Mélodie pour Manuella (1982)

At almost two hours, this is especially long for a porno, even in the Golden Age of Adult Cinema. The early 80s were still an era of big budgets, when some porn directors had aspirations to make “artsy” porn: art house meets grindhouse.

This movie has a real plot, and while there is hot and explicit sex, the plot is not just an excuse to tie together some sex scenes. Olinka may not have been a Hollywood caliber actress, but she shows us in this film that she can in fact act. She plays a tortured soul, and when she’s not screwing, Olinka spends a lot of time in distress. Her distress is believable. And the reasons for her condition are not spoon fed to viewers; you have to watch the film closely to figure out what’s really going on. Some might call the film pretentious, but I give the director some credit for creating a sex film with at least a bit of gripping suspense and entertainment beyond the usual porn fare.

Alternate Titles
Bizarre Marilyn ??
Le Cauchemar de Manuela
Le Choc des stars on-screen video re-issue title, preceding original title, therefore maybe a series name Chocs des stars video re-issue box title, possibly a series name
Godimenti bestiali di una signora per bene Italy
Marilyn – Bizarre Begierden West Germany, Mike Hunter
The Nightmares of Manuella
Director:Joë de Palmer as Joe de Lara
Notes:Comex Production / Audifilm, 1 hr 59 mins. (Mike Hunter DVD)