Eugenie: The Story Of Her Journey Into Perverssion

The ultimate in torture!

Continuing with our grand return to the very foundations that make this blog one of the last stops to search for obscure (and not so obscure) cult films from a bygone era, we follow the career of Marie Liljedhal, the first Swedish erotica starlet to be in the international spotlight of the film industry. In case you haven't noticed, there isn't a lot of information about her on the Internet (yeah, I know it sounds crazy) and trying to find a copy of her movies on legal formats (DVD, Blu, Ray, Streaming, etc) it's not that easy. So what could be better than using our humble blog by offering room to her legacy? Besides, had she not quit the filming industry the gorgeous Christina Lindberg wouldn't have been possible so, truly, from the bottom of our connoisseur hearts "Thank you Marie Liljedhal, your legacy lives on"

Just when I thought I had seen it all, along comes Maria Rohm in Eugenie...the story of her journey into perversion, Jess Franco and Harry Towers' adaptation of  Marquis de Sade's "La Philosophie dans le boudoir." Wait, you've seen Maria Rohm in plenty of Jess Franco films. What's so special about her appearance in this one? Are you ready? She doesn't wear pants. Well, that was a bit of a letdown. Whatever do you mean? Name a Jess Franco film where the Austrian actress does wear pants. No, you're not listening to me. I'm not implying that Maria Rohm doesn't wear pants when she's bathing or having sex with her stepbrother, I mean she hardly ever wears pants..

I won't be a vampire today, rest easy.

Life is such a bore.

Eugenie... is about a beautiful young girl who becomes captivated by an older woman named Ange. Ange invites Eugenie to spend the weekend with her on her private island in Spain. What Eugenie doesn't know is Ange and her step brother/lover Mirvel have brought her to the island to seduce her (my oh my!).
 

After taking a bath with Ange and a little light kissing she is drugged at dinner and molested. The next day she wakes up not sure if it was a dream or real. As the vacation continues Eugenie is molested more and more to the point of rape and whippings. Ange and Mirvel invite a sect of Marquis De Sade followers who enter the house to kill her (what?!). Eugenie stabs Mirvel while he tries to rape her and kills him. The Marquis de Sade group decides not to kill Eugenie but instead Ange. After torturing Ange Eugenie runs off naked into the beach only to be confronted with a large graveyard of sacrificed victims. In a fit of anger and terror she runs aimlessly through the beach collapsing on the sand sobbing. 

Nice place to water my bush.

I see you've never tried anal before.

Eugenie's "journey" is a beautiful, truthful and disgusting metaphor for the perversion each one of us must go through in our lives. The difference is her journey happens in two days therefore it is much more extreme. We start as children with strange dreams. Thoughts of kissing, of touching bodies, all confusing ideas thoughts that we cannot place. This was represented before Eugene got to the island. In one scene she lays on her bed staring at a picture of Ange. This is the first hint of perversion entering her life. She is then confronted with Mirvel who confesses his crush to her. Being confronted with a powerful sexual presence such as a person or a sexual picture is a second step we can all relate to. Eugenie crosses the boundary when she first kisses Ange in the bathtub. She has now confronted a part of her that can never be taken back. As the film progresses we see each step of Eugenie's perversion. Confusion (not knowing if it's a dream or reality) Blind acceptance (kissing and touching Ange and Mirvel while stoned) Guilt and Self Hate (represented as Mirvel and Ange beating her with whips) Recovery (the bruises are gone!) More Sexual Partners, Betrayal, Anger at others, Confusion and ultimately insanity cover the rest of the film.

Lemme diddle your skiddle.

Not so tight! or else how can I swallow your cum?

The final scene where she is confronted by the graveyard represents humanity and her realization that everyone has been through this journey in some way and many have died from it. She weeps for herself and she weeps for the world, for humans, for the insanity of being human.

Not to say this is how everyone's journey is. Some are easier than poor Eugenie's and some are much harder. The simple act of accepting this as a part of life and depicting it in two days is what is so genius about Jess Franco's film.

Follow me!

OK, let's fuck right here, right now.

Expecting to see a shlocky, sex filled, Eurotrash film I was blown away by the power and brilliance of Eugenie and the Story of her Journey into Perversion. Anyone willing to be truthful when contemplating the human condition can relate and be effected by this film. Those who think Jess Franco is only a porno film maker are so wrong and this film proves him to be a far greater director, the more than meets the eye kind of film maker.

Here's the movie trailer:

Nagon att alska : The Seduction Of Inga

Back for more dick..and pussy too!

Nagon att alska, is a 1971 Swedish erotica classic that translates to English as  "Somebody To Love". The film  is nothing but the Joe Sarno's sequel to his 1968 Swedish erotica breakthrough classic "Inga". Internationally released as "The Seduction of Inga" & "Inga & Greta", the film is definitely an a la 70's style update on Inga's whereabouts. Far more explicit and less dramatic the film takes place three years after the prequel. In the original film Inga was sixteen years old and on the sequel she's already nineteen years old.

As soon as the opening titles begin, we're told by Inga herself, that her previous relationship is long over and that her budget situation has left her in deep need of finding a job as quick as she can. Living in an old building where hookers do business her situation couldn't get any worse, or could it?

Boy look at that cumface!

This is her secretary dress.

Lothar, the chief pimp of the building, turns out to be the blonde teenager who attempted to rape her a couple of years before (seen in INGA). Despite this rough history between them, he gets her a job as a secretary for a man called Stig (nothing to do with the masked car racer from Top Gear in case you are wondering), a lonely writer obsessed with his previous nymphet girlfriend, Greta. Inga and Stig begin a steamy relationship, but she becomes torn when she is wooed by Rolf, the long-haired guitar player from the apartment next door.

With INGA, Sarno departed from his standard "don't-feel-good" sexual melodramas to begin a new sub-genre in his filmography: the sexual coming of age film, with young ballerina Marie Liljedahl in a stunning return to the big screen where she's not looking for prince charming anymore. Instead, she chooses to rely on her beauty to break through. Nevertheless, just like in the original film, love has a way of finding Inga, and eventually makes things a lot more complicated and confusing in our starlet's life. 

C'mon! it's only anal!

Suck it like a man!

Like Inga this film is certainly not a soft-core pornographic film of the type that was dominating the sleazy cinemas in the 1970s, instead it is more focused on the storyline, with the sex scenes merging into the storyline and only one scene coming off as gratuitous as Inga stumbles upon the landlady of the boarding house organizing an orgy with some of the female residents who are obviously strapped for cash - this scene does seem to suggest a potential subplot of Inga being forced to prostitute herself for rent, but Sarno chooses not to exploit this. 

Instead the storyline is a rather unimaginative affair with Inga having to choose between two different men - although the arrival on the scene of blond bombshell Greta does make for some interesting ideas and brings to the fore Sarno's often re-used theme of incest, the script never captures the clever twists and turns of the first film and it can often become rather dull.

Behind the camera Sarno is solid if uninspired. Much like in Inga the nude scenes are surprisingly coy, often cutting away and always incredibly brief, while the sex scenes are filmed with oddly close-up angles(which may suggest they used other actors/actresses for the sex scenes). We rarely see a couple having sex in a complete shot, the man underneath is usually kept entirely out of frame, which may have more to do with censorship than directorial choice, but does come off as very odd particularly since one scene drags this on for about a minute. Post-production inserts were used to spice up the "Grindhouse" US print with more explicit sex scenes.

Fucking boys feels so good but...

...what about fucking girls?

Inga VS The Seduction Of Inga

When compared to the original film, The Seduction of Inga is an entirely different movie, one that doesn't match with any of Sarno's previous motifs. The film follows Inga, struggling to find happiness in her mundane life, but afraid of being tossed out of another relationship by another boy she gives her heart to. 

The pace is slow and the narrative often seems lifted out of any daytime soap opera, but with Sarno's superb cinematography, a strong performance by Liljedahl (probably her best ever), and a surprising score by Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus (future founders of 70s supergroup ABBA!), The Seduction of Inga is a groovy sexploitation relic which is a bad introduction to newcomers to Sarno, but regular followers of the talent involved will be pleased with the results. Sarno would explore the theme of incest (which provides the blow-to-the-skull twist ending) vividly in several films through the 70s, including Daddy Darling.

One element to the film not often mentioned is the casting of blonde beauty Inger Sundh as the mysterious Greta. Inger would go on to make several Swedish and German sexploitation films, including I am a Woman III, Dagmar's Hot Pants and FLOSSIE , and she's a superb bitchy vixen here. Fans of European garage beat music of the 60s should know the romantic lead is played by Tommy Blom, who was previously a member of The Tages (whose song "You Read Me Like an Open Book" is a highlight of Rhino's "Nuggets II" boxed set)!

Inga masturbates.

Inga's perfect ass!

Marie Liljedahl gives another solid performance as Inga although, she is not required to do as many sex scenes here as in the many other films she shot since her first film with Sarno. Actor Lennart Lindberg has various film credits to his name and plays the older Stig, although his acting is not really up to the role and even in a couple of key scenes he looks completely wooden. Tommy Blom is much more effective as the young guitarist who falls for Inga while the gorgeous Inger Sundh is well worth watching as Greta. 

With equally brief sex and nude scenes helmed in a rather unexciting manner, but without such an interesting storyline, The Seduction of Inga is a rather lesser sequel to Sarno's own original film. On the plus side, Marie Liljedahl is as good as ever and the beautiful Inger Sundh makes a very good looking love rival. Certainly of interest to fans of the first film, it is not one for anyone expecting a full-on Swedish softcore fantasy.

I swallowed too many loads, I'm exhausted!

Would you be my valentine?

More about Marie Liljedhal the first Swedish Erotica Starlet

In the two short years between the INGA films, Marie Liljedahl had become a household name throughout Europe (or at least in the sleazier homes on the continent) thanks to appearances in Jess Franco's EUGENIE...THE STORY OF HER JOURNEY INTO PERVERSION (our next review) and GRIMM'S FAIRY TALES FOR ADULTS. Comparing and contrasting her performances in both INGA films reveals that she had developed as an actress, radiating a depth and intelligence she did not possess in 1967. She would appear in two more films in 1970 before calling it quits from the silver screen, letting Swedish contemporary Christina Lindberg take over as the #1 Scandinavian nymph at the box office. If she had wanted to, Marie could have been a much bigger star and more recognizable face in the world of cinema. It took two years for SEDUCTION OF INGA to see a Stateside release, leading to Marie being named Playboy's Sex Star of 1971...despite the fact that she had been retired from films for some time by then!  

Here's the movie trailer:

Jag - en oskuld: Inga

From Sweden...The classic female concept (?)

Today's review marks the "return to our roots" in our cult films blog. And what could be better than a film that marked the beginning of Swedish Sexploitation?

Inga is a 1968 Swedish sexploitation film directed by Joseph W. Sarno. The film is starred by the rather unknown and beautiful starlet Marie Liljedhal. However, our blog is here to make that change, so let me tell you all about this beautiful Swedish actress:

Born in Stockholm, Sweden, Liljedahl became a stage actress at the age of ten, and a member of the Royal Swedish Opera ballet at the age of twelve. She was discovered dancing with a Stockholm ballet company by director Joseph W. Sarno. Although her acting career was brief (1966-1971) She's long remember for her leading role debut of Inga, a teenage girl who's about to meet the man of her dreams. After the rather moderate success of the film she would start other sexploitation films (which we'll be covering soon) 

At seventeen, she began her film career with the lead role in Sarno's Inga (1968), which transformed her into an international sex symbol. Her other film roles included Sybil Vane in Dorian Gray (1970) and Eugenie in Eugenie... the Story of Her Journey Into Perversion (1970). In 1971, she appeared in the sequel to Inga, The Seduction of Inga, her last major role. She grew weary of the film industry and retired from acting at the age of twenty-one.

Liljedahl appeared in two Playboy magazine pictorials: "The Girls of Scandinavia" (June 1968) and "Flicker Flicka" (March 1969). 

Another Swedish starlet as beautiful as Christina Lindberg.

Marie Liljedhal's perfect ass.

Inga (Jag - en oskuld), Joe Sarno's first film shot in Sweden, is not only one of the directors most popular films but also one of his finest. Released in 1968 to both shocked and receptive filmgoers, Inga remains one of the definitive Joe Sarno productions. Shot in beautiful and crisp Black and White by Bruce G. Sparks and starring the absolutely unforgettable Marie Liljedahl, seen here as the title character in her first starring role, Inga is a breathtaking production that is as poetic as it is erotic and as haunting as it is sensual. 

Sarno was already a veteran behind the camera when he headed to Europe in 1967 to shoot what would become the first in quite a few films he made in Sweden, and he immediately took advantage of the more relaxed censorship laws in place for Inga, although viewed by today's standards it is fairly mild stuff. While time might have taken away some of its shock factor, Inga still resonates far deeper than most films dealing with sexual awakening could ever hope to. It's a lovely production highlighted by Sarno's gentle direction and Liljedahl's stunning performance that manages to be both incredibly naive and completely aware. The rest of the cast is just as good, with special note going to Monica Strömmerstedt as Inga's aunt Greta. 

it's time to play with other toys.

C'mon Inga, cock is good for your health.

Sarno's probing character study is available in a rather splendid special edition from Retro-Seduction cinema and it features two versions of the film, as well as several terrific extras like an audio commentary, outtakes and an audio interview with Liljedahl. While not Sarno's greatest work, it is an ideal entryway into his canon and it remains one of the sixties defining films. 

Inga, deserves to be in your collection because it is a film that pioneered topics like the adolescent sexual awakening with graphic content(graphic and shocking for those days anyways). Later when the saucy 70's began many films would follow the same storyline as premised by Inga: gorgeous teenage girls looking for sexual adventures (just check our "Sexploitation" & "Sexual Innuendo" labels and you'll find hundreds of films) Of course, as censorship changed, the films were made more and more explicit, up to the point they became porno films with a plot (check the "Zodiac Saga" label to see what I mean)

Inga takes a shower for the viewer's pleasure.

Beautiful, isn't she?

At the end of the Sixties, anti-conceptive became widely available. So for the first time in history sex could be disconnected from childbirth. This caused a true wave of hedonism, reflected in films like 'Inga'. Made in Sweden, of course, because in those days Sweden was regarded as leading -- which probably had much to do with the Scandinavians' traditional relaxed attitude towards sex and nudity.

Actually, 'Inga' got down so well in the late 1960-s, that its title became a sort of trademark-name for all the soft-core films of its era. As a matter of facts, many films had a character named Inga just because it would mean "Wiling, teenage, horny & (sometimes) virgin" to the aware audience. Nevertheless, this film was made with class and content, and where many of its imitators fail, Inga succeeds because nudity wasn't what actually drove the story.  In addition, the story line was believable: a girl who loses her parents and is taken care by her mean aunt who desires nothing but to continue her "first class social life" through her newfound niece marital future. Unfortunately, Inga doesn't fall in love with an influential rich man's son, so her aunt's plans are somewhat screwed.

Don't look at my tits, you can come in and play!

You can cum inside if you want, I'm taking pills you know.

Overall, one of the earliest attempts in cinema to move on from the censorship the industry had in the 60's. Although not as shocking as other films that came afterwards, this movie delivers an interesting story developed with interesting characters and most importantly, with the adequate actors & actresses to portray a believable film. Once Inga, became a hit, it was only a matter of time until the sequel would show up. Fortunately, the sequel kept Marie Liljedhal as the lead role and offered a much sexually opened and way more graphic update on here whereabouts since she turned sweet 18...

Not a virgin anymore.

Here's the US version of the movie trailer:

And here's the public domain version of the film: