Moonlighting Wives [DVD] [1966]

Retro-Seduction Cinema has brought a number of titles from director Joe Sarno's catalog to DVD, and his 1964 feature Moonlighting Wives has been given a digital upgrade by the company. While the film is quite mild even by the standards of 1960's sexploitation -- there's no nudity, and the hanky-panky is talked about rather than shown -- it's a well-written melodrama of sinful suburbia, and still entertaining more than four decades after its initial release. However, this release doesn't look especially good; transferred to disc in its original full-frame aspect ratio of 1.33:1, the surviving elements used for this release are full of scratches and splices, and while the color balance of the surviving prints has been corrected and looks good, that doesn't change the flicker of the image or the blunt absence of frames here and there. The audio, mastered in Dolby Digital Stereo but maintaining the original single-channel sound mix, fares a bit better, with the lively score sounding quite fine. The dialogue is in English, with no subtitles or multiple language options included. Bonus materials include an interview with Joe Sarno, in which he talks about the production of Moonlighting Wives, as well as trailers for several other Sarno titles released through Retro-Seduction. The disc also includes a short subject on how the film elements were restored for this release (confirming that this film could and did look a lot worse than it does here, its flaws notwithstanding) and a well-written essay from Michael J. Bowen in the accompanying booklet. While the presentation on DVD isn't all one might hope for, as a movie Moonlighting Wives holds up quite well, and fans of the genre will want to give it a look even in somewhat compromised form.
: Language:English
: Program Type:Movie
: Studio:After Hours Cinema
: Region Code:0
: Sound Features:stereo
: Aspect Ratio:1.33:1
: Format:DVD
: Product Name:Moonlighting Wives [DVD] [1966]
: Product Tags:DVD
An ambitious woman trades in her part-time job for the world's oldest profession in this vintage sexploitation drama. Joan Rand (Diane Vivienne, aka Tammy Latour) is a woman with a taste for the good life who has grown tired of living hand-to-mouth on the salary of her husband Charles, who has a weakness for booze and can't seem to get ahead. Joan has started a stenography service with a friend to bring in extra money, but after being propositioned several times by clients, she realizes that she might do better selling something besides secretarial services. Joan starts a call girl ring under the guise of temporary office help, using other unhappy wives she knows; when the business takes off, she brings aboard Al (John Aristedes), the handsome golf pro at the local country club, to help her round up new talent, in particular Nancy, a beautiful but shy woman who has been cheating on her husband with Al. Meanwhile, Charles falls deeper and deeper into depression as Joan devotes most of her time to her new business, and he seeks comfort in the arms of Lorna, the eighteen-year-old babysitter who has been looking after their son. And as the local vice squad starts looking into the new prostitution ring that has sprung up in town, a veteran Madame learns about Joan's operation and doesn't appreciate the competition. Written and directed by Joe Sarno, who earned a reputation for his thoughtful approach to Sixties ""adults only"" cinema, Moonlighting Wives also features Joe Santos, who later became a regular on both The Rockford Files and The Sopranos.~Mark Deming
Name : Sue Gibson: Role :
Name : Tina Marie: Role :
Name : Chris Roberts: Role :
Name : Joe Santos: Role :
Name : George Winship: Role :
Name : Joe Sarno: Role : Director
Name : Joe Sarno: Role : Screenwriter
Name : Jerry Kalogeratos: Role : Cinematographer
[!Language:English!] [!Program Type:Movie!] [!Studio:After Hours Cinema!] [!Region Code:0!] [!Sound Features:stereo!] [!Aspect Ratio:1.33:1!] [!Product Name:Moonlighting Wives [DVD] [1966!]] [!Product Tags:DVD!] [!Sue Gibson:!] [!Tina Marie:!] [!Chris Roberts:!] [!Joe Santos:!] [!George Winship:!] [!Joe Sarno:Director!] [!Joe Sarno:Screenwriter!] [!Jerry Kalogeratos:Cinematographer!]