World of Obscenity (1966)
Cut-n-paste pseudo-documentary about the history of censorship in cinema and the changing mores of the '60s, comprised mostly of footage from the films of Joseph Mawra (who also directed this under the pseudonym of "Carlo Scappine"). Likely the only way to catch footage from Mawra's lost MME. OLGA'S MASSAGE PARLOR.
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Reviews
everything you have heard about this movie is true.
Absolutely Fantastic
This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.
There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.
First of all, this is an American film, not an adapted version of an Italian "Mondo" film. It's a less tedious version of Barry Mahon's CENSORED, except that while that film had phony scenes all shot for the film (and all of which looked the same!), this one uses footage from various z-grade early 60s exploitation/sleaze films (such as the Olga white slavery and bondage series) and some sleazy Euro films with nudity. Basically, there is a narration about the history of censorship in film and the evolving tastes of the public, and this lecture is illustrated by all kinds of oddball clips. The true 60s sleaze-film fanatic could probably identify most of the sources--I recognized maybe 1/4 of the footage. Some of the sequences--like the cowboy film and the swashbuckling film excerpts--were so poorly done and with such a small cast that I wondered if they were original footage shot FOR this film, although I doubt it. If you like to see full-bodied women cavorting in their underwear, or being unconvincingly subjected to mild bondage and kinkiness, you'll get a rise out of the film. If you are looking for weird, reality-based Mondo footage, you should go elsewhere. I find myself digging this video out once or twice a year, so evidently it does work on ME on some primal level. There is an Ed Wood connection with this film too, but you'll have to see it for yourself to see what it is--I won't give it away.