The Dirty Girls
Image Entertainment
DVD, 78 minutes, B&W, 1964

review by Shade Rupe

A man and woman's light laughter as the woman's hand removes the phone from its cradle clues us in to the purpose of this early Radley Metzger film: simple debaucheries will occur, and we're not going to go too far, but just far enough. The soothing huskiness of the narrator's voice prepares us:

"This is the story of three girls. Some live by the telephone, and some live on the street. Yvonne of the throaty laugh. Jenine, strong-shouldered and passionate. Clio, petite, trusting, and with a titillating shyness. Tonight it will be with Garance. A hundred women in one. Who loves tonight to live tomorrow, and who lives tonight to love tomorrow."

A mid-'30s virgin finds himself a willing teacher of the sensual arts in Garance, a beautiful young European woman. She tells him she never turns men, or boys, away. He drinks a bit and they head to the mating pad. He's a quick learner! Later in the evening she meets a man who's not so nice, and wishes to beat her with a belt for twice the regular price of an evening of love.

The women in question actually are much cleaner than the title would suggest. <IThe Dirty Girls is exactly the 'arty French film' that Sharon Tate chose for her career in Valley of the Dolls. Soft, sensuous, and also silly, tales of modern European sex of the early '60s. The film presents a few bared breasts, some lingerie, a whip or two, but overall, with the entrancing voice of the narrator describing the girls' lives, The Dirty Girlsworks now as more of a late-night early-'80s Cinemax treat that you watched while your parents were asleep.

Technically, The Dirty Girls is quite beautiful. The lighting, black and white widescreen cinematography and lilting sultry jazz score and all handled with the precision of a soft-core porn master. The Dirty Girls, though, does not offer pornography at all, but the chance to spend an evening with three gorgeous European women. Radley Metzger may not have yet spread his wings with this early film, but the budding of his future works begins here, and would eventually grow to the thorny rose that produced the classic Score.

Image presents the film with the original theatrical trailer and some interesting scenes that were trimmed before the film's release, including a curious episode with a nun's costume. A few blips and fidgets in the transferred film, but never before have these women been so lovingly caressed by undulating frames of the video screen.

OFFICIAL WEB SITE:
www.image-entertainment.com

BACK