Common Law Cabin is one of the more obscure directorial efforts from exploitation legend Russ Meyer. This was one of the ones which came from his 'soap opera' period from the late 60's, in which he made a few over-the-top melodramas. This one is set at a dilapidated tourist trap up the Colorado River run by a depressed middle-aged man, his ex-stripper helper and his sexy daughter. An alcoholic boatman rounds up three suckers to pay money to holiday in this dump, an uptight doctor, his sexually aggressive wife and an ominous stranger. Needless to say, it doesn't take long before things start to get out of hand.
This one is a bit rougher round the edges than most Meyer movies, with less impressive photography and editing that we are used to seeing from him. Despite this, its unmistakably one of his movies and contains several elements common to many of his other films, such as married couples at war with one-and-other, violence, buxom women, hints of incest and all of it ultimately being played for laughs in a deadpan manner. The story is pretty lacking here it has to be said and it essentially boils down to a series of events. Like all Meyer movies, much of the success comes down to the women and in this case we have three, Babette Bardot, Adele Rein and Alaina Capri. They are all good value with Capri being the standout, although she was even better in Good Morning... and Goodbye! Which Meyer also released in the same year. It's probably worth pointing out that there isn't any actual nudity in this one, with the edits always cutting away before anything can be seen – so from an erotic standpoint this one is more about acres of cleavage and heaving bosoms. So, it's a relatively restrained affair I guess. It's certainly not in the upper bracket of the Meyer cannon but it's still an enjoyable enough romp nevertheless.
