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January 8, 2014

Movie Review: Abduction of an American Playgirl and Winter Heat (1975,1976)

2013 has been a banner year for genre DVD and Blu-ray producers Vinegar Syndrome. With titles like The Telephone Book, Good Luck, Ms. Wyckoff and Night Train to Terror making outstanding debuts on the format, cult film fans have been able to view some of these rarely seen oddities in the comfort of their own home. Classic porn fans have also gravitated towards the company too as we've also been able to eat up numerous double-bills from their Drive-in themed collection. The brand new Peekarama line looks to be a pleasing addition to the growing library of vintage adult goodness from Vinegar Syndrome.

 This particular double feature have similar the similar themes of kidnapping and rape, but both couldn't be any more different tone. Our first half of the Peekarama double-bill is called Abduction of an American Playgirl. We begin this descent in goofy filth with couple of dopey kidnappers (Eric Edwards and Alan Marlow) pondering the kidnapping of a young woman (Darby Lloyd Rains, Naked Came a Stranger). Their goal is to have their way with her and dangle out for a ransom. The trio end up at dive hotel where they start their fun. What the boys get though is a woman, so insatiable, and draining, they become victims and get raped themselves.


Besides the non-stop sex, Abduction of an American Playgirl contains a whole lot of corny comedy that even includes some Benny Hill type humor – except bare-assed. Marlow, Rains, and Edwards are all pretty good actors so that elevates what's essentially cheap porn into something far more amusing.

Winter Heat has none of the lightheartedness of  Abduction of an American Playgirl but it does contain plenty of sleaze to make it one of the better XXX roughies from the era. A group of four ex-cons (Lead by the legendary Jamie Gillis!) scramble for shelter while in a snowstorm. They come upon a seemingly vacant cabin that they later find out is occupied by three young women who have no idea what they are in for.



While not as vicious as some other rape-themed roughies like Forced Entry,  Sex Wish or Wet Wilderness, Winter Heat still manages to make your jaw drop in a few spots. One scene has has Gillis force-feeding oatmeal to a woman while his buddy has sex on the counter with another lady.  Gillis’ dirty talk literally made the hair in my ear curl, it was soo vile. The man is almost always in top form when it comes to being sleazy and being one of the most passionate performers of all time. As you'd expect this movie will not be for every viewer but if you-re jaded enough this curio will tickle your fancy.

This particular disc is pretty sparse in the extra features as we just get a trailer for  Abduction of an American Playgirl. This trailer is pretty interesting though as it doesn't use the correct title for the film but instead the moniker The Abduction on an American Plow Girl. The quality of the prints isn’t perfect but they are way better than you'd expect. I saw very little damage to both elements. Winter Heat looks a little rougher, but destroys any of the unlicensed garbage available from Alpha Blue Archives and others with its restored color and overall solid restoration.

After seeing what Vinegar Syndrome has done with this Peekarama release, as a fan of 70’s smut, I hope it’ll be possible for more roughies to hit the format. This is some bargain sleaze here, so anyone who has picked up previous vintage adult releases from Vinegar Syndrome should not miss this wild two-fer. Recommended

Screencaps Courtesy of Rock! Shock Pop!

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