| Femmes Fatales | Sep 11 2023 |
People aren't into books like they used to be. I'm just trying to make it enticing again.
The only movie we've seen with German actress Andrea Rau is the low budget production Robinson und seine wilden Sklavinnen, aka Robinson and His Tempestuous Slaves, and she made that otherwise uninspired effort worthwhile all by herself. She works similar magic, above, on a pile of books, including a Rowohlt Verlag edition of Henry Miller's Sexus. Rau appeared in about twenty films, and after the cinema made the time-honored transition into television, where she acted until 2008. The above photo came from a 1974 cover of the magazine Rex, and we took the liberty of removing the text. For a couple more shots of Rau check here and here.
| Vintage Pulp | Feb 22 2022 |
It's paradise found in cheeseball sexploitation flick.
This Italian poster was painted by Ermanno Iaia for the 1972 sexploitation comedy L'isola dei piaceri proibiti, which was originally West German made as as Robinson und seine wilden Sklavinnen, and known in English as Robinson and His Tempestuous Slaves. We have another poster below, and Magda Konopka stars on it but she isn't in the movie. Don't ask us how that happened. Some mysteries aren't meant to be solved.
So, yes, we watched this, and it's terrible. A schlub pharmacist named Robinson, who's descended from Robinson Crusoe, is trapped in a life of drudgery and domestic strife, but has fantasies of escaping to the tropics. You'd think there would be something in that pharmacy to lift his mood, but instead he actually goes to a jungle island. Since the scantily clad trio of Andrea Rau, Anne Libert, and Ingeborg Steinbach (but not Magda Konopka) are with him everything seems perfect (even with the obnoxious wildlife whose thoughts we get to hear).
By definition, paradise can never last. In this case, sadly, everything goes pear-shaped when cannibals turn up. Did we mention that this is a Jesús Franco movie? But it's Franco trying to be funny, and that isn't pretty. Talking wildlife, remember? Not pretty at all. In that case, why should you watch it? Because you get to see Rau stark raving naked in a waterfall. Boom. Book it. The movie has no Italian premiere date, but if we ever find one we'll update this post. We have some production photos below, and, as a bonus Rau, Steinbach, and Libert in three nice glamour shots.
ItalyWest GermanyL'isola dei piaceri proibitiRobinson und seine wilden SklavinnenRobinson and His Tempestuous SlavesJesús FrancoYehuda BarkanAnne LibertAndrea RauIngeborg SteinbachMagda KonopkaErmanno Iaiaposter artcinemasexploitationmovie review
