In 1966, director Albert Zugsmith made a one-two punch of sexploitation films that purported to be based on academic books about sex. Both On Her Bed of Roses and The Incredible Sex Revolution feature much of the same cast. (Although Hampton Fancher and Alex D’Arcy are noticeably absent in this one.) Neither are peculiarly good, and both go on far too long (both clock in at over a hundred minutes), but I would give this one the edge if only for the strong central performance by Sandra Lynn.
On Her Bed of Roses is supposedly adapted from Psychedelic Sexualis, “The book that shocked the world!” (Do you have your copy?) As with Revolution, Dr. Lee Gladden appears although this time, he’s not playing himself.
A nut named Stephen (Ronald Warren) snaps, grabs a rifle, and starts picking off people at random on a busy street. When the cops close in, he turns the gun on himself. Meanwhile, his girlfriend Melissa (Lynn) relates flashbacks to her shrink (Gladden) about her problems. Seems she’s a nymphomaniac with severe daddy issues. She takes to the awkward and shy Stephen, mostly because he is the first guy who never made a pass at her. After his kill spree, Melissa winds up blaming herself for the ordeal, although the doctor tries to make her see that’s not the case.
The opening is long winded and ultimately seems like a gross exploitation of ‘50s mass murderers like Charles Whitman. It’s totally unnecessary and gets the movie off on the wrong foot. Fortunately, things improve once Lynn shows up, even if the scenes with Gladden in his office tend to drag.
The highlight is the long party scene that appears smack dab in the middle of the action. It features scads of T & A, including topless dancing, topless canoodling, topless pillow fights, and Pat Barrington doing a topless belly dance. It all culminates in an underwater catfight between Lynn and Lovey Song. Sadly, unbridled fun like this is sorely lacking elsewhere in the picture.
AKA: Psychedelic Sexualis. AKA: Psychopathia Sexualis.
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