vintage and modern pulp fiction; noir, schlock and exploitation films; scandals, swindles and news
Some years ago we showed you a Japanese poster for the U.S. crime drama The Godson. That piece had Orita de Chadwick as its central (if unfortunate) focus, whereas the above version features Swedish actress Uschi Digard. Since she’s a notable figure in the realm of grindhouse cinema we thought this was worth a share. The Godson premiered in the U.S. in 1971, and reached Japan today in 1972.
This is the fiftieth issue of Adam we’ve shared, which is a milestone of sorts for our website, considering how hard the magazine is to obtain. The cover illustration depicts the moment in John P. Gilders’ story “Girl Trap” when a body is dumped in Sydney Harbor, theoretically to be carried out to sea on a receding tide. The hero had intervened to stop a woman from being beaten by her violent boyfriend only to stand by in horror as she shot the guy dead. He soon discovers that the woman is actually a prostitute and the boyfriend was her pimp. Cops eventually get involved but the hero skates because the police “just know” he isn’t a murderer. The story is as bad as it sounds, but on the plus side it’s short.
Inside the issue is glamor model Lois Mitchell, who appeared in numerous magazines during the late 1960s and early 1970s. We last saw her inside an Adam from January 1972, and also highlighted her role in the 1971 sexploitation flick The Godson, where she had a bit role alongside sci-fi writer Harlan Ellison. Adam editors were so taken with her they not only gave her a three-page spread, but plopped a beret on her head brought her back for another shot later. We’ve been thinking about bringing her back too, because she made a lot of nice photos during her career. We may get around to that a bit later. Stay tuned. We have twenty-plus scans from Adam below.
When we first saw this poster for 1971’s The Godson, we were of course struck by its brutal nature. Then our reality filter kicked in and it dawned on us that, though the art is a photo-illustration, an actress (Orita de Chadwick) probably wouldn’t sign up for that kind of abuse. Thankfully, our assumption was confirmed. The film frame used on the poster has been slightly but crucially altered to achieve a more violent effect. The reasons why an instance of sexual violence would be made to look even worse on a promo poster raises some marketing-related questions, but we’ll leave those for another time.
Moving on to the actual film, The Godson is just a sexploitation flick with bad direction (William Rotsler), bad scripting (William Rotsler), bad editing (William Rotsler), and astoundingly bad acting (everyone). It’s the story of an ambitious mafia thug played by Jason Yukon trying to succeed in his godfather’s organization, and it all goes wrong in the end and everyone dies. Is that giving away too much? Well, at least we saved you 90 minutes. We’ll say this much for Rotsler, though—he did nothing halfway, as a visit to his website will illustrate.
Perhaps we should note that Uschi Digard and the awesomely beautiful Lois Mitchell appear in this film, super hot Debbie McGuire from Black Starlet and Supervixens gets a bit of screen time, and legendary sci-fi writer and firebrand Harlan Ellison pops up briefly (copping a feel of Mitchell, just below). Also, some of the film was shot at Ellison’s bachelor pad. Does any of that make it worth watching? No. Besides, why bother when we’ve uploaded all the best parts for you? The Godson premiered in Japan today in 1972.
Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, who were convicted for conspiracy to commit espionage related to passing information about the atomic bomb to the Soviet spies, are executed at Sing Sing prison, in New York.
American aviator Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly in an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean, riding as a passenger in a plane piloted by Wilmer Stutz and maintained by Lou Gordon. Earhart would four years later go on to complete a trans-Atlantic flight as a pilot, leaving from Newfoundland and landing in Ireland, accomplishing the feat solo without a co-pilot or mechanic.
In France, Eugen Weidmann is guillotined in the city of Versailles outside Saint-Pierre Prison for the crime of murder. He is the last person to be publicly beheaded in France, however executions by guillotine continue away from the public until September 10, 1977, when Hamida Djandoubi becomes the last person to receive the grisly punishment.
In Washington, D.C., five White House operatives are arrested for burglarizing the offices of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate Hotel. The botched burglary was an attempt by members of the Republican Party to illegally wiretap the opposition. The resulting scandal ultimately leads to the resignation of President Richard Nixon, and also results in the indictment and conviction of several administration officials.
Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev defects at Le Bourget airport in Paris. The western press reported that it was his love for Chilean heiress Clara Saint that triggered the event, but in reality Nuryev had been touring Europe with the Kirov Ballet and defected in order to avoid punishment for his continual refusal to abide by rules imposed upon the tour by Moscow.
