The Flesh Merchant

"The Flesh Merchant" (or "The Wild and Wicked") is fairly typical of 50's exploitation cinema in that it denounces a moral evil (in this case, young, innocent girls who are tricked into prostitution under the guise of becoming models) while at the same time titillating the audience with scenes of scantily clad women (and even a quick flash of bare buttocks). That being said, "The Flesh Merchants" is one of the more interesting films in the grindhouse genre. This is largely due to the acting, which is above par for most films of its kind. Lisa Rack, who plays the prostitute sister of the young innocent ingenue, is especially good. She infuses her dialogue (and a couple of sizable monologues) with a lot more fire and expression than entire casts of other low-budget films, and makes you sit up and take notice (even though a lot of the dialogue is pretty laughable). It's a shame that she doesn't seem to have any other film credits, because she certainly could have gone places.

All in all, this is one of the more watchable "Adults Only" films of the 50's. You can certainly do worse. I know I have.

Fascinating story about prostitution in the 1950's. Joy Reynolds is sweet and really sexy. Lisa Rack gives a performance that would have won her an academy award if this had been a big studio film.

What is funny is the antiquated morality. Joy Reynolds really seems to be enjoying herself as she enters the "dirty" world, quickly graduating from nude art school model to high priced escort in less than a day. Sure a client actually attempts to kiss her (horrors!) but after two minutes of soul searching, she decides that the diamonds and mink coats are worth it.

Except for a brief scene of a man beating a woman for about 20 seconds, the film has no sex or violence. It would probably be rated PG13 today.

Watch it for some great acting by Joy Reynolds and Lisa Rack and some cute witty dialogue.

Young, innocent Nancy Sheridan (Joy Reynolds) tires of dull, small-town life and heads for the big city. There, she meets up with her older sister Paula (Lisa Rack) who, in Nancy's eyes, is living the high life. Nancy soon winds up in an "art" studio, where a group of slimy, seedy men attempt to direct her "modeling job".

Nancy is sent to a club called "The Colony" -run by even slimier men- for her new, higher paying "career".

It only gets worse from here.

THE FLESH MERCHANT is another semi-exploitation film posing as a cautionary tale. While it's not completely wretched, it's not very exciting or entertaining either. This is one of those "naughty" movies that great-granddad used to sneak off to see. It's only "shocking" if a fleeting glimpse of a female posterior gives you the vapors! In reality, it's tamer than a neutered tomcat...

A naïve young woman follows her older sister into what turns out to be a prostitution ring.

The wild and wicked. Heck, the only thing wild and wicked about this 60-minutes is a fleeting glimpse of a bare butt. Otherwise it amounts to a fashion parade at what looks like a mountain dude ranch, where everyone sits around like a nightclub. There's not even a passionate clinch to suggest what might be going on in the rooms. Oh sure, there's plenty of polite innuendo about what's being served up here, bordello style. But nothing that might offend 1950 norms, even the exploitative kind. Then there's the most poorly staged shootout on record, I guess to inject a little action, since we're not getting any other kind.

Have to agree with Mark D-2, however. Lisa Rack delivers an A-grade performance as Paula, while the pert Joy Reynolds manages a pretty good Debbie Reynolds. And what a burst of inspiration getting that wizened old hooker to put in a sudden jolting appearance. But what's with the ending. It's like someone tripped over the tripod and decided to call it a wrap. Did they run out of film. Anyhow, the movie does prove how tightly the 1950's lid was clamped down, even on supposedly disreputable flicks like this one.

The Flesh Merchant (1956)

** 1/2 (out of 4)

Above average sexploiation film about 21-year-old Nancy (Joy Reynolds) who travels to Los Angeles to visit her sister and with dreams of getting into modeling. She meets a modeling agent but he's actually just a pimp and soon Nancy finds herself at a resort selling herself to older men. Director W. Merle Connell was no stranger to the exploitation genre and a quick look at his filmmography will show titles like TEST TUBE BABIES, THE DEVIL'S SLEEP and UNTAMED WOMEN. He certainly knows how to fill his film's with interesting characters and that there is what helps THE FLESH MERCHANT from being boring. Running just under a hour there's certainly no time that's wasted as we're pretty much introduced to the girl, see that she's willing to make a few bucks and it's off to the whorehouse she goes. The film runs at a very quick pace thanks to the director but the screenplay also deserves a lot of credit for the rather fun characters. The Nancy character is just as naive as you'd expect and the warning, soap-box preaching sister is a real hoot as well and especially at the end. There's the wiser hooker who is getting too old for the game and of course all of the pimps are downright fun in their own way. If you're looking for a serious drama about the horrors of street walking then you're not going to find it here. This is an exploitation picture that wants to "warn" of things but at the same time highlight the fun of being at one of these clubs. There's even a quick bit of nudity, which was clearly a wink at the mostly men who would be watching this. The performances are actually a lot better than you'd expect as well. THE FLESH MERCHANT isn't a lost masterpiece but for fans of the genre it's certainly worth watching.