Book Review: Grindhouse The Forbidden World of Adults Only Cinema

December is Trash Cinema Month at the PorPor Books Blog

'Grindhouse: The Forbidden World of 'Adults Only' Cinema'

 

'Grindhouse: The Forbidden World of 'Adults Only' Cinema' (158 pp.) was authored by Eddie Muller and Daniel Faris, and published as a trade paperback by St. Martin's Griffin in November, 1996.

 

I remember picking this book up from the Border's Books and Records in Towson, Maryland, late in 1996, and finding the book amusing and very readable. 

 

It holds up well when re-read nearly 30 years later.

I should emphasize that 'Grindhouse' is not an overview of trash films per se, but rather, a historical and cultural history of the grindhouse experience in American popular culture. Attention is given to the memorable cast of hucksters and scammers who produced and promoted exploitation movies, and the legal machinations from the various authorities who were in decided opposition to this brand of moviegoing.

 

Chronologically, the history starts in the late 1920s, and goes all the way into the 70s.

 

For each of the reviewed decades, Muller and Faris focus on the particular genres of exploitation films that flourished in that era; for example, the 'nudist camp' films of the 50s, the 'roughies' of the 60s, and in the 70s, the 'swinger' films.

Muller and Faris prudently avoid using a self-consciously 'scholarly' or highbrow prose style. They understand they are writing first and foremost for the trash film aficionado, and keep their narrative flowing and informative. The authors make clear that for many of the films touring the grindhouse circuit, the actual content was considerably tamer, and less titillating, than what the posters and lobby cards promised. Sleaze entrepreneurs like William Kent, Kroger Babb, and Harry Novak always had an eye on maximizing their takes from the rubes, and adjusted the distribution, promotion, and advertising of their films accordingly.

 

 

There's all sorts of little anecdotes and tidbits scattered throughout the pages of 'Grindhouse,' and among my favorites, is an anecdote about Timothy Carey, an eccentric who is best known for his 1962 film The World's Greatest Sinner. A young Frank Zappa did the soundtrack for the film - !

 

For Muller and Faris, the early 70s saw the permanent transformation of the grindhouse circuit, as 'adult' films became mainstream in the wake of the success of movies such as Behind the Green Door, The Devil in Miss Jones, and Deep Throat. Suddenly, 'regular' people, including couples, were going to XXX theaters to take in 'adults only' cinema. And then, in 1975, came the initial notes of the death knell that soon would toll for the grindhouses:

 

....the world was introduced to the video cassette recorder, a device that accomplished what God-fearing prosecutors and Bible-thumping censors never could - it closed down hundreds of Adults Only theaters all across America.

 

One thing I quickly discovered with my re-read of 'Grindhouse' is that nowadays you can access the profiled films pretty easily by going online, unlike the situation in 1996 when you had to peruse the videocasette / DVD vendors to see what they had in their inventory. And the reality is that many of the films referred to in 'Grindhouse,' when viewed outside of confines of the theaters and social mores of the exploitation era, are quite forgettable.......

'Grindhouse' features a color portfolio of film posters and advertisements in the midsection of the book.

 

With used copies of 'Grindhouse' in 'acceptable' -grade condition starting at $50, getting the book is not a trivial purchase, and perhaps is best left to those aging Baby Boomers who constitute the majority of readers interested in things like the Russ Meyer films of the 1960s. I can't see people under the age of 40 being all that engrossed in the narrative of 'Grindhouse,' particularly in our modern age of streaming video. Somehow, the experience of exploitation cinema just isn't the same when viewed from the comfort of your sofa, as opposed to the discount movie theaters and drive-ins of the grindhouse era. 

 

In any event, hopefully this overview will give you a sense of what the book offers, and whether an investment of fifty bucks (or more) is worthwhile.