Here we are again in the wondrously weird world of Doris Wishman! This time we are taking a step back from the colorful hyper-reality of her Twilight Years to take a walk through the black & white Roughies of her Moonlight Years. Never heard of a Roughie? Between the early innocence of the ”Nudie Cuties” and the later hardcore adult films, there was the Roughie. A Roughie contains some skin, simulated sex and violence, typically aimed at women.
Doris Wishman obviously had her creative finger on the pulse of the eager theater goers, but what do I think of these 9 forays into her take on the Roughie?
BAD GIRLS GO TO HELL (1965) written & directed by Doris Wishman Meg Kelton is disappointed when nagging and shower sex fails to prevent her husband Ted from going to work on a Saturday. Instead of brooding in bed, she tidies up her apartment and takes out the trash. This is when Meg’s day goes to hell. The building’s janitor attacks her on the stairs and then rapes her in his apartment. Meg bashes his head in with a large bowl, but fears no one will believe her. So, she flees Boston for New York City, calls herself “Ellen Green” and finds herself in a slew of “hellish” situations. Just when Meg/Ellen can stop and think by taking a job as an invalid’s companion, her employer’s detective son is coming for a visit from Boston, where he is working on a murder case! This film may be in black & white and doesn’t contain direct nudity, but it is all Doris Wishman. Dubbed dialogue, constant music and a story that pulls you in because you don’t know what’ the hell is gonna happen next!
INDECENT DESIRES (1968)
written & directed by Doris Wishman Zeb is a loner who appears to spend his days walking around and finding treasures in the trash. When he finds a discarded ring and a doll, and spots someone who resembles the doll, Zeb’s life is about to change. Ann is a nice office worker whose life is also about to change when she begins experiencing a strange phenomenon. An invisible force is touching her and controlling her movements. Unbeknownst to Ann, Zeb is somehow using the ring and doll like a puppeteer. How far will Zeb go and what will happen if Ann makes him angry? Well, I’ll just say this stalker Twilight Zone fantasy ends with a real twist, but it takes its time getting there.
A TASTE OF FLESH (1967)
written by C. Davis Smith and Doris Wishman/directed by Doris Wishman Bobi and Carol are roommates in for a different kind of evening. It starts with Bobi bringing home Hannah, a woman she met in Europe, who shows much interest in a visiting foreign dignitary. Then two phone company representatives stop by and hold the women hostage because the two men are there to assassinate the dignitary staying at the hotel next door. The plot takes a bit to reach its conclusion, but it all makes sense, I think. In my opinion, the highlight is a dream sequence where Bobi, dressed in traditionally male attire, dines and dances with Hannah. It’s a beautifully shot 1960’s lesbian/trans romantic scene that is unfortunately ruined by a hetero-centric cis man, of course.
ANOTHER DAY, ANOTHER MAN (1966)
written & directed by Doris Wishman Ann is a woman with secrets. Her boss doesn’t know she’s married to Steve. Steve doesn’t know Ann’s roommate Tess is a prostitute for a pimp named Bert. After Steve gets a promotion, Ann leaves her job and fulfills her dream of being a housewife because it’s 1966. Tragedy strikes when Steve is laid up in bed with a mysterious illness, but Ann has a plan to bring home the bacon by becoming one of Bert’s working girls. Weird enough to hold my attention, with an ending that surprised me!
MY BROTHER’S WIFE (1966)
written & directed by Doris Wishman Bob and Mary have a marriage that is easily torn asunder when Bob’s drifter brother Frankie turns up at their door. Frankie immediately seduces Mary but he is also reigniting his past flame with Zena. Which woman is Frankie serious about and which one is he playing, or is he playing both? This feels like a sexier version of a daytime soap opera, so I obviously appreciate the sudsy scheming and dreaming.
PASSION FEVER (1969)
written & directed by Stelios Jackson and Doris Wishman Yarkos is a gigolo, picking up women here, there and everywhere, until he falls in love. Will love triumph or will one of his past conquests throw a wrench in his happily ever after? I knew nothing about PASSION FEVER when I sat down to watch, so I was confused how sometimes it seemed like a Doris Wishman film and sometimes it really didn’t. According to IMDb, Wishman purchased a Greek film called PYRETOS but lost the English dub. Being who she was, Doris edited the original film down, wrote her own English dub and filmed a few nude insert shots. The result is a disjointed, entertaining mess.
THE SEX PERILS OF PAULETTE (1965)
written & directed by Doris Wishman Paulette feels she must confess everything to her boyfriend Allen. She came to New York to become a famous actress but has just been taken advantage of by big city users. Her first mistake was renting a room from Tracy, a loose and easy woman who drinks too much. Then Paulette shouldn’t have listened to Tracey about Sam. Sam won’t hell Paulette’s acting career, unless the role is that of a prostitute. For having such an incendiary title, THE SEX PERILS OF PAULETTE is the tamest of this Wishman batch, but the plot as a flashback kept things interesting.
THE HOT MONTH OF AUGUST (1966)
written by Sokrates Kapsaskis/directed by Sokrates Kapsaskis and Doris Wishman Jason meets a gigolo on a ship but is repulsed when the man suggests they team up to coerce older women into having sex with them for a price. However, Jason has an affair with Alexis, a married woman, while simultaneously falling in love with a younger woman named Hope. To complicate matters even further, Alexis and the gigolo are in cahoots to murder her husband. This is yet another film from Greece (O zestos minas Avgoustos) dubbed and edited by Doris Wishman. It’s interesting, with a couple of surprises, but it can’t compare to her own films.
TOO MUCH TOO OFTEN! (1968)
written & directed by Doris Wishman Whether he is getting paid to whip a middle-aged man and then blackmailing him for a job at an advertising company or he is seducing any willing woman, Mike Torson is all about playing fast and loose, causing destruction before moving on. His past might catch up with him when he seduces his blackmailed boss’ secretary Midge and daughter Sara! TOO MUCH TOO OFTEN is the perfect way to end this box set. It’s all Doris Wishman with a crazy plot, unbridled characters and will ultimately leave you wondering what the hell you just watched!
So, I blew through Doris Wishman’s Twilight Years, but I struggled with her Moonlight Years despite, according to the liner notes and audio commentaries, this era being hailed as Wishman’s best. Even when I thoroughly enjoyed the films, they often dragged a bit for me. I think one of the reasons is the plots are slim and very similar to each other in theme. Another reason might be lengthy scenes of naked women without equally naked men. At least Doris was an equal opportunity exploitation director in her Twilight Years, but that might have more to do with the still somewhat repressed time of these Roughies.
In conclusion…
While this AGFA/Something Weird box set didn’t WOW me like my initial experience, these films still provided an entertaining second helping in my anachronistically reverse Doris Wishman feast. So, pull a chair up to the table for 9 crisply shot, black & white time capsules which must be seen to be believed!
Now I must step out of the shadowy moonlight and into the colorful, sun-drenched atmosphere of Doris Wishman’s THE DAYLIGHT YEARS…Freak Out, JLH
Checking out the synopsis and watching the exuberantly eccentric trailer fully sealed the deal.With expectations skyrocketing, I popped in SCARECROW IN A GARDEN OF CUCUMBERS the day it arrived. What did I think? Did it live up to my cucumber dreams or was I left tending a garden of disappointments? 
The film wasn’t quite the zippy-zany romp the trailer’s infectiously quirky music implied. In fact, that piece of music tragically does not appear in the film. However, putting aside that disappointment, SCARECROW IN A GARDEN OF CUCUMBERS defied my expectations by taking me on an unexpected journey. 
Eve Harrington (yes, everyone is named after famous Hollywood characters) leaves home and seemingly conservative parents in Topeka, Kansas for the chance of being a star in New York City. Upon arriving in the Big Apple, Eve is taken to the Chelsea Hotel by an aggressive taxi driver nun and then reconnects with longtime friend Margo Channing. This connection opens doors to Eve’s dreams of finding a man, a roommate and stardom. One door leads to Mary Poppins, a force of fabulous nature who doesn’t offer a spoonful of sugar with her roommate recommendations. Another door is a passageway to Eve’s first New York party and a film producer who is more than he appears. Will Eve find a man or a roommate? Will Eve succeed in the quest to become a twinkling star? 
Due in large part to the trailer, I was expecting a fast-paced, crazy blast of lost 1970’s queer cinema. SCARECROW IN A GARDEN OF CUCUMBERS was rediscovered a few years ago and it ultimately is a joyfully fun experience, just with a more mellow, low-key zany vibe. Screenwriter Sandra Scoppettone and director Robert J. Kaplan crafted a loosey-goosey film celebrating the outsider, but it may take a couple of viewings to fully appreciate what they accomplished.
I must shine the twinkling spotlight on the two main reasons to seek out SCARECROW IN A GARDEN OF CUCUMBERS. Tally Brown as Mary Poppins steals every scene with style. Ms. Brown could be the cabaret love child of Divine and Edith Massey, especially when Miss Poppins belts out a tune about being born and raised in a brothel. Then there is Holly Woodlawn (known for being one of Andy Warhol’s Superstars) as the loveably quirky Eve Harrington! Holly also portrays one of Eve’s suitors, Rhett Butler, but it’s Eve who fits Holly like a glove. It’s refreshingly delightful to see a trans actress in the lead role as far back as the 1970’s. During Eve’s black & white musical fantasy number, Holly Woodlawn gets to sum up the overall theme of the film in song…
