The Naughty Victorians: An Erotic Tale of a Maiden's Revenge (1975)
*** (out of 4)
Alice (Susan Sloan) goes to live with her fiance Jack (Beerbohn Tree) and soon realizes that he has some strange ideas about sex and bondage. Before long more women are coming into the bizarre sex game but Alice has her own plans.
THE NAUGHTY VICTORIANS: AN EROTIC TALE OF A MAIDEN'S REVENGE is a very unusual movie and I'd highly recommend you read Roger Ebert's review of the film. In fact, as I read various reviews it became quite clear that some loved the picture while others truly hated it and those who hated it talked about the awful dialogue, the rather strange performances and the fact that this "hardcore" movie doesn't have too much hardcore.
Those reasons for hating the film are quite legit and I honestly wouldn't argue with anyone who didn't like the movie but what's strange is the fact that I liked the film for those exact reasons. Yes, there's not too much hardcore sex in the picture and a lot of it is more suggestive than anything else yet that gave the film a rather unique style. The opening sex scene takes forever to get to it and yet it plays as a major tease. I can understand people going into the film wanting wall-to-wall sex and being disappointed that the first sex scene takes forever to get it but at the same time it's different and unique.
Both Sloan and Tree are, I don't know the word, perhaps off-key? Their performances aren't great and they aren't awful but they're just something strange. The strangeness actually worked for me and I had a good time watching them. Their dialogue is even stranger and it really does seem on the level of Edward D. Wood, Jr. at times but it was fun. Mix this dialogue with the performances and the incredibly strange bondage scenes and you've got a rather fun little film. And did I forget to mention the mother-daughter scene?