‘Cry for Cindy / Touch Me / Act of Confession’ Review (Vinegar Syndrome)
CRY FOR CINDY
(dir: Anthony Spinelli, 1976)
“Which is the real Cindy?”
Amber Hunt (Long Jeanne Silver, Sexworld) stars as Anna and she’s cute as a button in that almost strange sort of way. She’s a humble hairdresser who spends her free time with her boyfriend Dennis, played by Spencer Travis (Big Split). Things are going OK, but when Nora and Yvonne, a couple of Anna’s clients played by Mitzi Fraser and Maryanne Fisher (in their only starring roles) give her an offer of becoming one of their high class prostitutes, she realises that her financial situation could be better so she reluctantly agrees and begins her new life as Cindy. It goes well at first, but of course it causes tension between herself and Dennis. This leads Anna to making the decision of ending the relationship for the better. Understandably broken, Dennis tracks her down and finds her with her hard faced pimp Ben, played by Jack Wright (Love Lips). After a scuffle, Dennis gets thrown out and Ben goes about his business. Left on her own, Anna weighs up her options and literally takes the plunge…. From her high rise apartment window.
No, that’s not a spoiler because she commits suicide within the first half an hour. The majority of the story is told through flashbacks of those at her funeral. It’s a simple, but well done narrative structure. We find out just how devastating Anna’s life was becoming. From getting it on with an aged John Leslie (Carnal Haven) to spilling her soul to the charming Peter Whigham (The Senator’s Daughter), it really is a fall from grace. All in all, Cry for Cindy is obviously a rather downbeat affair. I have to say that although a rather solid, straight faced piece of melodrama, my interest wasn’t completely held throughout. It’s another example of the actual porn getting in the way. Of course, being a Spinelli flick, those scenes are well done.It’s a very stylish and aesthetically pleasing film throughout. The film’s score is also solid even though some of the tracks don’t really fit the tone of the film. It’s not for everyone, but it’s nothing terrible and Amber Hunt puts in a great performance.
TOUCH ME
(dir: Anthony Spinelli, 1971)
“The doctor told them to reach out and touch everyone!”
For our next outing we are going to see a sex therapist (as if I haven’t been there enough here on the blog recently). His name is Dr. Lloyd Davis and he’s played by Tom Stevens (Strangers). He introduces us to his clinic and more importantly the patients all with their own hangups. These include the overly eager Harry played by cult character actor George ‘Buck’ Flower (Back to the Future, They Live), bickering couple Lisa and Robert played by Andy Bellamy (Sky Pilot) and John Keith (Keys) and frigid housewife Doris (A Clockwork Blue) to name a few. They are treated to 48 hours of exercises, experimentation, sex and more importantly, self reflection. A lot things are revealed and things will never be the same again for the patients of the charming Dr. Davis. Yeah, it’s a group therapy porno, so of course there’s an orgy to top everything off.
Yeah, after recently watching a barrage of Tobalina orgy flicks, some involving the group therapy narrative, I wasn’t expecting much, even if it was Spinelli this time round. What did I think? I actually enjoyed this one. I had read in other reviews that some found this to be a weak effort. If you take in to account the year of production and the fact this is only the second directorial effort from Spinelli, it’s a very solid film. It may be a bit talky for some tastes, but the sexual content doesn’t lack. I found genuine entertainment in Dr. Lloyd Davis… Couldn’t get the image of Leonard Nimoy out of my head. He doesn’t look like him or anything… Just reminded me of documentaries hosted by Leonard from the years… Yeah, I’m strange. Overall, there’s not much to say about this effort. A solid concept, some nice psychological bullshit spewed every so often and some fun dialogue, not to mention violence towards women and pretty much rape (you’ll see!), give this a try. It’s a fun, simple film that does have some strange elements. All in all, a nice oddity from the early days of porn and Spinelli.
ACT OF CONFESSION
(dir: Anthony Spinelli, 1972)
Our final outing is a completely different kettle of fish. Yeah, I’m staying with that opening line because I can’t think of a good enough pun. Act of Confession follows Sister Beatrice, played by Kim Durey in her only role. I think you can guess what sort of film this is already right? Yep, Beatrice is a naughty girl, a real sinner! Starting off with a kiss with Sister Jennifer, played by Cyndee Summers (Teenage Bride, Taboo IV) to being well and truly nailed to a cross (ah, that’s better!), she recounts all of her deepest darkest fantasies to us, the audience. Even the Holy Ghost gets in on the action! It’s all going on right here folks!
I could tell you more, but I’d be breaking my vows of not spoiling the blasphemous delights on show. That and the fact that the film is only around an hour long! If you are a fan of films such as The Devils or one of the many pieces of nunspolitation from the period, this is an interesting watch and a welcome addition to your collection. There’s nothing really sexy at all about this film, in fact some of the sex is fairly clumsy (all adds to the charm here at Mondo Squallido HQ!). I will say however, I really enjoyed the atmosphere of the film. Shot with an almost constant glow and utilising soft focus, the film has an almost surreal tone to it. The use of classical, religious and atmospheric music adds a sense of tension that I found rather intriguing. It’s a more ‘artistic’ effort from Spinelli and almost feels like something from Europe, which is never a bad thing. I’m not sure what the intention was with this film, I can hardly see it doing well financially, there’s not enough hardcore to really sell it. Once again, it’s an earlier effort in to the Spinelli cannon so one could assume that this wasn’t intended to be sold like most hardcore flicks. As you have probably seen with reviews here on the blog, I find the sex can get in the way of a film, I do welcome this more subtle use of hardcore sequences. Overall, this is the most interesting of the three films. No, not just for porno Jesus!
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Being a fan of Spinelli, I was intrigued to see some of his more lesser known efforts and earlier work. All three of the films have something about them. Like I said, out of the three, Act of Confession was my favourite. I think this is a very interesting collection of films indeed. All films look and sound great, I was really blown away at how good Act of Confession was. There’s no special features on the disc aside from the soft-core version of Cry for Cindy. That’s nothing to be laughed at though because you are essentially getting four films on two discs so it’s definitely value for money and one of the more appealing Peekarama sets available. I am yet to watch a bad Spinelli film, I’m very grateful to Vinegar Syndrome for releasing his work as he has become one of my favourite directors. The films themselves may not be for everyone, but if want something a little different from classic porn, give it a go!
You can purchase your copy directly from here as well as your favourite online retailers.
