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Released by: Vinegar Syndrome
Released on: May 6th, 2014.
Director: Zachary Youngblood, Richard Kanter
Cast: Annette Haven, Sharon Kelly, Con Covert, Keith Henderson, Mona Watson
Year: 1974/1974
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The Movies:
Vinegar Syndrome's Peekarama line of vintage adult double features rolls on with this latest entry pairing up two obscure low budget pictures from the year 1974.
DEEP TANGO:
Zachary Youngblood's 1974 opus begins with an opening credit sequence full of obviously fake names like Trippy Feat and Jimmy Cumlately that are kind of amusing. From there, we meet a man named John (Keith Henderson) who hits the streets of San Francisco hoping to find himself a new apartment for rent. He checks out one place and walks in on the landlord going down on a lady (and later singing about it) and then, once that's over with, he starts to meet some of the rest of the filks that live in the building, like a nurse named Mona (Mona Watson) and a few other characters.
Before you know it, John and Mona are seemingly an item and from here, lots of people wind up having sex while completely random plot points are tossed in and out of the film at random. An example? A young woman cuts her wrists using soup can lids and is revived during an orgy of sorts at what was supposed to be her funeral. This goes on while a doctor and his nurse (credited as Carmen Banana) go at it and then later John's girlfriend (Annette Haven) shows up, a hippy chick that kind of just hangs out and looks good but who isn't afraid to get in on the action herself.
None of this one makes very much sense and puzzlingly many of the characters seem to randomly speak in rhyme but if you're in the right frame of mind for what is essentially a student film quality level mix of arthouse wackiness and porno movie tropes and gropes this is, at least, an entertaining picture. Youngblood gets credit for at least trying something different even if he doesn't always succeed. The plot doesn't really wind up anywhere and the characters really seem to only show up here to fuck, which is fine of course as this is an adult feature, but we never get to know or care for them.
The film does offer up some really nice period photography of mid-seventies era San Francisco to ogle when you're not distracted by the bumping and grinding, so we get a bit of a time capsule vibe here. On top of that the movie makes some fairly amusing jabs at different aspects of pop culture, the most obvious being the butter scene from the film which this picture took its name (that'd be Last Tango In Paris in case you couldn't figure that out on your own). It's got a pretty bizarre song that plays out towards the end when Haven gets in on things too… this movie is pretty out there.
YOUNG SECRETARIES:
Richard Kanter's Young Secretaries follows the exploits of a man named John Barnum (Robert Cameron) who heads an advertising company that seems to only employ hot girls with large racks. John is married to a real looker (Sharon Kelly aka Colleen Brennan - read our interview with her here - but billed here as Sharon O'Hara) but he can't seem to keep it in his pants when she's not looking. She's no better though, for as often as he's getting some behind her back, she's paying him back in kind.
Of course, John isn't exactly stoked that his wife is doing what she's doing, even if that makes him a hypocrite. Adding some semblance of a plot to all of this is the threat of a rival ad agency stealing away some business but more important than that is the presence of Roxanne Brewer as one of John's employees, Michele. It all leads up to a poolside orgy and some bad jokes, but it's a fun ride in getting there. The humor is good natured and sexy and the cast are all game, seeming to have a good time here.
The sex in this one is softer than in the first feature but the cast of ladies on display is pretty tough to beat. Ms. Kelly is as lovely here as she's ever been and she gets enough screen time to make this worth tracking down should you consider yourself a fan. Likewise, Roxanne Brewer truly is a sight to behold, and it makes you wonder just how her figure is even possible given the Earth's gravitational pull and the mounds that she has to contend with here. The movie also features a small supporting role from Gary Schnieder, he of Ilsa: She-Wolf Of The S.S. fame and Vincene Wallace also shows up here.
Video/Audio/Extras:
Both features look great in 1.33.1 fullframe transferred from the 35mm blowup negatives. The elements used were in pretty good condition and while there is a scratch or two here and there throughout, for the most part the transfers are fairly clean and as colorful as you could hope for. These are solid transfers through and through offering nice detail, natural looking skin tones and good black levels. Grain is prevalent throughout but that shouldn't bother anyone.
Both movies get the Dolby Digital Mono treatment, in English with no alternate language options or subtitles provided. Both films sound fine. Dialogue remains clear and crisp and the scores sound good. Levels are properly balanced for both features.
Extras are limited to static menus and chapter selection.
The Final Word:
Vinegary Syndrome's Peekarama line double feature release of Deep Tango and Young Secretaries doesn't offer up any extras but does present both of these obscure adult features in excellent condition. Obviously the movies themselves are the most important aspect and both are pretty amusing efforts and the fact that both Annette Haven and Sharon Kelly have decent roles in these films is probably reason enough for some out there to need this one.
