Among erstwhile French porn production and distribution behemoth Alpha France's roster of in-house directors, Jean Desvilles a/k/a "Georges Fleury" remains frequently overlooked in favor of his more flamboyant colleagues like Gérard Kikoïne and the late Francis Leroi. Though his work's easily on a par with that of Jean-Claude Roy (a/k/a "Patrick Aubin") and Claude Bernard-Aubert (a/k/a "Burd Tranbaree"), whose style it most closely resembles, a more frugal output has him playing distant second fiddle even to those lust epic laborers. Having since gained notoriety as a surreal painter and set designer and all but disowned his shady porno past, historical accuracy commands his recognition as perpetrator of the legendary carnal company's first bona fide production, 1972's soft-core JEUX POUR COUPLES INFIDELES, though a persistent rumor attributes the flick's expertly orchestrated sex scenes to chairman Francis Mischkind. Desvilles dove into dirty movies after a couple of crime dramas – LA ROSE ET LE REVOLVER and LES ANGES, both of which bombed at the box office – and never looked back, at least before the decade drew to a close.
Lensed in 1975, a halcyon year for Continental 'core before the French government tried to discourage a budding industry with gargantuan taxes, INTRODUCTIONS was one of the early flagship titles for Alpha France, further testament to Mischkind's faith in the director's abilities, with grosses to rival those generated by Claude Mulot's contemporary SEXE QUI PARLE. While latter film remains etched in the carnal connoisseur's collective memory however, Desvilles' early contribution has seemingly slipped through the cracks. The company, reincarnated as DVD distributor Blue One, now attempts to rectify this oversight by releasing a sterling transfer as part of a value for money "Georges Fleury" triple bill along with FANTAISIES POUR COUPLES and PARTIES RAIDES, the latter memorably shown stateside as THE NIBBLERS, distributed by Dave Friedman who reportedly won the flick in a high stakes poker game !
Anne and Michel are a middle-aged couple of considerable means, the wife staying behind in the swanky coastal resort of Deauville while her husband slaves at his Paris office during the week. She uses this personal time to set up the sexual scenario for the upcoming weekend, patiently ensnaring the participant of Michel's choice, in this case the alluring Béatrice, played by lovely Chantal Naura, a Desvilles mainstay who also appeared in Aubin's BOUCHE-TROU. The movie leisurely cuts back 'n' forth between the incomparable Emmanuelle Parèze luring her inexperienced yet eager prey and the portly Jacques Insermini working his way through the frivolous floozies populating the City of Lights. A sophisticated comedienne of what the French elegantly refer to as a "certain age", Parèze effortlessly commands the screen, creating believable matrimonial chemistry with Insermini, who would again portray her spouse in Mulot's end of the world erotic epic SHOCKING! which serves as an undisputed highlight in both their careers. Her comic talent was mined most effectively however by Tranbaree who would feature her in LA FESSEE, LA RABATTEUSE and VEUVES EN CHALEUR. Hardly looking the part of a porno stud, but impressively efficient in this capacity nonetheless, Insermini had a massive track record in simulated sex cinema, often cast as a gangster or a heavy because of his imposing physique, frequently found in the films of recently rediscovered auteur Jean-Marie Pallardy including his ambitious L'AMOUR AUX TROUSSES and the silly guilty pleasure L'ARRIERE-TRAIN SIFFLERA TROIS FOIS. To the porno patron, he should be most familiar as one of the garbage men mauling the stunning Nadja Mons in Mulot and Michel Barny's marvelous MES NUITS AVEC
a/k/a THE KINKY LADIES OF BOURBON STREET.
For genre film fans, this offers the rare opportunity to see both Castel twins from the Jean Rollin movies do hardcore, rather than just Cathy who was more accustomed to this line of work. Perky blonde Danièle Nègre, who was a saucy secretary in Serge Korber's underrated VIE SENTIMENTALE DE WALTER PETIT, plays the Swedish hitchhiker Michel picks up en route. Brunette Eva Khris appeared in Korber's A BOUT DE SEXE and Max Pécas' landmark FELICIA. Here she turns up as the new lodger at the couple's Paris apartment, eagerly partaking in the Castels' charms as they're alternately plowed by Insermini.
Naturally, any adult film made three and a half decades ago is bound to show its age to some extent in terms of fashions and hairstyles, perhaps most distractingly in the overwhelming presence of the polyester wigs made popular by Brigitte Bardot. The eroticism stands the test of time however, Desvilles taking his time to tease and titillate viewers in an unrushed approach that elevates this movie well above most of its carnal contemporaries. Sharing its bourgeois milieu with the oeuvre of Tranbaree, it cheerfully chucks his inherent hypocrisy by presenting the middle class protagonists as comfortably liberated libertines. Downside to this is a relative lack of conflict which might have made the movie more dramatically interesting. Production proves far more lavish than anything on the other side of the Atlantic at the same time with exquisite cinematography by veteran DoP Pierre Petit, who had amusingly shot the pious documentary LA VIE DE Jesus as far back as 1952 before descending into slightly risqué fare with Ralph Habib's CLUB DE FEMMES and Christian-Jaque's Martine Carol costume vehicle LES AMOURS DE LADY HAMILTON. An eclectic soundtrack's provided by legit French (if German-born) jazz pianist Eddie Warner, whose voluminous back catalog was regularly plundered by skin merchants including the aforementioned Pallardy and the late Lucien Hustaix for his highly lucrative if not very good LES JOUISSEUSES.
