Grindhouse: The Forbidden History of "Adults Only" Cinema

by Eddie Muller, Daniel Faris

Grindhouse lovingly traces the sordid history of the "adults only" film, from Poverty Row productions of the 1930s to the swinging '70s and the days of free love. In truth, the movies themselves were extremely tame by today's standards--replaced by hardcore pornography and the advent of VCRs. Grindhouse brims with rare posters and lobby cards for these outrageous subculture masterpieces. color photos. 180 b&w illustrations.

Genres: Media Tie In, Film, Nonfiction, History, Sex Work, Sexuality

157 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 1996

About the author

EDDIE MULLER is a second generation San Franciscan, product of a lousy public school education, a couple of crazy years in art school, and too much time in newspaper offices and sporting arenas. No college, but he's compensated by always hanging around smarter people, an effortless feat typically accomplished in bars.

Despite repeated warnings, he followed in his father's footsteps, earning a living as a print journalist for sixteen years. No scoops, no big prizes, but he left behind a thoroughly abused expense account that got him into (and out of) various intriguing parts of the world.

His career as an ink-stained fourth estate wretch sidetracked Muller's early goal of becoming a filmmaker. A stint in George Kuchar's notorious "narrative filmmaking" class at the San Francisco Art Institute in the late 1970s resulted in the creation of a 14-minute, 16mm hommage to Raymond Chandler called Bay City Blues, one of five national finalists for the 1979 Student Academy Award. He also appeared as an actor in several Kuchar movies of the period.

Since 1998 Muller has devoted himself full-time to projects that pique his interest, ranging from the creation of a Historical Boxing Museum, to a fully illustrated history of Adults Only movies, to acting as co-writer and -producer of one of the first completely digital theatrical documentaries, Mau Mau Sex Sex. He created his own graphics firm, St. Francis Studio, which enables him to design, as well as write, his non-fiction books. He has achieved much acclaim for his three books on film noir, earning the nickname "The Czar of Noir."

His father, the original Eddie Muller (he's not a junior— long story, don't ask), was a renown sportswriter for the San Francisco Examiner who earned the nickname "Mr. Boxing" during his 52-year run. The senior Muller served as inspiration for the character of Billy Nichols, the protagonist of the younger Muller's two critically acclaimed novels, The Distance (2002) and Shadow Boxer (2003).

Eddie lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with his wife, Kathleen Maria Milne.

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this stroll through the ages and the genre of movies presented here. After a "sintroduction", the sex hygiene movies of the 30s, burlesque in the 40s (Bettie Page), naked natives, the 50s (nudity is not obscene), Russ Meyer, the kinky 60s (Christine Keeler affair), Mondo, the 70s (Deep Throat). The authors inserted many movie posters and sketches but the material could have been arranged in a catchier way. Besides it was relatively tame considering the cover. Nevertheless a very good overview of grindhouse movies. Really recommended!

[John King · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well researched and entertaining.

[Mira · Rating 3 out of 5]

Entry level as far as cult film history goes, but very entertaining.

[Michael P. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not about the X-Rated films familiar since the 70s, but the tame precursors that promised a bit of skin, told stories about naughty girls, and sent the Legion of Decency into conniptions long before they had a reason to connip. Anyone who studies cinema becomes aware of these back-room romps, flirty stories, burlesque showcases, and fake documentaries, but real information is hard to come by. The authors did me a service by surveying this dreary field, writing about the better-known titles, discussing the distribution system, interviewing the people who made and showed the films to a mostly-male public. I now know more about these films that I really want to, but that is a kind of praise.

In truth, the subject is not very important so the authors put a lot of energy into something that does not matter (which explains the number of stars given in this review), but I am glad to be informed about this usually hidden corner of cinema history.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Eddie Muller, especially his dvd commentaries of classic noir films. This book is ok, but a lot of time is spent on a few publishers. The business men chronicled here are like film noir character actors with a little too much screen time. One of the more interesting aspects of the book for me is the "entrepreneurial spirit" some of these guys had and the difficulties around distribution of "risque" material. Keep in mind that this wasn't just about pinup photos. A number of classic European novels were "banned" and were distributed through the same channels that peddled smut. Apparently the journey from photo shoot to the "behind the counter" purchase (in a brown paper bag) was fraught with politicians, cops, clergy that believed that pornography was part of a Communist plot.

[Aussiescribbler Aussiescribbler · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a lot of fun. It's a breezy romp through the history of exploitation movies in the United States. While it does deal with movies from other parts of the world it only discusses them in the context of their distribution in the U.S. Muller and Faris have a great deal of enthusiasm for the subject, though they don't always get their facts right. While Jack Nicholson did write the screenplay for Roger Corman's movie The Trip, he didn't appear in the film, which starred Peter Fonda. And Teenage Bride was not one of Harry Novak's hillbilly movies. It had an urban setting. All the same, this witty book, with its proliferation of posters, stills and newspaper ads, provides a fine introduction to the wonderful world of U.S. exploitation cinema.

[Jason Coffman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An enormously entertaining, thoroughly researched, and copiously illustrated history of the American exploitation film. Sort of like a "greatest hits" reel version of Eric Schaefer's "Bold! Daring! Shocking! True: A History of Exploitation Films 1919-1959." I would seriously recommend both books, but "Grindhouse" is a good place to start reading up if you're curious about the subject.

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you love movies, you must read this book. This is a great, quick, loving look at the 'adult' movie throughout its history. Filled with great graphics and sketches of the roadshow characters who traveled the country with 'hygiene' films and mondo trash. Funny, fun and thought-provoking, too.