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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Friday night: perfect time for a bit of exploitation

Dan Webster

Above: Cannabis rouses deviant desires in the 1936 exploitation film "Reefer Madness." (Photo/Turner Classic Movies)

At one time or another, we’re all tempted by the notion of forbidden fruit. And, of course, the film industry has taken notice.

That notion is the impetus for the Kino Now streaming series “Forbidden Fruit: The Golden Age of the Exploitation Picture.”

Working in conjunction with Seattle-based Something Weird Video, Kino is streaming three movies that focus on characters indulging in bad habits that possess alluring temptations – at least to some.

“Reefer Madness” (1936, rent for $1.99, buy for $4.20): Though the possession and use of cannabis is now legal in many states, including Washington, it’s still rated by federal authorities as a Schedule 1 drug – the same category as, say, heroin. That attitude is largely to due to the lingering effects of such hysteria explored by this hilarious send-up of an educational film.

From Kino Now: “With frequent detours through frank sexual terrain, director Louis Gasnier and producer George Hirliman (who together comprised G&H productions) proved they were neither saints nor saps when it came to making movies. They brilliantly demonstrate the most basic principle of exploitation: any vice can be indulged to an excessive degree as long as it is cloaked in a wrapper of education.”

“Ingagi” (1930, rent for $4.99, buy for $9.99): Shot as if it were an actual documentary, this pre-Hays Code flick follows an African expedition that encounters a gorilla-worshipping tribe. The kicker? The tribe provides women to the gorillas a sex slaves.

From Kino Now: “Among the hoaxes perpetrated are the discovery of the ‘tortadillo,’ a heretofore unknown species of animal, and the exposure of an indigenous cult that worships (and sacrifices its women to) gorillas – a particularly racist concept that would resurface in films for years, most notably as the dramatic springboard for King Kong.”

“The Lash of the Penitentes” (1936, rent for $4.99, buy for $9.99): Based on a real-life religious community in northern and central New Mexico, this 48-minute restored version of the film includes a fictional murder mystery that the producers used to spice up the scenes of self-flagellation that attracted them in the first place.

From Kino Now: “Exploitation films were often ripped from the most sensational headlines of the day, and few headlines were as scandalous as those reporting a murder within the community of a masochistic religious cult in northern New Mexico. Los Hermanos Penitentes celebrated Lent by enacting elaborate tableaus of flagellation, self-mutilation, and crucifixion.”

So, there you have it. Three films that exploit every vice imaginable, perfect for Friday-night viewing. If nothing else, the trio is interesting for its historical value.

To be specific, what some filmmakers won’t do to make a buck.