Vintage Pulp | Apr 18 2020 |

Emanuelle goes after the wildest game of all.
Above is a French promo for the sexploitation romp Black Emanuelle en Afrique, which was originally released in Italy as Emanuelle nera, and in the English peaking world as Black Emmanuelle. After opening in Italy in late 1975 it had its French premiere today in 1976. The promo art is more a photo-illustration than painting, but it's attributed to P. Marty, a minor French creator of promo art during the 1970s. We already wrote about Black Emanuelle en Afrique a few years ago, and let's just say Gemser goes to the developing world and serves as a one woman stimulus package. Want to know more? You can read a bit about the movie and see some eye-catching promo photos at that post.




Vintage Pulp | Jul 31 2019 |

The movie is n° 2 but its star is second to none.
There sure are lots of Emmanuelle/Emanuelle movies out there. Sylvia Kristel, Laura Gemser, Monique Gabrielle, Olinka Hardiman, Krista Allen, Natasja Vermeer, and many others inhabited characters with that name. But we'd never heard of Shulamith Lasri, aka Julie Margo, nor her contribution to the pantheon Emanuelle nera n° 2, aka The New Black Emanuelle. Pulp Intl. abhors a vacuum so we figured what the hell and decided to check the movie out. Plotwise Lasri is a famous model who's had some sort of break with reality and is in a mental institution trying, with the help of doctors, to restore memories that might be the key to her trauma
Sounds deadly serious, doesn't it? But like many serious low budget movies, unintentional humor rears its clumsy head. At one point Lasri disrobes and Danielle Ellison gapes at her and says, “Your body. You're like a queen of the night. Or a panther.” At which point Lasri forms a claw with her hand and goes, “Grrrrr...” Frickin' hilarious. The two then dance naked, as women often do when they hang out together. Does Lasri ever get her head straight? Maybe. But even if her mind is cured, her body will remain bonkers, and that's what these movies are all about. Emanuelle nera n° 2 premiered in Italy today in 1976.
Vintage Pulp | Apr 3 2016 |

Once you go Black Emanuelle you never go back.
Javanese beauty Laura Gemser isn't black in the ethnic sense, but you know that going into Black Emanuelle, first of the Italian-made sexploitation series that borrowed the French Emmanuelle concept and took it to places its originators could never have imagined. Gemser could actually be half black or mostly black, going by skin tone alone, but in a way her being South Asian in real life becomes the whole point, as it makes all her love scenes titillatingly interracial, whether she's getting it on with Africans or white foreigners. This is the tamest of the series—before poor Emanuelle was beset by voodoo priests, cannibals, and worse. In addition to the honeyed Gemser in the starring role you get a scoop of vanilla Schubert on top—German actress Karin Schubert. We aren’t going to bother to tell you about the plot of this one—it follows the form of other movies about westerners who get freaky in the African bush and eventually leave with profound insights and fond memories (cue shot of dreamy eyed actress gazing out airplane window as dark, mysterious Africa recedes below). In addition to the Japanese poster above we were able to locate quite a few promo images, including two of Gemser and Schubert doing field tests of Newton’s laws of physical motion. See below. Black Emanuelle opened in Japan today in 1976.
Femmes Fatales | Oct 5 2009 |

Laura Gemser was one of Italy’s undisputed Queen B's.
You know we love our b-movies around here, and one of the all-time b greats is the lovely Laura Gemser. Originally from Java, Indonesia, she earned her fame acting in the Italian-produced Black Emanuelle franchise, which featured such memorable entries as Emanuelle on Taboo Island, Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals, and Black Emanuelle’s Box (not what you think). After more than a decade in sexploitation, Gemser turned to costume design—ironic, considering costuming was one thing she didn’t need very often as Emmanuelle. After several years designing for Italian films, Gemser retired in Rome. But out of sight is not out of mind. Erotic cinema may be gone, but it isn’t forgotten. And neither is Laura Gemser. She turned 59 today.