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Ginger
[Monterey Video]
1971; color
Directed by Don Schain
Starring: Cheri Caffaro, Duane Tucker, Herbert Kerr, Calvin Culver & David Ross
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Needless to say the late '60s and early '70s was a very fertile period of exploitation filmmaking - possibly the most fertile period of exploitation filmmaking - and although I was not alive for the late '60s and too young to be involved in it during the '70s there seems to have been a bit of "let's put on a play!" type vibe in the air. Meaning, all sorts of people seemed to think "hey, we could make a movie" then, they actually did! Or at least that's how I assume this Ginger series, starring then (possibly currently) mostly unknown actress Cherri Caffaro and written / directed by her then husband Don Schain, came about. I suppose we'll have to wait for one of them to write their memoirs to get the full story. Anywhoo, although it never quite achieved the level of cult status or mainstream interest as some of it's similarly minded contemporaries, this series certainly seems to have it's fans. After hearing about it for many years and passing by the box set every time I go to the video store, despite the fact I'm not part of the demographic that seems to enjoy these films the most (read: bondage enthusiasts who don't care how non-linear a plot is or how many times someone uses the term "jungle bunny" as long as one or more poor young ladies are seen ball gagged and trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey) I decided to finally rent the original and give it a whirl. I mean, it couldn't be any worse than The Sinful Dwarf, right? That was a rhetorical question but the answer is no. (Interestingly the latter film, which is mostly set in a filthy attic and whose costumes appear to made by the Danish equivalent to Andy Milligan, had much higher production values.) So, was Ginger everything I expected it to be? Yes. Does that mean I thought it was a good movie? Um... no. Am I now going to rent the other two when I return this to the TLA? Probably. (I know - I can be a bit masochistic in my viewing tastes.) For those who haven't heard of this film or series I guess I should offer a little more detail. For all intents and purposes, this one at least is kind of like a blaxploitation action film and features much of the hallmarks of, say, a Pam Grier movie; there's the ass kicking female, the inept private dicks, the sleazy Mafioso dudes and dudette, and even the ol' castration by piano wire trick. Sadly, although I can certainly see what her legion of pervy fans see in her, Cafarro is no Pam Grier. She's not even a Tammy Dobson, bless her leggy, small breasted, excessively tan lined heart. She sure did have some crazy get-ups though! I'm hoping that carries on into the sequels. And at some point in the process they made enough money to buy a klieg light or two. Only time and the Kommandant's TLA card will tell!
—Bunny
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