CALENDAR PIN-UPS (that's the way the title is displayed on-screen) is an interesting behind-the-scenes movie about the creation of a sexy calendar. Though these "documentaries" were intentionally fake and not meant to be taken seriously, this one actually has educational value.
That's because in the process of showing us twelve beautiful models in the nude (no full-frontal shots permitted, however), the narrator carefully explains the principles behind cheesecake photography and walks the civilian audience through the fine points of lighting and camera technique.
It's shot MOS, with an annoying, ham-bone assistant mugging and failing to provide the intended comic relief. Fake docu status is telegraphed immediately, as a hired actor appears on screen pretending to be producer Manuel S. Conde.
The matching of each calendar month to its sign of the Zodiac provides a modicum of content, as we learn a bit about astrology. But it is the succession of pretty girls that hits the spot.
My favorites were Sandy Sinclair leading off as January/Aquarius -her terrific breasts & nipples were also the highlight of a quite similar film INTIMATE DIARY OF ARTISTS' MODELS.
Among the anonymous performers is an ultra-busty redhead for March/Aries, who really looks like a pro stripper, while Gemini/May's big-up-front model looks just like a Playboy Centerfold of the era. Surprisingly there's integration, as a black performer represents June/Cancer, presented matter-of-factly even though most of these films from this period were cast lily-white.
The Leo/July girl has mouth-watering puffy nipples. One pacing problem is that the year-end models simply are not as striking as those assigned earlier months.
Biggest surprise here is that despite the meticulous lighting and posing, the finished shots all look cheesy, with amateurish "drawn in" embellishments to represent signs of the zodiac ruining the compositions. It contradicts the whole point of the movie.
