THE PLATINUM PUSSYCAT
B&W/Color, 1968, 75m.
Directed by Edward L. Montori & James Somich
Starring Sandy Roberts, Miles Mutchler, Helen Murray, Jeff Baker

THE SEXPLOITERS
B&W, 1965, 65m.
Directed by Al Ruban
Starring Jackie Miller, Terri Steele, Don Dwyer
Retro-Seduction Cinema (DVD) (US R0 NTSC)


Sixties sexploitation doesn't come much more incoherent than The Platinum Pussycat, a ramshackle offering released in 1968 but at least partially shot much earlier given the hairstyles and film stock. Originally filmed as The Losers and also released as The Pink Pussycat, it was the first of two directorial efforts for the infamous Edward L. Montoro, who also helmed the Uschi Digard vehicle Getting into Heaven before founding the '70s outfit Film Ventures International (purveyors of Beyond the Door and Grizzly) and abThe Platinum Pussycatsconding with millions of dollars, never to be heard from again. Directing obviously wasn't his strong suit either, but this one certainly has more than a passing historical interest for fans of shady trash cinema during the waning hours of the love generation.

The one-off lead role by shapely blonde Sandy Roberts (also seen briefly in Medium Cool) casts her as the usually naked Dena, whose boyfriend drops dead in the opening scene when he turns up with a kitchen knife in his side (after making love, of course). Her quest to clear her name, find the killer, and possibly get revenge, all while tangling with her cop ex-boyfriend (first seen doing some rough tussling in the sack with a lady of his own), a female painter, mobsters, and a bunch of random people who take their clothes off and roll around in bed... including one sequence that The Platinum Pussycatswitches into color. It's just like The Wizard of Oz, except with big boobs and a bloody nihilisitc ending.

Featuring an abitrary soundtrack composed of looped voices and unrelated music tracks (kicking off with a dizzy rip-off of The Doors), The Platinum Pussycat barely hangs together as a coherent film and features sex scenes of wildly varying degrees of explicitness. Some were obviously shot to conform with the early '60s David F. Friedman format of folks who leave their underwear on and just do some heavy petting, while others (including the aforementioned color scene) leave much, much less to the imagination. Some versions of the film also tinted the B&W sequences a variety of colors, presumably to avoid scaring off the grindhouse crowd.

The most commonly available version of this film for years appeared as both a VHS and a DVD-R from Something Weird, complete with varying sepia tones for the B&W footage. Retro-Seduction Cinema's "restored special edition" is pure monochrome for most of its running time, which is a lot less distracting. The image quality is quite good throughout (albeit interlaced, so set your player accordingly), though obviously some scenes were shot more competently than others. The only real extra is a lengthy reel of bonus "Platinum Loops," which feature a variety of anonymous women from the '60s disrobing and exhibiting various aspects of their anatomy for the camera (some much more than others).

But wait, that's not quite all. This is actually promoted as a "Platinum Pussycat Double Feature," which means this comes packed as a two-disc set. The other DVD is The Sexploiters, which was already covered way back in 2007 in this site's second Sick Picks. This is the exact same disc down to the menu, commentary, transfer, and other extras, so consider it a nice little bonus.

 

Reviewed on January 29, 2012.