| The Toy Box (1971) 89 min |
| aka The Orgy Box |
| If you've seen the trailer for this one on any number of Something Weird Video DVDs, you've probably got pretty high expectations coming in. I wouldn't say that this film is in anyway a disappointment, but it doesn't quite live up to that sensational trailer with the longest run on sentance I've heard in some time (then again, what could?). Interestingly enough, it was made by Ron Garcia who was the cinematographer for the Twin Peaks film and TV series (Lynch knows how to pick them - Garcia and Freddie 'A Vampire Happening' Francis!). He has also worked on such mainstream Hollywood fare as The Great White Hype and Storyville. Of course, there's also the prolific Harry Novak overseeeing the production. I would also like to give a honorable mention to the beautiful Uschi Digart, who's part here is all too small. She has natural resources the likes of which I have rarely seen. |
| The film is prodominantly set inside a spooky old house where 'The Uncle' pays people a large amount of money to perform perverse shows for him. A small but recurring theme in the film shows people's desperation to grab for money, as illustrated by one of those little black piggy banks that grabs the coin when inserted. At the onset it is a little distracting that there appears to be no sync sound. Most of the time the camera cuts away as people are about to speak (a la Doris Wishman). This isn't too bad, I did get used to it after a while. |
| After some cheap but entertaining opening credits (involving a bunch of toys and an insane focus puller) we are introduced to Donna and Ralph, who appear to be the only characters with names. Through flashbacks and narration (played off as thoughts) the story is set up. They have been going to The Uncle's parties for about two years now since the virginal Donna first performed with a vibrator. Once they get to the castle, things really start swinging! There is a good sized party in progress featuring all sorts of sexual depreavity as people wait for their chance to perform for The Uncle (a new group goes every 1/2 hour). The remainder of the story is told through 2 modes: one involving sleazy fantasies acted out for The Uncle's pleasure, and the other revolving around Donna and Ralph's discovery that everything in the house is not as it seems as they encounter one bizarre happening after another (disappearing bodies, gigantic nude women etc.). |
| The performances are the most entertaining part of the movie as Garcia lets the sleaze and violence fly fast and furious. It becomes difficult for both the characters and the audience to tell what is a game and what is real. Highlights include a horny bed with groping feelers, a '...man who wants to mix the pleasure of orgasm with murder...' (as described in the trailer), a hairy necropheliac with a meat cleaver, and funny little hand-in-the-box that has an affinity to large bosoms. Amidst all this madness, Ralph and Donna come to the startling conclusion that something is wrong here(!). This brings the film to a wild, if not confusing, climax complete with an ejoyably implausible twist. |
| The Toy Box is a bit muddled, but overall Garcia seems to know what works well. For the most part, all of the women here are quite attractive (did I mention Digart yet?) and the men are hilarious with their 70s stylings and blazing tanlines! This is a good example of early 70s sleaze before Deep Throat brought hard core pornography to the forefront and just about crushed Harry Novak's exploitation empire. Looking at this film though, there wasn't really anywhere left to go. Little was held back short of hard core close ups. It is kind of sad as porn drained most of the imagination and showmanship out of the sexploitation industry (not all porn, but most tries to substitute imagination with explicit close ups). |
| As far as releasing goes, this film hasn't fared well. Originally put out through Box Office International (who else?) and brought to the home market by Something Weird Video. Unfortunatlely, SWV hasn't brough the film to DVD yet (only the trailer, which can be found on Wham Bam Thank You, Spaceman among others). The video is available through Cinebizarre and is decent quality at best. This is probably your best bet though, off of EBAY you're probably going to pay more for a worse looking copy. The picture is clear but jumpy at spots. The sound is probably as good as it's going to get considering how it was probably recorded. Included after the feature are the typical SWV trailers that can be found on most DVDs from this era. Hopefully SWV will someday release a DVD that is up to their current standards as this film is flawed but deserving of a respectable release. |
| I give this one 4 fun lovin' beds out of 5! |
| Review by Joe Canistro 03/09/2002 |
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| Second thoughts on The Toy Box from July 2005 here! |