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Goldilocks and the Three Bares | |
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Directed by | Herschell Gordon Lewis (as Lewis H. Gordon) |
Screenplay by | William R. Johnson |
Produced by | Thomas J. Dowd David F. Friedman (as Davis Freeman) |
Starring | Rex Marlow Allison Louise Downe Alison Edwards (as Vickie Miles) William Kerwin (as Tommy Sweetwood) Netta Mallina Gene Berk |
Cinematography | Herschell Gordon Lewis (as Marvin Lester) |
Music by | Lathrop Wells |
Production company | D&R Pictures |
Distributed by | Dore Productions Something Weird Video |
Release date |
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Running time | 69 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Budget | $25,000 estimated |
Goldilocks and The Three Bares is a 1963 nudie-cutie film from the legendary exploitation team of Herschell Gordon Lewis and David F. Friedman. The plot of the film has nothing to do with the famous fable which inspired the title. it was billed as the "first nudist musical" (not to be confused with The First Nudie Musical , 1976).
The film follows the perils of nightclub singer Eddie Livingston (Rex Marlow), as he pursues press agent Alison Edwards (Downe). Livingston's comic foil Tommy Sweetwood is an unsuccessful comedian who manages to offend his entire audience in one way or another with his brash, insensitive humor. Alison likes Eddie enough, but she hides a dark secret; she is a nudist. The two go back and forth playing cat and mouse as Eddie sings a series of Bobby Vinton-ish ballads like "Good Things Happen When I'm with You".
One day, Tommy follows Alison on one of her clandestine weekend getaways and discovers her secret, promptly passing the information along to Eddie. Shocked, Eddie denounces Alison during a radio broadcast. But Tommy has been enlightened by his visit to the nudist camp, and plays Cupid for the star-crossed lovers, and the three soon decide to spend the next weekend at the camp. Eddie embraces the nudist lifestyle, and becomes a firm believer. This, of course, is parlayed through a lengthy set of sequences showing the film's characters enjoying a smattering of activities nude, such as horseback riding, yachting, swimming and water skiing.
With slightly higher production values than The Adventures of Lucky Pierre (1961) and Daughter of the Sun (1962), a series of artistically photographed musical sequences and somewhat more "star power", Goldilocks stands out from the other five entries of this phase of Lewis and Friedman's partnership. It also showcases the more clownish side of Lewis regular William Kerwin, who otherwise typically takes on the straight-edge, leading man role. His character's name, Tommy Sweetwood, is also the name under which he was billed, once again to avoid SAG regulations.
The "star power" of Goldilocks extends to the appearance of former world light heavyweight professional boxing champion Joey Maxim as the owner of his eponymous nightclub where Eddie and Tommy perform. Maxim was so unprepared for his role as himself that he would read his lines off his shirt cuff.
Another Lewis mainstay is Allison Louise Downe, appearing under the pseudonym Vicki Miles. The main star of the film, would-be crooner and nine-fingered Rex Marlow, was reportedly an employee of producer Thomas Dowd, who insisted (among many other things) that the film be a vehicle to springboard Marlow into stardom. Unfortunately for Marlow, his only other silver screen appearance would be in the Arch Hall Jr. western vanity project Deadwood 76. Ironically, in that film, Marlow does no singing at all.
The film was thought to be lost for over 36 years [1] until Something Weird Video released it on VHS for the first time. Before its discovery, the writer of A Taste of Blood: The Films of Herschell Gordon Lewis, Christopher Wayne Curry, said in an interview with Lewis that he hoped the film would be found one day, to which Lewis replied, "Oh my, I hope not."
Allmovie's review of the film was negative, writing "director Herschell Gordon Lewis turns in surprisingly dull work that doesn't hint at the quite individual style exhibited in many of his other films." [2]
Blood Feast is a 1963 American splatter film. It was composed, shot, and directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis, written by Allison Louise Downe from an idea by Lewis and David F. Freidman, and stars Mal Arnold, William Kerwin, Connie Mason, and Lyn Bolton. The plot focuses on a psychopathic food caterer named Fuad Ramses (Arnold) who kills women so that he can include their body parts in his meals and perform sacrifices to his "Egyptian goddess" Ishtar.
Giuseppe Antonio Berardinelli was an American professional boxer. He was a World Light Heavyweight Champion. He took the ring-name Joey Maxim from the Maxim gun, the world's first self-acting machine gun, based on his ability to rapidly throw a large number of left jabs.
A sexploitation film is a class of independently produced, low-budget feature film that is generally associated with the 1960s and early 1970s, and that serves largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit sexual situations and gratuitous nudity. The genre is a subgenre of exploitation films. The term "sexploitation" has been used since the 1940s.
Virginia Bell was a topless model and actress.
In film, nudity may be either graphic or suggestive, such as when a person appears to be naked but is covered by a sheet. Since the birth of film, depictions of any form of sexuality have been controversial, and in the case of most nude scenes, had to be justified as part of the story.
David Frank Friedman was an American filmmaker and film producer best known for his B movies, exploitation films, nudie cuties, and sexploitation films.
Something Weird Video is an American film distributor company based in Seattle, Washington. They specialize in exploitation B to Z films, particularly the works of Harry Novak, Doris Wishman, David F. Friedman and Herschell Gordon Lewis.
Herschell Gordon Lewis was an American filmmaker, best known for creating the "splatter" subgenre of horror films. He is often called the "Godfather of Gore", though his film career included works in a range of exploitation film genres including juvenile delinquent films, nudie-cuties, two children's films and at least one rural comedy. On Lewis' career, AllMovie wrote, "With his better-known gore films, Herschell Gordon Lewis was a pioneer, going further than anyone else dared, probing the depths of disgust and discomfort onscreen with more bad taste and imagination than anyone of his era."
Two Thousand Maniacs! is a 1964 American horror film written and directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis and starring 1963 Playboy Playmate Connie Mason. It follows a group of Northern tourists who are savagely tortured and murdered during a Confederate celebration of a small Southern community's centennial.
Blast-Off Girls is a 1967 American exploitation film directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis and starring Dan Conway, Ray Sager, Tom Tyrell, Ron Liace, and Dennis Hickey.
Color Me Blood Red is a 1965 American splatter film written and directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis about a psychotic painter who murders people and uses their blood as paint. It is the third part of what the director's fans have dubbed "The Blood Trilogy," including Blood Feast (1963) and Two Thousand Maniacs! (1964).
The Wizard of Gore is a 1970 American splatter film directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis and starring Ray Sager, Judy Cler, and Wayne Ratay. The screenplay was written by Allen Kahn.
The Adventures of Lucky Pierre is a 1961 nudie cutie film created by exploitation filmmakers Herschell Gordon Lewis and David F. Friedman. The first of its kind to be filmed in color, the film starred comedian Billy Falbo. It was unique for its time and genre, adding successful comedy to the nudity and sensationalist material.
Jimmy, the Boy Wonder is a 1966 children's musical film about a boy, played by Dennis Jones, who successfully stops time. The film is one of two children's features directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis, the other being The Magic Land of Mother Goose, who is better known for his gory splatter films. It was described as a "glorious bomb" by the Scarecrow Video Movie Guide.
The Gore Gore Girls is a 1972 comedy horror splatter film directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis.
Suburban Roulette is a 1968 American drama film directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis and starring William Kerwin and Allison Louise Downe as characters who are involved in wife swapping to overcome the boredom of living in the suburbs.
Scum of the Earth! is a 1963 American exploitation film directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis and produced by David F. Friedman. It is credited as being the first film in the "roughie" genre.
William Kerwin was an American actor and filmmaker. He was most well known for his character roles in the films of Herschell Gordon Lewis.
Daughter of the Sun is a 1962 sexploitation comedy film directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis and produced by David F. Friedman. The film follows a young teacher who may lose her job after she is discovered to be a nudist. Lewis and Friedman produced the film after the success of the 1961 nudie cutie The Adventures of Lucky Pierre.
Living Venus is a 1961 exploitation film loosely based on the life of Playboy magazine founder Hugh Hefner. Marking the directorial debut of Herschell Gordon Lewis, the film stars frequent Lewis collaborators William Kerwin as unscrupulous magazine editor John V. Norwall and Harvey Korman as photographer Ken Carter.