| Intl. Notebook | Nov 27 2023 |
Okay, Emanuelle nera, scene seventy, take two. And, guys? Dial it back a little—this is an r-rated movie.
This fun production photo shows Javanese actress Laura Gemser and U.S. actor Don Powell in a grassy swatch somewhere in Kenya about to shoot a scene from their Italian made sexploitation epic Emanuelle nera, or Black Emanuelle, which premiered today in 1976. Feel free to read more about the movie here. Long story short, it's not good, but it's sure fun to watch. In the photo we love how Gemser has her knees fully in Powell's nuts. We imagine director Bitto Albertini: “Closer, Don. Get closer.” Powell: “This is as close as I can get without turning into a soprano.” Gemser: “I know the movie might automatically get an X from the ratings board if I open my legs, but Don and I have already rehearsed it that way a bunch, so why don't we try it?”
And now it's time for another real life Pulp Intl. story. Back when PSGP was working for Playboy he had a film producer friend in the softcore realm who needed extra crew one night for one of his productions. Such films often used porn actresses, and in this case there was a well known Russian performer who was booked to do a love scene. While in softcore films the actors often wore what were essentially tiny nylon hose over their units, and the actresses wore what were basically gigantic band-aids over their tender parts, it was always the performer's choice, and sometimes, for comfort reasons or whatever—with mutual consent—they didn't bother. This was obviously before the era of intimacy coordinators.
Anyway, came time to shoot a fake oral sex scene with the actress on her knees and the actor not wearing a stocking on his dick, and when the camera began rolling the Russian star began working her magic on the actor for real. He was surprised, clearly, but what could he say? He looked around confused, but made no noises about stopping the action. The director, who after about ten seconds realized what was happening, sort of shook his head and said, “Cut. Cut. Uh... [actress name] we won't be needing any of that today.” The entire set broke up in laughter. We're not suggesting anything like that happened between Gemser and Powell. It's just that the photo brought to mind that amusing story. We've got a million of 'em.
ItalyKenyaIndonesiaJavaBlack EmanuelleEmanuelle neraLaura GemserDon PowellBitto Albertinicinemasexploitationnudity
| Vintage Pulp | Apr 3 2022 |
Gemser always makes sure a fun time is had by all.
Above is another Japanese poster for Laura Gemser's Italian sexploitation flick Emanuelle nera, which premiered in 1975 and reached Japan today in 1976. The art shows Gemser getting frisky poolside with French actress Isabelle Marchall, who made numerous sexploitation and giallo movies. The title of this in Japanese means “love of Emanuelle,” and we echo that sentiment—which is to say, though Gemser's Emanuelle films are abysmally bad, we love them as products of an era of freewheeling, guilt-free erotic cinema.
Watching the films on cable television during our youth, they somewhat affected our views on travel and sex, neither of which we had experienced yet. We explained this influence in our write-up on Mia Nygren's Emmanuelle IV way back. At their best, Gemser's Emanuelle movies (yes, it's spelled differently than Nygren's) were straightforward celebrations of sex, while at their worst they were influenced by horror and action movies, such as the one where she takes on cannibals, and the one where she smashes a ring of snuff filmmakers. Emanuelle nera has few pretensions—Gemser goes to Nairobi and gets laid. You can see everything else we have on the movie here, here, and here. Gemser will be back. Probably sooner than you think.
JapanItalyFranceIndonesiaEmanuelle neraBlack EmanuelleLaura GemserIsabelle Marchallposter artcinemasexploitationnudity
| Vintage Pulp | Nov 21 2021 |
Laura Gemser rides Emanuelle to international fame.
We're looping back to Italian promo art today with this poster for Emanuelle nera, known in English as Black Emmanuelle. We already talked about the movie here, but didn't share this particular poster, a nice, understated effort for what is a pretty wild film. This was Gemser's third cinematic outing, but her first as the character of Emanuelle, which she'd reprise multiple times. Notice she's billed on the poster as “Emanuelle.” She acted under that name briefly before appearing under her real name, and the rest is softcore history. We have her entire film output, so you can be sure we'll get back to her later. Emanuelle nera premiered in Italy today in 1975.
| 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 Emanuelle. 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.
FranceBlack EmanuelleBlack Emanuelle en AfriqueEmanuelle neraLaura GemserKarin SchubertP. Martyposter artcinemasexploitationnudity
| 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.
IsraelItalyEmanuelle nera n° 2The New Black EmanuelleShulamith LasriJulie MargoDanielle Ellisonposter artcinemasexploitationnuditymovie review
| 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.
JapanItalyIndonesiaJavaKenyaBlack EmanuelleEmanuelle neraEmmanuelleLaura GemserKarin SchubertIsabelle MarchallDon PowellIsabelle MarchallGabriele Tintiposter artcinemasexploitationnuditymovie review
| 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.
IndonesiaItalyJavaBlack EmanuelleEmanuelle on Taboo IslandEmanuelle and the Last CannibalsLaura Gemsersexploitationnuditycinema
