Up!

The film begins quite mysteriously in a dungeon where a young man is torturing an Adolf Hitler look-alike… We then quickly cut to a stunning nude, played by Kitten Natividad, who teasingly introduces the audience to the setting…

We are in Northern California, in a small, rural community… Just outside of town, a very beautiful, buxom young lady is hitchhiking along a lonely country road… She is picked up by a young man, who happens to be the infant terrible of the local rich set... He tries to take advantage of the girl's abundant sexuality but after a short sequence involving a brutal rape, she turns the tables and ends up killing him...

Russ Meyer has never been one to linger too long on a single shot… He likes to cut, especially to ladies running naked as jaybirds around the lush countryside… In this case, however, he has added more than just a tease with Kitten Natividad, who narrates the events of the story with a husky, British accent while displaying her terrific figure… The true star of the show, however, is Raven de la Croix, whose piercing dark eyes and fully rounded, voluptuous figure combine with some firmly loyal acting for an explosive performance

Up! (1976)

*** (out of 4)

Insane Russ Meyer flick written by Roger Ebert. A dictator (a Hitler spoof) is assassinated but who did it? That's pretty much the storyline for this film because the other 79-minutes are nothing but sex, big boobs, lumberjacks, more sex, lesbians, a fake penis and more wild and kinky sex. Pretty much everything that could possibly happen sex wise is thrown into this thing including three different rapes, which makes me wonder why Ebert went out of his way to try and get certain films banned due to their "treatment of women". The lack of plot really helps matters because in the end this is a very fun film full of laughs but it's mostly the outrageous sex scenes that make it so memorable.

I love Russ Meyer movies! It's really difficult to explain the appeal of them to those that are unfamiliar with his work. Best thing is to watch one yourself, and Up! is as good a starting place as any.

Prepare to enter a world like no other! Full of women - good ones, "bad" ones, powerful ones. Women who are IN CONTROL. The plot here doesn't really matter. It's a kinda murder mystery involving the death of a pervert who may or may not be Hitler. That's really just an excuse for a slew of scenes like none you've ever seen, and dialogue (co-written by Roger Ebert!) that continually astounds.

Kitten Natividad makes her mark as "the Greek Chorus" but the real star here is Raven De La Croix (as Margo Winchester) who is the most stunning women to ever grace a Meyer flick. You've got to see her to believe her! Raven (according to her web site "psychic counselor to individual members of the Hells Angels Worldwide") energizes the movie everytime she is on screen, but is especially unforgettable in a water fight sequence with Janet Wood which surely must be one of the high points of exploitation cinema!

So, sit back, relax, and prepare to be astonished by Up! Your world will never be the same again!

My personal favorite of Russ Meyer's films. The script, by Roger Ebert (!), is loaded with brilliant sexual dark humor. For example, the opening sequence finds an aging Adolph Hitler lookalike being whipped by a stud in a Pilgrim outfit; meanwhile, "Hitler" is tortured (erotically) by a variety of buxom ethnic babes ("Ah! Limehouse!"). Later, the Pilgrim really gives to Adolph what the rest of the world always wanted to give him - and sticks it to him good! And the ending wraps up a murder mystery by rising to outrageous absurdity. Along the way, our Greek Chorus narrator (Kitten Natividad) keeps us UP to date on the proceedings. Beautifully photographed (Meyer's best acheivement, I think). See what I call "The Indian Flip," and learn something new to do with a light socket. An absolute must for - as someone said - you know who you are...

Before finding fame as one half of influential film critic duo Siskel and Ebert, Roger Ebert tried his hand at screenwriting, penning several scripts for cult sexploitation director Russ Meyer: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls in 1970, Beneath the Valley of the Ultra-Vixens in 1979, and between those, wacky sexploitation comedy Up! in 1976.

Up! opens in full-on unhinged mode, with an ageing Hitler (Edward Schaaf) - hiding behind the pseudonym Adolph Schwartz - indulging in a variety of perverted sex acts conducted by well-endowed 'pilgrim' Paul (Robert McLane). Shortly after, Schwartz is murdered while in his bath-tub, the killer putting a piranha in the water. A naked Kitten Natividad, as narrator Greek Chorus, introduces several suspects, including Paul's attractive wife Alice (Janet Wood), buxom black-haired babe Margo (Raven De La Croix), local policeman Homer (Monty Bane), Asian beauty Limehouse (Su Ling), chesty gimp The Headsperson (Candy Samples), and The Ethopian Chef (Elaine Collins). Are any of these characters responsible for the Nazi's fishy demise?

With numerous big-breasted hotties, several scenes of forced sex, lots of consensual soft-core sex, frequent full-frontal female nudity, and some graphic violence towards the end (which includes an axe to the chest and a chainsaw through the stomach), Russ Meyer's movie is quite the eye-opener, a wild ride that forsakes things like narrative cohesion and logic in favour of boobs, bush, and satirical humour. It's a fairly uneven film with a plot that feels like it was written on the fly, but there is enough energy and spirit (and nudity) from all involved to ensure that, if anything, it is never boring.

To rate this Siskel and Ebert style: one and a bit thumbs Up!