ELLES FONT TOUT (1978); CLAIRE (1979)

ELLES FONT TOUT is not a favorite of mine and I find the 80s remake HOTEL DE LAS LUIGES a bit easier to take, but it is preferable to this rather Keystone Cops assembly, which is nonetheless a minor curio for fans of both European Trash Cinema and Jess Franco. Considering the French adverts and this synopsis "Trois couples séjournent dans un hôtel et tous ont des problèmes sexuels. Un jour, une star du porno professionnel (Lina Romay) enseigne à tout le monde comment faire", one might expect a sophisticated and elegant display of epicurian erotica. The French do have a way with words. Fixated on visual slapstick and oral hardcore (Lina Romay literally sucks food out of the diners) this seems like a haphazardly staged orgy for gourmands only. Romay, as the randy porn star Nini, is pretty much the whole show. A key scene has her character sneaking into the bedroom of a sexually dysfunction couple and performing oral sex on them as they sleep. This qualifies her as a succubus, referencing Franco's 1967 NECROMONICAL aka Succubus, which signaled a paradigm shift in his filmography and work arena. Filmed in Portugal, Cascais, Lisbon; Portugal (Stock shot travelling of the Bay, Estoril-Sol Hotel, and the Palácio Seixas); Boca do Inferno, Cascais; Lisbon, Portugal, according to the IMDB, in what appears to be a local hotel for interiors and some exterior stock shots. This seems to have had an unusually frenetic production, even for a filmmaker famous for frenetic productions. Some charm is exhibited by the always welcome Martine Flety (Blue Rita) and the charming sprite Touxa Beni (Eugenie in COCKTAIL SPECIAL, one of three films made back to back for ailing produced Robert De Nesle, who was to pass away in 1978, the year this, along with JE BRULE DE PARTOUT would form a desperate trilogy for the legendary moneyman. Franco, ever the salesman, visited De Nesle on his death bed, attempting to make a final deal for future productions. The producer of THE THREE FANTASTIC SUPERMEN, COPLAN EUROSPY FILMS and PEPLUMS left this plane of existince on April 21, 1978. I am able to verify the existence of an Italian version, QUEL CERTO SAPORE (That Certain Taste) of ELLES FONT TOUT, which would appear somtime after the initial release of the template. I have had it in my Jess Franco collection for decades and have never gotten around to watching it. I finally fished it out of storage and it's a sub-par dupe, but watchable. In fact, this is the only way to watch ELLES FONT TOUT, as it has completely disappeared and only this Italian dub has suvived. The best shot in the film, and only stylish one, is the final shot of Lina's character wearing a eye-catching sun hat as she walks out of the hotel, script in hand for her upcoming porn film.

CLAIRE (1979) 3 Jess Francos films and a Joe D'Amato film composited by D'Amato. This is probably the most difficult to find of Franco-related films, with no DVD release whatsoever. Actually, this composite was put together by none other than the Italian Jess Franco, Aristide Massaccesi aka Joe D'Amato. Franco's 1978 Robert De Nesle funded hardcore ELLES FONT TOUT, which featured Lina Romay as a porno actress vacationing at an exclusive sex spa, was merged with footage shot by D'Amato featuring his own hardcore favorite, Mark [PORNO HOLOCAUST] Shanon (aka Manlio Certosino). The pamphlet AKA Joe D'Amato (Italy, 1995) cites footage with B. Lahaie, but she is elusive to me in the blurry print which I referenced.

Note that even though she is prominently credited, Franco icon Pamela Stanford [aka Monique Delaunay] is not present in this print version. [74m 30s]