Monday 14 November 2011

Hot Thrills and Warm Chills (1967)

You don’t really expect 1960s sexploitation movies to make a huge amount of sense. Hot Thrills and Warm Chills does have a plot, of sorts, it just happens to be a very silly plot. But silliness and weirdness are all part of the appeal of this particular genre and this movie qualifies on both counts.

Toni (Tita Alexander) used to be the leader of a very successful girl gang. Now she gets together with two of her former gang cohorts to make one last big score. It’s Mardi Gras time and they’re going to steal the crown of King Sex.

Toni has it all planned out so that nothing can possibly go wrong, but of course everything does go wrong and eventually the girls take refuge in a cemetery.

The plot occupies a minority of the movie’s running time. The rest of the movie comprises the girls’ reminiscences of various sexual encounters. That and an extended topless dance sequence that has absolutely no connection with the rest of the movie takes up the rest of the movie.

The soundtrack is indescribably bizarre. Continuity is non-existent. The script is filled with jaw-dropping dialogue.

The acting is terrible, but it’s entertainingly terrible. And as its star it has the amazing Rita Alexander. Among her claims to fame is the ability to balance a champagne glass on her breasts, a feat she demonstrates in the opening sequence. She really is wonderful - she’s totally over-the-top and delightfully larger-than-life.

Director Dale Berry was a Texas-based sexploitation film-maker active in the mid to late 60s and Hot Thrills and Warm Chills is presented as part of a two-movie set from Something Weird Video showcasing his inimitable works. The other featured movie is Hip, Hot and 21 and it’s just as strange.

As usual Something Weird have managed to find pretty decent prints of these bizarre obscurities and there are various shorts and trailers to complete the package.

While it's not one of the great American sexploitation movies this one is still worth a look if you're a fan of the genre.

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