There are far too many fascinating (and fun) elements in the Amazing Transplant to simply trash this Doris Wishman film as a whole. True, the story unfolds at times like a disjointed train wreck. But quirky little cinematic treasures should deter one from aggressively ridding the fast forward button.
Meek and kind hearted Arthur Barlen admired his close friend so much, that upon his death, Arthur wanted to have his own penis removed, and replaced with the penis of his deceased buddy. Now THAT'S friendship! And contrary to other reviews, Arthur was anesthetized during the surgery, and the absence of an attending nurse during the procedure was reasonably and logically explained In Frankenstein, when Dr Frankenstein inadvertently implants the brain of a psychopathic murderer into the body of his monster - mayhem ensues. Of course, this couldn't happen in the Amazing Transplant. Because everybody knows - men don't think with their . . . ah um - penis. Right? Only it appears that in this movie (as in life) that we do. Because Arthur's new dong drives him to kill the first woman who arouses him.
Arthur's uncle, police detective Barlen, searches for clues in hopes of proving Arthur's innocence. Endless closeups of the detective's facial expressions (his eyebrows were hilarious) blended with closeups of the hem lines of the women he was questioning (or maybe ogling would be a better word), painted the disheveled detective as a cross between Columbo and Chester the Molester. At times Det. Barlen seemed more dangerous than did his young nephew, walking around with his former friends' hostile penis, sutured to his groin.
Wishman's treatment of the numerous women Arthur encounters is more interesting and bizarre than menacing or sexual. Nudity is abundant and it's good to see some body hair again. Five stars for the Amazing Transplant It would have been a solid six stars if shown at a drive-in theater!
The Amazing Transplant
1970
Fantasy / Horror / Mystery
The Amazing Transplant
1970
Fantasy / Horror / Mystery
Plot summary
A nice guy turns murderous after undergoing a penis transplant.
Uploaded by: FREEMAN
June 22, 2022 at 11:20 AM
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
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Great first date drive-in material!
Funny, Far-Out and way Freaky
I admit I was a Doris Wishman virgin till the other night, but "The Amazing Transplant" finally broke my cherry. Cheesy, smutty grind house fare like this comes as a breath of fresh air to a cult film enthusiast like myself. I watched it twice (at 70 minutes, not hard to do) just to make sure I absorbed every aspect of the film's dubious appeal. I was glad I did! Wishman's work here reminded me of early John Waters minus any of his dubious artistry. What is seen here is the the use of ordinary homes and apartments as sets, the shooting of street scenes without permits, actors providing their own wardrobe, and footage being shot without synced sound and then adding all dialog in post-production.
The story has nice average guy Arthur turning into a serial rapist and murderer for reasons no one can ascertain. Neither his concerned Mom, or his police detective Uncle, can fathom why Arthur is considered a suspect in the murder of his girlfriend since he is such a gentle soul. The worried Mom turns over Arthur's "little black book" to his Uncle, who goes about the task of interviewing the women listed in the directory. They all recount episodes (seen in flashback) of being raped by the once gentle Arthur, who becomes a sex maniac when he sees a woman sporting dangling gold earrings.
Fascinating in its sleaziness, if only because it transports the viewer back to the late 1960's, much in the way a home movie would. There's enough to enjoy in the costumes, decors, wallpapers and set decoration, all of which Wishman lavishes attention on, to keep viewers interested. There's even a few frames of a close-up of a carpet, with nothing on it but a little dust.
I laughed at the lingering shots of a telephone cradle, as someone speaks into the receiver off camera. Extended shots of the character's feet with ugly shoes or boots, and garbage-strewn sidewalks add elements of randomness. Wishman constantly relies on reaction shots of her characters, seldom focusing on any character delivering dialog. The over-dubbed dialog is heard spoken off camera throughout the entire proceedings.
Actually, some of the actors are attractive and exhibit a willingness to attempt a performance, including Brazilian Juan Fernandez as Arthur. He soon gave up acting and went behind the camera to become a cinematographer. But Larry Hunter as the pasty detective Uncle, and dour Linda Southern as the concerned Mother give absolutely toxic performances that really could make audiences run for the exits. Some of the actresses who play Arthur's victims seem attractive enough, but all their half-hearted struggling against him isn't convincing in the least.
** out of *****
Blame someone else's penis!
Of all the excessively nonsensical, rancid and imbecilic Sexploitation movies ever made during the decade of the 1970's (and genre buffs know there are a LOT of them), Doris Wishman's "The Amazing Transplant" definitely takes the cake when talking in terms of pure senselessness and sheer incoherence. This doesn't even qualify as a movie; this is just some crazy lady (Wishman was the only female smut-director at that time) showcasing her most lurid and morally incorrect sexual fantasies. The premise appealed to me, since it sounded like a deviant and exploitative variation on the "Mad Love" and "Hands of Orlac" concept. In those classic films the hands of an executed killer become transplanted onto a pianist who lost his in an accident, but the hands gradually turn their new owner into an unstoppable killing machine. "The Amazing Transplant" basically features the exact same plot, but of course we're dealing with a raping penis here instead of a murdering pair of hands. It's a curious and interesting concept for a sleazy and gritty 70's exploitation flick, but the sad truth is that Wishman wasn't the least bit interested in telling a story, as the (not so) amazing penis transplant only gets mentioned ten minutes prior to the ending. The rest of film merely exists of sleazy and soft-core padding with atrocious acting performances, painful dialogs and unattractive women. In the opening sequences, Arthur Barlen strangles his fiancée and what a fight she puts up and flees. His uncle, who's also a police detective, goes after him using Arthur's address book as the only lead. Whilst the sleazy fat copper checks out the young girls' legs and breasts, they explain through flashbacks how Arthur changed from a quiet and introvert boy into a perverted and mad-raving sex machine. At those points, we're not supposed to know anything about the penis transplant, but obviously the title and every possible synopsis description on the internet already revealed everything. The film only lasts a mere 70 minutes, yet it's insufferably boring and contains over 75% of redundant footage. There's an inexplicably large amount of images showing people's legs and feet as they simply stroll over sidewalks. Larry Hunter's character of Bill Barlen the detective is unintentionally hilarious. He displays the weirdest facial expressions when astonished, makes offensive remarks towards lesbians and simply walks away when women clearly need emotional support. This was my fourth movie directed by Doris "Sultana-of-Sleaze" Wishman (after "Deadly Weapons", "Double Agent 73" and "Let Me Die a Woman") and she never ceases to "amaze" me. Not necessarily in a positive way, but you have to admit she dared to exploit pretty much every controversial topic.