Steve Millard (aka Nick Phillips)

 I'm fond of pointing out that almost every great American smut director made a cheezy horror flick at some point. In Steve Millard's case, he made a GREAT cheezy horror flick called CRIMINALLY INSANE that's now available on DVD. (Hooray!)

Some of the Guilty Pleasures editions of Millard's 'adults only' movies have an interview that reveals him to be a thoughtful and serious craftsman and a real square who probably blushes when he uses bad language--about the last guy you would expect to be making films with titles like FRAULEIN LEATHER, but he was always on the legal cutting edge of sexual content at any point in time and his 60s-70s erotic films were among the most erotic of their genre--gorgeous girls, excellent photography and spacey, but genuinely erotic scripts. Millard spent money freely for location shooting but not for live sound, so the soundtracks of his lavish looking films are mostly first person narration backed by avant-garde jazz combos. Comparable movies suffered from that technique, but his narrations are so psychologically interesting and sexy that it really works.

Explicit films in this section are marked

Listed Chronologically

Three STRONG Soft-X grindhouse features from the pivotal year of 1969, the last year before XXX began eliminating the soft-X grindhouse genre (In a few cities, at least).

Secret Key Motion Pictures is thrilled to bring you SKIN IN THE SIXTIES - a collection of rare and forgotten grindhouse films featuring the never-before-released THE MADAM, starring legendary buxom bombshell Uschi Digard.

THE MADAM (1969) starring USCHI DIGARD. A biker, John, gives a ride to a hippie named Sissy, who offers the down-and-out drifter a job as bartender at her mother's motel. John quickly discovers the motel is really a brothel and Sissy's mom is the "Madam."

L'AMOUR DE FEMME (1969) Directed by NICK PHILIPS starring MALTA. Lenore and Suzanne are swingin' 60s chicks who share a swank apartment and a Lincoln Continental financed by their rich, bankrolling daddies. Not having to work gives them plenty of time to share their beds, too, and they make the most of that time and their lesbian inclinations by indulging in all manners of kinky eroticism.

TAKE THEM AS THEY ARE (1969). Do drugs, have sex, go to jail. That's the socially redeeming message and cautionary lesson put forth in this torrid tale of three horny, young couples who just can't say "No!" to drugs.or good, clean, orgiastic fun.

DVD FEATURES: Fullframe Versions . English audio . PEEP SHOW HISTORY Mini-Documentary . FULL COLOR BOOKLET with Liner Notes . Secret Key TRAILER VAULT

 

Lustful Addiction (DVD)    1969
DVD / Region 1 (USA)
 $18.45 Add to Cart
Seeing its first-ever release on home video is the 1968 sleaze classic Lustful Addiction (Uncut! Never-before-released! Transferred from a recently discovered 35mm negative!) directed by sexploitation auteur Nick Phillips (Roxanna, Pleasures of a Woman).

"Ruby is a hot young thing looking for kicks and raunchy pleasures anywhere she can find them. First it's with Johnny the Pusher, and she uses her tight little body like a knockout punch - exhausting him into unconsciousness with a delirious bout of lovemaking. With Johnny's stash now easy for the picking, Ruby wanders off to her next adventure clad in a pharmaceuticals-induced haze and thigh-high vinyl boots. She quickly makes the acquaintance of Misty, and the two of them hit it off in an orgasmic blur of chemical stimulation, lingerie and quivering excitement. But too much is never enough for these luscious young things, and Misty high-tails it in search of another bag of goodies. Feeling abandonned, Ruby gives a holler to her dealing strip-club friend Darian, and the two of them indulge their habits."

This Uncut Theatrical Version is partnered a 2002 remake written & directed by and starring Misty Mundae (Play-mate of the Apes) with Ruby LaRocca (Satan's School for Lust) and Darian Caine (Gladiator Eroticus).

DVD FEATURES: ORIGINAL 1969 FEATURE FILM Written & Directed by Nick Philips . 2002 REMAKE Written & Directed by Misty Mundae . THEATRICAL TRAILERS . INTERVIEW with Misty Mundae & film historian "42nd Street Pete" . Full-color 12-page booklet

 

Chantal (2 DVD Set)    1969
DVD / All Regions
 $27.75 Add to Cart
Double feature of Nick Phllips 1969 sexploitation classic CHANTAL and a contemporary remake. "Tony Marsiglia and starring acclaimed erotica actress Misty Mundae team up again to deliver a harrowing remake of the shocking cult oddity from 1968. Chantal has just arrived in California to become a movie star. Beautiful, naïve and dangerously delusional, she wanders the boulevards looking for her first big break."

"There she meets Tracy, an actress-turned-prostitute, and the two of them begin an uneasy intimate relationship. Tracy warns of the harsh realities lurking beyond the glamorous façade of Hollywood, but Chantal's innocence makes her easy prey for monsters that inhabit the dark underbelly of the film business."

 

Roxanna (DVD)    1970
DVD / All Regions
 $18.45 Add to Cart
Directed by Nick Phillips and starring Germanic cult bosom queen Uschi Digart. Uncut Theatrical Version.

"Roxanna knows who she wants, what she craves, and how to get it, and nothing or no one is going to stop her. She spends her nights and days experimenting with her sweet young body - satisfying a hot erotic appetite with an endless parade of female lovers. But Roxanna's obsession with exquisite and limitless pleasures of the flesh begins to take over her life, and soon lesbian desires surge beyond her control. Naughty fantasies become mouth-watering reality, and Roxanna loses herself completely to this world of delectable sin. With the final realization that she has taken things too far - farther than her mind and body can handle - Roxanna must come to terms with her insatiable libido, or face the devastating consequences."

This DVD package includes an Interview with film historian "42nd Street Pete", a short film DESPAIR, and a recent video remake of the original classic. an interesting counterpoint to the vastly superior original.

 

Outstanding collection of early adult films featuring over-looked early star Suzanne Fields. GUNILLA is surprisingly earthy by Steve Millard's standards. Includes three features and a bonus loop.

21-year-old Suzanne Fields (a.k.a. Cindy Hopkins) was a mainstay of erotic and adult films in 1972. She never reached the superstar status of a Linda Lovelace or Marilyn Chambers, but in many ways she shined above her superstar co-stars with her girl-next-door looks and irresistible charm. Suzanne appeared in high-profile films like Run Jackson, Run and the 3D classic The Stewardesses, but she is best remembered for her role as "Dale Ardor" in the epic erotic sci-fi spoof Flesh Gordon. After Hours Cinema has assembled a rare collection of adult features starring Suzanne Fields, including the ultra-rare Nick Philips' film, GUNILLA - never before released to home video!

GUNILLA (1971) Directed by Nick Philips. Like all Nick Phillips explicit films this feels different than the run of the mill. Gunilla Ericsson is a young, beautiful Swedish girl recently dumped by her female lover for a French blonde. Hopping a plane for the fun, sun and snow of the mountains of northern California, the naughty nineteen-year-old and sexy ski bunny spends her days indulging her deepest erotic fantasies. Gunilla has a kinky love of leather boots, which she uses to bring herself to heights of orgasmic pleasure. When going solo leaves her drained, Gunilla likes to watch, too, and she quickly discovers the nearest hetero couple engaged in some fun of their own. But men are strictly a curiosity for the sex-starved Gunilla, so she hops on a ski-doo and combs the slopes for a willing lesbian lovely. Marlene is her catch of the day, and the sexy older and experienced woman teaches Gunilla a thing or two."

THE MINDBLOWERS is something to see. It's some kind of art film. not great art, but it has a zany underground feel to it. Most of THE MINDBLOWERS appears to have been shot as SOFT-X which makes it more entertaining. You don't know from scene to scene whether people will be simulating or doing it. Includes a particularly odd lesbian three-some where a woman goes to pieces when she walks in on her two friends having sex. She is shocked beyond shock and cries and cries, so her two friends try to comfort her in adult film fashion.

Disc 1: GUNILLA feature film . SUZANNE FIELDS 8mm loop. Disc 2: THE MINDBLOWERS feature . CASTING COUCH '72 . NICK PHILIPS trailer vault

 

Very good triple feature of late pre-XXX softcore. LUSTY NEIGHBOR and PIMP PRIMER are dead-on color, widescreen SoftX, being from 1971, the last major year of Soft X (DEEP THROAT was 1972). UTA is a swell Nick Phillips movie and beautiful looking, as all his films are. Being from 1968, it is B&W and a tad less explicit. UTA is from the very brief period in th late 1960s when the pubic hair barrier had just been broken.

"Rare and Forgotten "Grindhouse" Cinema from the Sixties and seventies including UTA - LUSTFUL NEIGHBORS - THE PIMP PRIMER. BRAND NEW DIGITAL TRANSFER FROM 35mm FILM PRINTS

Durning the early days of adult cinema, formerly unrentable retail stores became "storefront theaters." A plywood partition was built to house the projector, the back wall was painted white or a sheet hung up, a few dozen folding chairs were lined up, and the windows were blacked out. Usually a window had something on it to entice you in - a painted silhouette of a naked woman or a glaring cheap sign, framed out in yellow light bulbs.

Now, After Hours Cinema and Secret Key Motion Picture are going to give you the "Grindhouse" storefront theater viewing experience in the GRINDHOUSE TRASH COLLECTION: Three grimy softcore gems from the late 1960s, Nick Philips' UTA (1968), THE LUSTY NEIGHBORS (1971) and THE PIMP PRIMER (1971). Look for adult screen icons John Holmes and Uschi Digard in early screen roles!

DVD Contents (2 DVDs): INTRO with Grindhouse Film Personality 42nd Street Pete . . Nick Philips' UTA feature Aspect Ratio 1.33:1 . LUSTY NEIGHBOR feature Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 . THE PIMP PRIMER feature Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 . FULL COLOR BOOKLET with Liner Notes . TRAILER VAULT to other Retro Releases

 

Pleasures Of A Woman (DVD)    1972
DVD / Region 1 (USA)
 $28.45 Add to Cart
Uschi Digart sexploitation vehicle directed by Steve Millard (as Nick Philips)

"Martine wants her husband Brian's wealth. Using her magnificent and luxurious body to lethal precision, Martine causes his death by heart attack. But she discovers that one person still stands in her way of "easy street," and that person is Lynn - Brian's beautiful neice. Lynn is the sole beneficiary of his will, and she comes to live with Martine for a short time. Using Lynn's fondness of her to an advantage, Martine introduces the blossoming nymphette to her lustful female friends, a life-style of excess, and the splendors of uninhibited lesbian encounters!"

Collector's Edition DVD includes: - ORIGINAL 1972 FEATURE FILM! Directed by Nick Philips - 2003 REMAKE! Starring Julian Wells and Darian Caine, directed by Ted W. Crestview - THEATRICAL TRAILERS! - INTERVIEW! With historian 42nd Street Pete - FULL COLOR BOOKLET! - TRAILERS

 

Les Chic (2 DVD Set)    1972
DVD / All Regions
 $28.75 Add to Cart
This DVD is a treasure trove for Rene Bond fans. These triple-X Nick Phillips movies are just wonderful. They're different. They retain the tone of Soft-X films with the content of XXX. The result is oddly artistic. sort of like underground or experimental film.

The lead character in LES CHIC is one of the weirdest characters in any movie. Did anyone ever walk around dressed like that? Yup. The 1970s was a wild era.

LES CHIC (1972) starring RENE BOND Directed by NICK PHILIPS Les Chic is a young, fun-loving San Francisco gigolo known for his funky, far-out clothes, his smooth way with the ladies and his ability to please them all day long. Every morning Les preps for the day's adventures, and it's not before long that he finds himself up to his neck in beautiful women. On this particular day, Les first hits it off with the voluptuous Rene, who gives him everything she's got and takes in all that she can.inch by endless inch. Then it's "see you later," and over to a scorching and graphic three-way with luscious lesbians "L" and "S." Day 2 finds more of the same for busy Les - but this time even wilder and more uninhibited.

BONUS FEATURES: Rene Bond 8mm Stag Short: "My Sister's Boobs" AND Rene Bond 8mm Stag Short: "Naughty Strip." This DVD includes a 2002 semi-remake starring DARIAN CAINE, ZOE MOONSHINE & JULIETTE CHARLES. Also Interview w/ Grindhouse Film Historian 42nd St. Pete and preview: SEXUAL DELIRIUM starring Katie Jordon

 

All of director Nick Phillips' movies have a beautiful "real movie" look to them. His XXX films are remarkable because they look and feel exactly like his earlier high quality sexploitation movies and soft-x movies. He never really "got" the 1970s porn explosion and kept making movies the same way. Because porn is such a mechanical, predictable commodity the most valuable quality is difference and Phillips' approach to XXX is different.

DR. CHRISTINA is a XXX film starring Ushi Digard but, as always, she does not work "hard." That said, her climactic lesbian encounter is pretty strong close-up stuff.

The bonus feature SEX NURSE is entirely different, being more conventional hardcore fare directed by God-knows-who. It's a very earthy production full of the ultra low-budget touches that mark the 16mm storefront feature. Filmed in a conventional office, the hospital setting is established solely by people wearing lab coats. The low budget highlight is a gynecological exam performed on a desk complete with telephone and pencil holder.

DR CHRISTINA OF SWEDEN (1970) Directed by NICK PHILIPS. The stunning and voluptuous "Dr. Christina" writes sex-related stories and columns for a Swedish tabloid. Sent to France by the newspaper and thrilled by her first taste of Paris, Dr. Christina's first task is to interview French young people about their opinions on sex in the age of Free Love. She quickly learns that actions speak louder than words the moment she happens upon an eager young couple in the throes of non-stop lovemaking. Turned on by her voyeurism and the prospects for a great news story, Christina herself is primed for some action. That night finds her feverishly dreaming of an ultra-erotic encounter between two women sporting kinky lingerie, eager tongues and probing fingers. The following day Christina roams the boulevards of Paris hot for sensual satisfaction. Will a café performance featuring two lesbians that mirrors her previous night's dreams be enough to satiate her?

DVD FEATURES: DR CHRISTINA OF SWEDEN feature film . SEX NURSE feature film . INTERVIEW with Director NICK PHILIPS . INTERVIEW with Grindhouse Film Historian 42nd Street Pete . FULL COLOR BOOKLET with Liner Notes . TRAILERS to other Grindhouse DVD Releases

 

Criminally Insane / Satans Black Wedding (DVD)    1975
DVD / Region 1 (USA)
 $8.49 Add to Cart
There are precious few good zero-budget regional genre movies but the good ones can be great. things like NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, CARNIVAL OF SOULS and early John Waters. There can be a powerful energy in hitting the streets with a camera and a cast of unknowns, provided the director and script are worthwhile.

CRIMINALLY INSANE, a horror film directed by genuinely gifted sexploitation maestro Steve Millard (aka Nick Phillips), has long been my personal favorite ultra-obscure low-budget genre movie but thanks to this DVD release it's no longer going to be ultra-obscure so I'll have to pick a new one.

An obese woman known as "Crazy Fat Ethel" (Priscilla Alden) is released from the nut-house into her grandmother's custody in a run-down rust-belt row house. The only condition is that Ethel must return to the clinic for electroshock treatments once a week (!) After briefing grandma about Ethel's mental disorder the psychiatrist offers a truly disastrous bit of parting advice: "And see if you can get her to do something about her weight" D'oh! The deadly sins lust, anger and pride motivate most horror movie serial killers. Ethel, however, is all about gluttony. She's easy going when fed, but brutally murders anyone who gets between her and a box of Nilla wafers. (I am not making this up. The Nilla wafer scene belongs on any AFI list of the top 100 American film moments. Like 90% of artistically exciting movies CRIMINALLY INSANE simultaneously functions as comedy and serious.)

Ethel is a magnificent character drawn from Shirley Stoler in THE HONEYMOON KILLERS, Divine's Dawn Davenport in FEMALE TROUBLE, and astonishing Mama Joyboy from THE LOVED ONE. Her size and appetite define her but she's more than just a pig. She is also incredibly stupid in ways that keep the plot moving and make her sort of an American everywoman. She's right on the line between clinically retarded and the folks on COPS. sort of shrewd about feeding her addiction but can't think well under pressure. When the police make routine inquiries about a missing grocery delivery boy (!) she launches into fantastic answers to questions no one has even asked. Her attempts to explain to a neighbor why she's digging a human sized hole in the garden are equally funny.

She finds digging too taxing so instead she stacks the accumulating corpses in a spare bedroom. When the stench of decomposition becomes a problem she does what any good consumer would do (and Ethel is nothing if not a consumer). she puts one of those little air-freshener thingies in with the corpses. Mmmm, much better. Now the house smells like corpses and wild flowers!

Things really swing into high gear when Ethel's ugly prostitute sister brings her pimp home to stay a while. The duo look down on Ethel as a retard but are themselves plainly retarded. they are right out of an early John Waters or Paul Morrisey movie. The ending is pure Roald Dahl; a twist ending that's actually not a twist at all.

Criminally Insane (a.k.a. Crazy Fat Ethel) and Satan's Black Wedding are the long-sought-after fright films by 1960/70s sexploitation filmmaker Nick Philips - his only forays into the horror genre. Best known for grim and despairing soft-core features including Roxanna and Pleasures of a Woman, Philips switched gears in 1975 and directed what are rightly considered creepy, outrageous and idiosyncratic horror cult classics. Both films have been newly transferred from the original film elements. This is their first release ever on DVD!

SATAN'S BLACK WEDDING 1975 . USAMark travels to California to unravel the mystery surrounding his sister's death. He learns that she had been writing a novel about Satanic worship and spent a good deal of time at an abandoned church outside of town. When Mark begins seeing her in the company of a creepy looking priest, he goes to the old church and learns that Satan himself has chosen him and his sister to be wed in unholy matrimony...and become the proud vampire parents of the Antichrist!

CRIMINALLY INSANE (a.k.a. Crazy Fat Ethel) 1975 . USA Tipping the scales at 300 pounds, Ethel Janowski (Priscilla Alden) - "Crazy Fat Ethel" - has just been released from a mental institution. Ethel is full of repressed rage, but she can't get full no matter how much she eats. When her grandmother locks away the food, Ethel kills the old woman for the keys to the pantry and soon becomes a bloodthirsty, mass-murdering monster that will slaughter anyone who gets in the way of her appetite. But what will Ethel do with the corpses that are piling up in the attic?

PLUS the following DVD extras: Feature film: CRIMINALLY INSANE 2 (1987); BLACK WEDDING Interview w/ Nick Philips; a CRIMINALLY INSANE Interview w/ Nick Philips; "Criminally Insane: A Look Back" w/ Nick Philips and Priscilla Alden; Commentary tracks featuring Nick Philips and 42nd St. Pete; Retro-Shock Trailer Vault