interested to consult for background. Warren Kiefer is a beard for Lorenzo Sabatini who also directed CASTLE OF THE LIVING DEAD (1964) and one other feature. I have no record of any directorial activity for him after 1970.
If anyone has seen it please comment below, and if anyone has any video version or the CD listed below please contact me.
It may have had a US release in the late 1960s through distributor Paul Maslansky, who also produced Kiefer's CASTLE OF THE LIVING DEAD. Presumably, it would have played the Adult theater circuit. Interesting to note that Jess Franco writer/actor/associate Alain Petit (author of the essential MANACOA FILES) is listed as a member of the supporting cast. Petit also appeared in Jess Franco's 1975 DE SADE'S JULIETTE, which is presently MIA.
*The plot summary/review is from ALL MOVIE GUIDE.
On the CD:
Music by Bill Conti [!]
Sade E I Suoi Vizi (Juliette De Sade / Hetrosexual)
Composer : Bill Conti
Conductor : Bill Conti
Label / No. : Cam Original Soundtracks CAM 508951-2
Year of release : 1968
CD release: 2003
Thanks to Mirek for the image.
I've never heard of it. I can't see a De Sade adaptation allowable before 1968 though I find it hard to believe Maria Pia Conte as a schoolgirl since she was a voluptuous but probably mid to late thirty-something Countess in RETURN OF THE ZOMBIES (1972).
ReplyDeleteWhile we're onto rare De Sade, does anyone know if Jose Benazeraf's PHILOSOPHY IN THE BOUDOIR is one of this classy seventies ventures or one of his eighties porn videos?
The Alain Petit listing for this movie at IMDb is certainly an error.
ReplyDeletecom said...
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of it. I can't see a De Sade adaptation allowable before 1968 though I find it hard to believe Maria Pia Conte as a schoolgirl since she was a voluptuous but probably mid to late thirty-something Countess in RETURN OF THE ZOMBIES (1972).
While we're onto rare De Sade, does anyone know if Jose Benazeraf's PHILOSOPHY IN THE BOUDOIR is one of this classy seventies ventures or one of his eighties porn videos?
7:50 PM
[I had never heard of it either. Franco's first Sade JUSTINE was 68 so this may have been made at the same time and Vadim did a Sade adapt earlier which I'm looking for. Maybe the info on casting is wrong and Maria Pia Conte does't play the lead role.
Can't seem to find PHILOSOPHY under that title in his Filmog.]
Kaya Özkaracalar said...
The Alain Petit listing for this movie at IMDb is certainly an error.
{Yes, I think they must be confusing it with the later Franco title I mentioned in which he is billed as Charlie Christian]
Sade Adaptations: Vice et la vertu, Le (1963) directed by Vadim with Catherine Denueve as Justine and Howard Vernon in a supporting role is based on Sade's JUSTINE but is set during WW 2 in a Nazi environment. It has been seen as an influence on Pasolini's SALO. I would like to see it. I don't know if there is a DVD available. Of course, Bunuel's 1930 L'AGE D'OR references stages a version of THE 120 DAYS OF SODOM as it's final scene.
ReplyDeleteJust found this. Nice pic! This was produced by Paul Maslansky's wife, I believe. Warren Kiefer was no "beard" but a real person. Met Maslansky while working on a documentary in Rome and directed, as you say, Castle of the Living Dead for him. One of the first (if not the first) roles for Donald Sutherland whom Kiefer and Maslansky came across on the London stage. I believe that Sutherland's son, Kiefer, was named after him. Kiefer went on to become a fairly successful novelist. He died in Buenos Aires in the early 90's. Sutherland described him a few years later as: "Lovely cigar smoking whiskey drinking mystery writing rogue of a man." There's an interview with Kiefer in Steve Johnson's zine Delirious. I've seen sources that say he directed six features in all, although I've only been able to find references to three. Interestingly, in the Delirious article he pretty much lays to rest the rumnour that Mike Reeves (who worked on Castle) was anything other than a lowly gofer.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that valuable information, Pete. And welcome to the blog. I always wondered about Kiefer, and why Sutherland would name his son after a person's nom de plume. I wonder if Sabbatini existed?
ReplyDeleteIt would be great if MM could release JULIETTE as a new DVD!
Thanks! It's nice to be here. Sabbatini was a Renaissance artist. I guess the pseudo was a little joke from Kiefer and Maslansky. Funny that he should be using an Italian alias when so many Italian directors were using English sounding names. I've never seen Juliette and don't know anyone who has. I'm a little bit suspicious about that B Cult site. Have they really seen all these films no-one else has? I guess one could ask Ninki Maslansky where it might be if you could find her. The last I heard of her she was also writing books so should be traceable. Incidentally, there are quite a few of Kiefer's titles still available used on Amazon if anyone's interested.
ReplyDeletePS - to the earlier comment.
ReplyDeletePhilosophy in the Boudoir was not a Benazeraf film, It was directed by Jacques Scandelari. It's actually quite easy to find on DVD/VHS in the US under the title Beyond Good and Evil. Highly recommended. Scandelari also made a quite interesting entry into the Brigade Mondaine series called (in English) Victims of Vice. It's surprisingly sleazy and the police procedural stuff doesn't get in the way too much. It's unlikely to be re-released (so I'm told) due to rights problems with the soundtrack which was done by the now highly collectable Cerrone. Scandelari died in the late 90's and I've never come across any interviews with him. If there are any, I'd be interested to see them.
Thanks for the correct information on the Scandelari PHILOSOPHY. I'd be very interested in seeing it and JULIETTE DE SADE now. Your clarifications and corrections are the kind of valued input for which I created this blog!
ReplyDeleteOn BCULT: You might be interested to note that I recently discovered this site is republishing not only my writing on the IMBD but other writer's previously published worked under other B CULT writer's names with no attribution to myself or the other writers who include Carlos Aguilar and the Phil Hardy Encyclopediaa! My review of EROTIC RITES OF FRANKENSTEIN was taken verbatim and incorporated into a page signed by a "Riccardo Morrochi" without my knowledge or permission! And they won't anwser inquires made about these practices.
The accusation of plagiarism hides a different truth from your description on the Latarnia forum, where I emailed the same apologies. Those texts were copied by two of our former employees in bad faith, and B Cult published them in good faith. B Cult has paid a lot of material with these guys for these texts. Our fault was to not have deeply checked the originality of these articles, because we believed in these dishonest people. Now these two people were excluded from any activities and all their articles and collaborations have been deleted. Who copy and display online some text will be discovered before or late. There's no sense to do it.
ReplyDeleteB Cult it’s a cultural association with about 100 people materially associate, regularly registered to the court of our city, which plays to cineclub activities, and therefore has never done any illegal activity. By the way...our true apologies for this error.
The accusation of plagiarism hides a different truth from your description on the Latarnia forum, where I emailed the same apologies. Those texts were copied by two of our former employees in bad faith, and B Cult published them in good faith. B Cult has paid a lot of material with these people for these texts. Our fault was to not have deeply checked the originality of these articles, because we believed in these dishonest people. Now these two people were excluded from any activities and all their articles and collaborations have been deleted. Who copy and display online some text will be discovered before or late. There's no sense to do it. Ther's no sense to damage the others copyright. It's illegal and dirty.
ReplyDeleteB Cult it’s a cultural association with about 100 people materially associate, regularly registered to the court of our city, which plays to cineclub activities, and therefore has never done any illegal activity. By the way... our true apologies for this error.
I'm not sure why this has been revived (or why I received an email alerting me about it); but since I did...
ReplyDeleteI've just become aware that this B Cult site reprints the entire Benazeraf chapter from Immoral Tales. Oh, yeah, sure - they give "acknowledgments" to Cathal and myself. But since neither of us gave permission for the entire article to be used like this, that's a rather hollow gesture. If the B Cult people are reading this: Please take that article down. We don't want it up there. You're free to quote a few lines from it, if you want, or to reference that it exists. No more than that, though, please.
I saw it,,,,back in 1970 when it aired in a seedy Soho theatre in London on 1970. I enjoyed it so much I saw it 3 times. It was re-titled as "Heterosexual" when it was sceened in the UK. Sadly, I have been unable to find a copy of the film since then...it is on my most wanted list too. If anybody finds a copy, email me at wamtec@comcast.net.
ReplyDeletetks
Mark K