No one will be admitted during the last 12 minutes
of the film!! That was the promotional
gimmick for writer/director Stanley H. Brassloff’s June of 1972 theatrical
release oddly-titled Toys are Not for Children.
Arrow Video, with domestic sales and distribution
expertise provided by MVD Entertainment Group, has a new 2K restoration (from
the original film elements) ready for a Blu-ray release on Oct. 8.
Harry Novak’s Boxoffice International Pictures
handled the distribution of Toys are Not for Children, with
Harry Novak in the role of executive producer … this was right in his
“wheelhouse.” Sexploitation was the
hallmark of Boxoffice International Pictures in the late 1960s and early ‘70s —
such gems as The Secret Sex Lives of Romeo and Juliet, The Notorious
Cleopatra, The Toy Box and Erika's
Hot Summer (among others) are to be found
among the theatrical releases from Boxoffice International during the period.
He also had has share of horror films — Rattlers,
Axe, The Mad Butcher and I
Dismember Mama. You get the idea.
Toys are Not for Children is
clearly in the sexploitation category, but wanders off the Boxoffice
International reservation just a bit with some pretty intense psychological
trappings. These begin with something
of a prologue where a young Jamie (played by Tiberia Mitri) is confronted by
her mother (Fran Warren) over some inappropriate sexually activity.
We learn that this is spurred by being abandoned by
her father and her mother constantly harping on her over how awful men
are. This sets up the backbone of the
story that is to follow.
Skip ahead to an adult Jamie (Marcia Forbes), who
moves to New York City, gets a job in a toy store and meets a nice young man by
the name of Charlie (Harlan Cary Poe — The Yum
Yum Girls, Someone to Watch Over Me, The Dogs of War) and
they marry. However, mom’s admonitions
come back to haunt her and she becomes frigid with her new husband.
In the meantime, she makes friends with a
high-classic hooker by the name of Pearl (Evelyn Kingsley), who introduces her
to the profession. In no time Jamie
becomes an in-demand call girl, who specializes in (are you ready for this)
pleasing men who are into “Daddy Issues.”
This brings us to the final 12 minutes of the film and
if you haven’t already settled into your seat, it’s too late. You’ll have to wait until the start of the
next showing to find out what happens … or you can pick up your new Blu-ray
edition of Toys are Not for Children on
Oct. 8 to find out what the big secret is.
As to bonus goodies, there’s a new commentary
featuring Kat Ellinger and Heather Drain, the newly prepared featurette titled
“Dirty' Dolls: Femininity, Perversion and Play” and a new video session with
“Nightmare USA” author Stephen Thrower.
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