Leslie Marlowe plays Albert Rose, a carefree young man who enjoys dallying with the fairer sex. Then his life is changed in a weird way: a character named "Dominita" (Dorian Wayne) blackmails him over his actions during his wartime service, and makes Albert a live-in maid for a year. The real catch? Albert has to do it in drag: estrogen pills, lingerie, wig, you name it. And he has to be rechristened "Rose Albert". Albert tries to make his peace with this arrangement, while falling in love with Dominita's lesbian assistant Ruth (Wendy Roberts).
If it weren't for the fact that this obscure, gender-bending exploitation feature marked the directorial debut of Bob Clark (the same guy who went on to make "Black Christmas", "Murder by Decree", "Porky's", and "A Christmas Story"), it'd be even more obscure. Despite its attempts to shed light on "deviations" like transvestism, and hopefully make people understand others with alternative lifestyles, it's ultimately pretty dull. There's too much talk and too little action, although the film is certainly odd enough to prevent this viewer from completely dismissing it. The ultimate "twist" regarding Dominita is obvious from the get go, which makes the finale rather anticlimactic. This, despite the fact that Dominita's "employees" are about to stage an uprising after years of ill treatment (they're all being blackmailed for one thing or another).
What was certainly interesting to learn is that screen star Jayne Mansfield was slated to star in this, before her untimely death would save her from such an embarrassment.
Written by Clark and actor Jeff Gillen, who was one of Clarks' sometime collaborators during the 70s and 80s (for example, Gillen played the hilarious mall Santa in "A Christmas Story").
Amateurish through and through, but it has some value as a curio.
Four out of 10.
If it weren't for the fact that this obscure, gender-bending exploitation feature marked the directorial debut of Bob Clark (the same guy who went on to make "Black Christmas", "Murder by Decree", "Porky's", and "A Christmas Story"), it'd be even more obscure. Despite its attempts to shed light on "deviations" like transvestism, and hopefully make people understand others with alternative lifestyles, it's ultimately pretty dull. There's too much talk and too little action, although the film is certainly odd enough to prevent this viewer from completely dismissing it. The ultimate "twist" regarding Dominita is obvious from the get go, which makes the finale rather anticlimactic. This, despite the fact that Dominita's "employees" are about to stage an uprising after years of ill treatment (they're all being blackmailed for one thing or another).
What was certainly interesting to learn is that screen star Jayne Mansfield was slated to star in this, before her untimely death would save her from such an embarrassment.
Written by Clark and actor Jeff Gillen, who was one of Clarks' sometime collaborators during the 70s and 80s (for example, Gillen played the hilarious mall Santa in "A Christmas Story").
Amateurish through and through, but it has some value as a curio.
Four out of 10.