Search - Congessions of a Vice Baron on DVD

Ooooh!

R. Epstein | USA | 10/01/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The vice baron in question is Lucky Lombardo, an unscrupulous, continental scuzzball who works as a male escort, then as a performer of illegal abortions, then as a pimp/white slaver. This was obviously a film from the grindhouse circuit, which showed lewd, exploitative films under the premise that the films warned people of the evils of - name your vice. I've seen a number of these films, most of which are hilariously sensational, but this one has a dramatic and often very dark undertone that at times is very chilling. Particularly the look at how the procedure of illegal abortions worked sixty years ago. There're even a couple of scenes that depict the physical agony that the women went through. There's also a bit of nudity and some extremely suggestive dancing in the film too - pretty racy stuff for 1943! This is one of the better films to depict what the 1930s and 40s looked like outside the wholesome world that Hollywood always depicted. Be aware though, this is an old, dirty print of the movie with lots of scratches, rough splices, and very muddy sound."