December is Trash Cinema Month at the PorPor Books Blog
'Immoral Tales: European Sex and Horror Movies 1956 - 1984'
by Cathal Tohill and Pete Tombs
'Immoral Tales' first was published in the UK in 1994 by Primitive Press. This U.S. edition (272 pp.) was published in October, 1995, by St. Martin's Griffin. Another UK edition was released in 1995 by Titan Books.
All editions, being long out of print, have pretty steep asking prices, with used copies, in acceptable or good condition, starting at $30 on up at amazon and eBay. One speculator / bookjacker is asking for $191 for their 'new' copy !
As of the time of the writing of this post, an eBook or digital edition of 'Immoral Tales' has yet to appear.
'Immoral Tales' is one of two volumes on trash cinema authored by Tohill and Tombs, the other being 'Mondo Macabro: Weird and Wonderful Cinema Around the World,' published in 1997 (there is available a Kindle edition of 'Mondo').
I remember picking up my copy of 'Immoral Tales' late in 1995 at the Borders Books and Records in Towson, Maryland, a suburb north of Baltimore. Yes, those were the days before online purchasing when, if you wanted a book, you went to a brick-and-mortar bookstore......
'Immoral Tales' starts off with a declaration:
During the 1960s and 70s, the European horror film went totally crazy. It began to go kinky - creating a new type of cinema that blended eroticism and terror.
....these bizarre flicks defy simple pigeon-holing. They're too lowbrow to be considered arty, but too intelligent and personal to be described simply as Euro-trash. They're a curious hybrid, milking the dynamism of popular literature and comic books, combining it with the perverse romanticism of real Art.
The book's second chapter, 'Sex, Cinema, and Surgery,' offers homage to the 1959 French film Eyes Without a Face, with Tohill and Tombs stating that the film was sufficiently graphic and disturbing, but also possessing an 'artistic' sensibility, thus signalling a new approach to the horror genre, a genre historically dominated by American-produced films. 
Subsequent chapter off in-depth overviews of such sex and horror films, released in the postwar era, from Spain, Italy, France, and Germany. There are brief reviews of memorable films from each country.
Subsequent chapter off in-depth overviews of such sex and horror films, released in the postwar era, from Spain, Italy, France, and Germany. There are brief reviews of memorable films from each country.
Authors Tohill and Tombs realize they are writing for an (almost exclusively) male audience, so they wisely see to it that the book is heavily illustrated with (rather low-res) black-and-white stills of nude, lithe young women.
A section of color stills and movie posters is inserted into the book's middle section; these are reproduced in high resolution, and are one of the book's best features.
The text of 'Immoral Tales' is small, dense, two-column font. To their credit, Tohill and Tombs avoid getting too 'scholarly,' they understand they're writing for the trash film fan, zine reader, and midnight movie aficionado. Thus, they keep their prose conversational and devoid of pretense.
The films are given concise summaries, and the role of the sociocultural milieu of postwar Europe in composing the films is described with insight and economy. Tohill and Tombs, as Britishers, understand that on the Continent, sometimes things are just inexplicable to Anglophone audiences, and accepting this makes the films a little more watchable.
'Immoral Tales' is filled with quirky little revelations; for example, in 1990 French director Jean Rollin made, on a micro-budget, a pilot episode of 'Harry Dickson: The American Detective,' hoping to persuade a French TV company to commit to producing a series. Rollin shot the pilot in Paris and enlisted, to play the role of Harry Dickson, Jean-Michel Nicollet, the artist who did memorable covers for French paperbacks, and who is well-known by the readers of Metal Hurlant and Heavy Metal magazines. It's a small world, when it comes to the fantastique.....
'Immoral Tales' closes with an Appendix, referencing major directors, actors, and production / distribution companies involved in the sex and horror cinematic enterprises profiled in the book. There also is a brief essay on European comics book heroes.
Hopefully, this overview will provide sufficient information for those individuals who are contemplating whether it's worth parting with $30 or more to obtain a copy of 'Immoral Tales.' If you are a hardcore fan of trash cinema then the answer is 'yes.' However, if your interest in such films is a little more casual, then 'Immoral Tales' really is not a must-have, given the presence of online resources, such as the Grindhouse Cinema Database, that provide easily accessible plot summaries, reviews and essays, of Eurotrash films.
