Chastity (1969)

User Rating:

4.5/10   

Director:

Alessio de Paola

Writer:

Sonny Bono (written by)

Release Date:

24 June 1969 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

She's Not Just A Girl, She's An Experience!

Plot:

Go on a cross country adventure with Cher in her first dramatic film, Chastity. Chastity ('Cher') is...

Plot Keywords:

Hitchhiking | Lesbian | Prostitution | Hitchhiker | Brothel

Cast

Cher	...	Chastity (as Chér)
Barbara London	...	Diana Midnight
Stephen Whittaker	...	Eddie
Tom Nolan	...	Tommy
Danny Zapien	...	Pimp
Elmer Valentine	...	First Truck Driver
Burke Rhind	...	Salesman
Richard Armstrong	...	Husband
Autumn	...	Prostitute
Joe Light	...	Master of Ceremonies
Dolly Hunt	...	Lady In Church
Jason Clark	...	Second Truck Driver (as Jason Clarke)

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:PG | Canada:18A | USA:PG (1972 re-issue) | USA:R

Company:

American International Pictures (AIP)

Quotes:

Man in car: Hey, you wanna do a thing honey?
Chastity: You gotta have a thing to do a thing, creep.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Barbara McNair Show: (1970-09-12)" (1970)

Sonny & Cher's "Easy Rider"--and surprisingly not an embarrassment

Cher is agreeably pithy and cynical as a runaway named Chastity (she got the name from the dictionary). She's a wiseass, she's adorable, she's moody, she tosses off quips and straight lines like a jaded pro. This was Cher's third movie proper (following "Wild On The Beach" and "Good Times") and it's fun to see her in Cleopatra eye-makeup and her old nose. So many bad things have been said or written about this film that I half-expected a disaster, but it's clear right from the beginning the movie is visually expressive and evocative. Directed by someone named Alessio de Paola (an alias?), one tends to suspect writer-producer Sonny Bono held the reins, and if so he has a genuine feel for border towns and nowhere-places where people are cheerfully giving but eventually want payback. The picture begins to sag a bit in the middle when Cher tries her hand at prostitution and has a lesbian encounter with the cathouse madam (lots of fingers touching and wind through the trees, that kind of thing). But I certainly admired the film's gritty quality and easy pace. For her part, Cher concocts a true original in our heroine, talking to herself in the third person ("So, Chastity old girl, whaddya wanna do now?") and when her question to a gentleman bedfellow is met with a surprising answer, she tells him quietly in the dark, "I'm smiling." **1/2 from ****