"Bad Barbara" (3/5)

When the promiscuous Mr. and Mrs. Harris want to plan a swing party date with a pair of close and intimate friends, they’re stuck with having to decide what to do with Mr. Harris’s simple minded brother, Roger.  Whatever should Mr. and Mrs. Harris do about Roger?  Introducing Barbara, a young, hot caretaker whose willing to help with the husband and wife’s family member hurdle while the swingers enjoy group play elsewhere, but with nothing to keep her interest or Roger’s inability to speak, Barbara’s boredom turns to Mrs. Harris’s play things, such as a vibrating strap-on.  However, perverted Roger catches her in the act, turning on Barbara even more and spreading her legs even wider to let Roger’s actions speak louder than his insatiable grunting over handling his own manhood.    When Mr. Harris returns to check up on Barbara and Roger, Mr. Harris can’t keep his hands off the caretaker and Roger can’t control himself when snooping on Mrs. Harris that cultivates into numerous partner swaps and many orgasmic orgies for all parties involved.

“Bad Barbara” is the 1976, 73-minute, obscure and vintage stag film unveiled by a subversive disciple known as 42nd Street Pete on the After Hours home entertainment label by Alternative Cinema, whom, you know, deliver long forgotten and shelved b-movies, vintage adult entertainment, and underground schlock material that many perverted eyes have never seen before, and might even be absent from the fornicating-viewing peepers of those whom have lived during the skeazy, sleazy era on one of New York City’s most notorious adult red-lit marquee streets.  “Bad Barbara” is the first feature on a two-film set in which honors the legendary adult actress, Sharon Mitchell’s, in the earlier stages of her lustful career.  The “Bad Barbara” title says it all with the titular character narrating the scene setups that unfold into erotic dissidence of a young women strives to please herself more than she cares about providing attention to a grown man with special needs.  Barbara has special needs, needs of the flesh, and she’s willing to subject a challenged individual for her own filthy benefit.  That’s how bad Barbara can be.

Sharon Mitchell stars as the titular character.  Mitchell, who usually sports a suiting pixie cut, looks phenomenal with shoulder length her set upon her slender body, softball sizes breasts, and thick, dark bush.  Without a doubt, Mitchell has the best scenes with the best angles, especially on all fours, looking through her legs as she stands to provide fellow co-star a lengthy shaft inspection with the purse of her lips.  Even in the infancy of her career, Mitchell knew how to work the camera, play to the scene, and provide a little bit of everything to cater the viewer interests; i.e. a “Bad Barbara” scene when she wanted the spunk to be splurged all over her black, knee high boots in a foot/shoe fetish moment.  The male lead went to Wade Nichols, aka soap opera star Dennis Parker,  sporting a fit build overtop a confident cockiness; Nichols’ scenes rectify a bit of envious in all of us.  During his stint in porn and shortly before his untimely death due to complications with AIDS, Nichols also worked in gay porn that trended him to be a renaissance maker of love with both sexes and that exhibits itself here in “Bad Barbara” as Mr. Harris.  Mrs. Harris, played by the incredible Susan McBain, whom played a severe second fiddle by being in the shadows of the fresh faced Sharon Mitchell.

"The Horny LandLady" (2/5)

Carrie had just moved into a new apartment in New York City and she’s inviting a boy over for a little action.  The only problem is is they have to keep the noise level to a minimum and don’t announce his presence.  You see, Carrie’s land-lady is an uptight spinster with loathsome attitude toward carnal activities.  When Carrier hears the land-lady coming, she stows away hidden her special friend, cleans up into a nice long nightgown, and has a one-on-one conversation in the kitchen when the man makes a undetectable getaway, even though he’s spent and his legs are wobbly.  The next day, the land-lady enters Carrie’s room and discovers a smut magazine with explicit detail into a couple’s fornication. Turned on and dripping anxiously with desire, the land-lady confides with Carrie that her past relationships have scarred and scared her into furthering her sexual involvement.  Carrie recommends visiting a well-versed friend of hers that sends the land-lady into a fit of foreplay and anal exploration that results in true love for the once spouseless spinster.

The second feature on this Sharon Mitchell double bill release is Richard Mailer's "The Horny Landlady," better known as "Too Young to Care" from 1975.  The latter feature has just about the same, or perhaps even less, plot than "Bad Barbara."  Mailer's ultimate focus for his airy spank film is to get as many sex scenes into the under a hour film, clocking in at a whopping 58 minutes.  The finished product busts out four busted nuts, averaging into about one sex scene every 15 minutes, and they're rather lengthy scenes with attention to provocative positions, arched angles, and, in one particular scene, some interestingly groovy interlaced editing of a beach and a blowjob.

Sharon Mitchell's role in the film might be second fiddle to Vanessa del Rio's leading lady and titular character status, but then again, this is a double feature about the now Dr. Mitchell who scores twice as many scenes as del Rio in what could be her first X-rated feature.  Mitchell's tall and slender build is also the complete opposite body shape to del Rio's formidable thickness whose butt, thighs, and breasts are like an embracing squishy pillow that's so welcoming and warm to the touch.  Even though Mitchell has more scenes than del Rio, she doesn't go for the anal play that pushes the "The Horny Landlady" to the bar the title sets.  Familiar, well-known male talent score with these ladies including Hershel Savage and, one of my personal favorites, the "Clown Prince of Porn, the late Bobby Astyr.  Rounding out the cast includes Lincoln Walker, Rocky Milestone, Peonies Jong, and Peter Andrews. 

Audio/Video (1.5/5)

The Alternative Cinema After Hours' labeled double bill release contains brand new transfers of both films from the original 1970 prints and present them in a full frame 4x3 aspect ratio.  As noted on the DVD insert's back cover, both prints have aged horribly and have been mistreated through the years of projection on 42nd street.  Scratches, burns, rough edits are the unholy marks that remain on these battered prints with "Bad Barbara" eking out with a better of the two transfers.  There isn't really much room for enhancements or the use of DNR due to the unfortunate condition of the prints and the overall color palette is like looking through a dirty empty coke bottle where all you see is a faint brown imprints of where coloring would be, but like 42nd Street Pete says, "it only helps recall the grubby ambiance that was 42nd street."

The English 1.0 mono stereo on both films is as equally scuffed as the image quality with pops, hissing, unfiltered noise, and a blank sense of range or depth.  Dialogue is also soft and, especially "The Horny Landlady," the dialogue balance teeters in an unflattering blanket of uneven audibles, yet you're still able to make out what the actors are saying, but you'll be pushing to increase the volume on the remote control. 

Extras (3/5)

42nd Street Pete did the leg work scrounging out some bonus materials for a couple of classic Sharon Mitchell films that went through the wringer.  The DVD includes an Cinema Wasteland panel discussion with Sharon Mitchell recollecting her time in the industry.  There's also an option audio commentary for "Bad Barbara" that entitled "Tales from the Deuce" that involves a conversation between 42nd Street Pete and film historian Michael Bowen.  Not too shabby for this particular content.

Overall

I love grindhouse, I love the broad range that the sexploitation genre encompasses, and I love that 42nd Street Pete is doing the degenerate lord's mucky work by unearthing and unveiling to the puritanical word two more smutty installments onto DVD home video for our lustful enjoyment.  After Hour Cinema's double feature of Sharon Mitchell doing her pre-dated Golden Age of porn thang is just the popped cherry on top and though both films have seen better days, seeing a long haired and fresh faced Sharon Mitchell is worth every scathing blemish on the film's nitrate surface.  Recommended.