That was an excellent one.

Fantastic!

Excellent, a Must See

Dreadfully Boring

She hightailed it after a scandal but now ABIGAIL LESLEY IS BACK IN TOWN and the old gang's creamin' their jeans, let me tell ya. They all knew each other back in high school when they either lusted after or had sex with each other and now, ten years later, it's happening all over again, their marriages be damned... Joe Sarno's oneiric 1975 (im)morality tale has a number of superstars from The Golden Age Of Porn (Jamie Gillis, Jennifer Welles, Eric Edwards) doing softcore (where a modicum of acting replaces penetration) and guess what- nobody breaks the suspension of disbelief or embarrassed themselves. This may be softcore porn but it inhabits the same universe as it's XXX brethren -a world where sexual fulfillment is the most important thing in life. It's the only thing, in fact, and if it isn't, there's something wrong with you, like Priscilla (Rebecca Brooke). I was down with it but tremors began to crack the terrain when a couple of characters professed their love at the end (Abigail to Priscilla, Priscilla & Chester to each other) and I had a Scarlett O'Hara moment when I thought, "But where will they go? What will they do?" because not one of them worked or did much of anything besides think or worry about sex when they weren't actually having it. In this universe there's nothing wrong (as Priscilla found out) that a little liberation can't cure so I was gobsmacked when Priscilla told Chester that the only way they could be happy was to "leave this place". Why? Are they running from a past they had no trouble embracing in more ways than one? That revelation turned this universe on its ear and my comprehension crumbled along with it. The cock-blocking mixed message confounded me but the film's anatomical and pastoral (a New England fishing village) tableaux were so nice to look at, I didn't care. It was filmed in Amityville, Long Island but I'm not reel sure what possessed writer/director Sarno. Not that it matters, of course -I was spellbound. I was surprised beautiful leading lady Rebecca Brooke (aka Mary Mendum) wasn't the titular vixen but her Priscilla was the film's focal point and she its star. Brooke was found floating in a Boca Raton, Florida canal a couple of years ago, "accidently drowned" but I can't find out anything more about it.

A mere couple of weeks ago, filmmaker Joe Sarno passed away, leaving behind a legacy of accomplished adult efforts on both sides of the explicit fence. Sex was more means to an end than goal in itself for him, providing another layer of characterization. The French, who take their grind-house fare more seriously than anyone else, deeming it worthy of the same critical analysis as the works of Godard, consider him seedy cinema's answer to Ingmar Bergman ! Reeking more of unneeded intellectual excuse for lofty film fans to get down 'n' dirty than a proper appraisal of Sarno's achievements, such monikers merely look good on paper. Simple truth of the matter is that he was an excellent director, in a measure not just limited to the "adults only" universe though his eventual output puts him smack dab in the middle of it. Like Claude Chabrol, to whom he could be much more fruitfully compared if such need be, his focus was firmly on the hypocrisy stifling the middle class from doing the things they wanted, but foregoing his customary distancing cynicism.Credit Something Weird's Mike Vraney for first reviving interest in Sarno's body of work, unearthing believed to be lost '60s features like SIN IN THE SUBURBS and THE SWAP AND HOW THEY MAKE IT for new generations of trash cinema enthusiasts on video and subsequently DVD. When fans go gaga, the mainstream sooner or later takes notice, making Sarno one of the few disreputable directors to achieve a modicum of "real world" appreciation within his lifetime. In recent years, this begrudging acknowledgment has extended to include his simulated skin flicks shot both home and abroad in Scandinavia during the first half of the '70s but still fails to assess the excesses he was to commit later on, mostly as Karl or Erik Andersson. Now that French TV's culture channel Arte has ported over Retro Seduction's pristine copy of ABIGAIL LESLEY IS BACK IN TOWN for their upmarket R2 release in their "The Other America" series, can a Cinematheque double bill of THE TROUBLE WITH YOUNG STUFF and SLIPPERY WHEN WET be far behind ? Ah, if only.Most elusive among his '70s gems, ABIGAIL LESLIE may be the most solemn of a lot that includes the much better known because more widely seen CONFESSIONS OF A YOUNG American HOUSEWIFE and LAURA'S TOYS. Providing a presumably unwelcome dose of angst-ridden reality for fantasy-starved flea pit patrons of the day, it must have made for a tough sell when compared to Sarno's comparatively unencumbered tales of marital infidelity, hence one possible explanation for its subsequent obscurity. Rising to the surface after three decades of absence, the movie can now rightfully take its place as the director's crowning achievement as well as one of the finest independently produced American films of the decade, an unbelievable statement to some perhaps in light of Sarno's habit of casting hardcore talent in non-explicit roles, all of whom rise to the occasion beautifully.Though her name is in the title, Abigail Lesley's not so much the main character as the catalyst in other people's lives, having left the quiet little fishing hamlet of Baypoint in a huff years ago after being caught in flagrante with married Gordon Howe (the also recently deceased Jamie Gillis in an uncharacteristically subdued performance) by his unsuspecting spouse Priscilla, played to perfection by the exquisite Mary Mendum a/k/a "Rebecca Brooke", Sarno's magnificent muse who - according to persistent rumor - ended up marrying a Muslim extremist ! Their marriage never recovered from Gordon's spur of the moment transgression and she has been conducting a chaste afternoon romance with laid off fisherman Chester (Eric Edwards, better than ever) whose lonely sister Alice Anne (an excellent turn by lovely Chris Jordan, the actor's wife at the time, who sadly passed away from cancer at an early age) is left to pick up the slack as the family's sole bread winner. As if economic reality's not hitting these people hard enough, bad girl Abigail (the highlight of Jennifer Jordan's checkered career) returns to the place of the crime, hell-bent on wreaking even more havoc in retaliation for having been wronged.The plot's twists and turns could be construed as pure soap opera if it weren't for the compelling earnestness with which they are presented, aided immeasurably by plausible characterizations and the convincing bleakness of a small town forever out of season, courtesy of another haunting Jack Justis solo guitar soundtrack and the autumnal shades of Bill Godsey's intricately composed shots. Skin display's frustratingly frugal - for a reason - during the slow build-up, only to explode by the halfway point when it's basically one sex scene after another. The masks of respectability come off as characters are forced to confront each other and, perhaps even more frighteningly, themselves. None of this comes off as tedious because Sarno has already worked up a full head of steam narratively by this stage. The seemingly liberated Abigail, whose carefree attitude hides unrequited longing, has simply put the inevitable clockwork mechanism into motion and now it won't stop until all the guilty secrets have come out.In addition to those already mentioned, and since no good cast should go unpraised and porno people are rarely the recipients of such, Jennifer Welles has a field day as Priscilla's naughty aunt Drucilla, hunky beau (and future Kentucky Governor wannabe until his illustrious past caught up with him) Sonny Landham in tow. Julia Sorel, who registers strongly as hot to trot best friend Lila, was a minor league adult actress who turned up in Howard Ziehm's loop carrier SEXTEEN and Kemal Horulu's ambitious but flawed VIRGIN AND THE LOVER. Hiding behind the pseudonym "Anne Keel" and playing bitchy buddy Tracey is carnal cult favorite Susan Sloan, best remembered as the star of Robert Sickinger's lavish adaptation of anonymous Victorian porn novella A MAN WITH A MAID a/k/a THE NAUGHTY VICTORIANS.

Effective and ultimately rather engaging soft core from Mr Sarno. I think it should be said right away that 'soft core' here means something a little more than the usual mincing about that one might imagine. I reckon but stand to be corrected that some of this is real sex without us actually being shown the graphic detail. Anyway, suffice to say the sex scenes are believable and erotic. I am not as stunned by the acting as some seem to be but, I guess for the type of film this is, the acting is surprisingly good. I don't really know whether the film is a bit stilted at the beginning with its slightly awkward flashbacks or it just took me a little while to get into things but the film certainly seems to get better as it progresses. By the end when Abigail has managed to 'engage' with the whole cast and encourage almost everyone to also go with each other, in twos, threes and more the fire is well alight. There are also some pointed observations and I particularly liked a scene where one of the more retiring girls asks Abigail to help her become free like her, Abigail replies, 'You may not like being free'. Very enjoyable and not one scene that seems too long - some achievement!

The drab and uneventful tranquility of the sleepy affluent coastal community of Baypoint gets rudely ripped asunder when the notorious sexually voracious and insatiable bisexual harlot Abigail Leslie (the smolderingly hot Jennifer Jordan) unexpectedly returns to the dreary hamlet after a lengthy absence. Demure and uptight socialite Priscilla (the luscious Rebecca Brooke) is especially perturbed, although her smarmy and licentious husband Gordon (legendary porn star Jamie Gillis) is more than eager to have an adulterous fling with the wanton and willing Abigail. Pretty soon Abigail's infectiously sensuous presence causes everyone in town to toss aside their morals and inhibitions for the sheer sake of carnal pleasure, indulgence and debauchery. Among the folks who fall under Abigail's seductive and irresistible spell are feisty, friendly, but unfulfilled fisherwomen Alice Ann (Chris Jordan), Alice Ann's shy, sweet, soft-spoken brother Chester (Eric Edwards), Priscilla's snobby gal pals Tracey (Anne Keel) and Lila (Julie Sorel), Priscilla's raunchy aunt Drucilla (Jennifer Welles), and hunky resident stud Bo (handsome, muscular Sonny Landham, who later went on to act in such 80's mainstream action features as "48 Hours" and "Predator").Acclaimed soft-core director/screenwriter Joe Sarno expertly crafts a highly absorbing and arousing soap opera-style small-town slice-of-life melodrama which not only delivers the expected sultry and alluring goods (the sex scenes are fairly explicit and steamy, but never too graphic or sleazy), but also serves as a perfectly trenchant and provocative critique of very conservative and puritanical small town mores (best represented by the frustrated Priscilla and the unhappy Alice Ann), hypocrisy (Priscilla's friends Lila and Tracey blithely partake in Abigail's lascivious fun and games despite the fact that they are both married), and repressed passions and desires (Priscilla pines for Chester, but is too timid to pursue her romantic interest in him). The uniformly excellent acting from the first-rate and attractive cast is a substantial plus: Brooke, Jordan and Edwards in particular are outstanding, with sound support from Welles, Keel, Sorel, Jordan and Landham. Moreover, both Bill Godsey's pretty, polished cinematography and Jack Justis' hauntingly sad, moody, tuneful acoustic guitar score further enhance the film's sterling quality, thereby lifting this movie well out of the rut of your standard mindless skin-flick. All in all, this picture rates as another involving, intelligent and impressive thinking man's soft-core outing from the always reliable Joe Sarno.