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Laura’s Toys
Directed By Joe Sarno
Released: 1975
Starring: Rebecca Brooke, Eric Edwards, Cathja Graff, and Anita Ericsson
Running Time: 103 minutes
DVD Released By Retro Seduction Cinema
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Laura (played by Rebecca Brooke) is happily married
to archaeologist Walter (Eric Edwards). Her idyllic life goes awry when
she is visited by her old school chum (and former lover) Hanni (Anita
Ericsson) and returns home to discover that Walter is sleeping with his
assistant, Anna (Cathja Graff). Laura decides to play it cool and try to
seduce Anna but her plan fails when Walter makes it known that he wants
the three of them to have a relationship. Torn between returning to the
decadent pleasures of Hanni’s world and her less-than-perfect marriage in
which she will have to share Walter with someone else, Laura must decide
what will make her happy.
Smut magician Joe Sarno (Suburban
Secrets) directs Laura’s Toys, a softcore delight from
another era (the mid 70s) that may as well be another planet. This is some
racy stuff for 1975 (it earned an X rating) and the quality of the
production for a porn film is astounding. The dialogue and plot are both
totally unrealistic but I’ll get to that in a moment. Lighting and
cinematography are both excellent while the Swedish locations are
gorgeous. The sound is the only aspect of
Laura’s Toys that suffers. Most of
the dialogue is crystal clear but some of the Swedish actors are either
speaking too quietly or are dubbed so.
Erotic film goddess Rebecca Brooke is exceptionally good as Laura, a woman
who just wants to settle down with the right man but who is haunted by her
past. Brooke’s screen presence is quite substantial and she is one
deliriously sexy woman. Prolific porn actor Eric Edwards doesn’t exactly
have the most likeable character in the world but he never lets Walter
become a complete bastard. Most folks (especially the ladies) probably
won’t be able to forgive Walter’s jackassery. Anita Ericsson is beautiful
and a decent actress despite her limited grasp of the English language.
The stiff Cathja Graff seems a bit out of place here and perhaps isn’t the
most experienced actress but she makes these drawbacks work for her
character. Her performance is quite believable as Anna is quite a tame and
awkward person until her contact with Laura brings about a complete change
in personality.
What is it with Joe Sarno’s films? How can they be so magical? I get lost
in the melodrama and completely forget I’m watching a sex film. Okay,
maybe I can’t completely forget that but I do get all discombobulated
during the dialogue scenes. These situations and characters cannot exist
and will never exist because of a little thing called reality. But that’s
what works in what I think of as perfect escapist entertainment. Everyone
is having sex with everyone else and no one gets hurt (at least not
seriously). Laura’s Toys
is a classy erotic affair with beautiful women and a European flair that
is impossible to forget.
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DVD Stuff:
Wow, this anamorphic 1.78:1 widescreen print looks incredible. There is
very little damage to the picture but the same cannot be said of the
sound. There is a faint hiss throughout the film and the dialogue is all
over the place. The hiss is most likely from the age of the print and the
difficult dialogue is probably due to the source material. This is
definitely a watchable release (an understatement) of
Laura’s Toys.
The quality of the picture will easily win over folks annoyed by the
audio.
Extras on this Retro Seduction release are quite good. There’s an
interview with Joe and Peggy Sarno (who was assistant director on Laura’s
Toys) plus an interview (and audio commentary) with actor Eric Edwards.
The DVD also comes with a booklet featuring an informative essay on the
production of Laura’s Toys
by Sarno biographer Michael Bowen. There are also some great trailers for
other Joe Sarno trailers. Be sure to check these out.
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Links:
For more info, check out
Retro-Seduction Cinema.
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