Smut Without Smut Vol one brings together two softcore films from the 70s- with a cut and an uncut version of each- with the cut version focusing more on the story elements/genre traits of the pictures. One film is dystopian Sci-fi focused, and the second is a low-grade crime caper. As part of 101 Films UK's reissue of the AGFA cult film library, here we have a region B blu ray release of the film- with the disc taking in a commentary track on one of the films. 

So, the first film we have here is 1976’s Things To Come, which is dystopian Sci-fi following a woman who wants to break out of her 1984-like existence. It was directed and produced by Derek Todd- whose only other credit is shark doc Jaws of Death (1977).

The uncut/ smut intact version runs at one hour and thirty-seven minutes, and the smut-removed version runs at one hour and eleven. So as the prime focus of this release is the clean version-  I’ll focus on that.

The film focuses on blonde-haired twenty-something Julie (Barbara Fisk). In the film's very Orwellian future she works as a confessor in a call centre in a large glass-fronted modernist building- citizens ring her up to admit their most violent and depraved fantasy- then she forgives them. She is married to Sam (Jim Curtis) who spends all of his non-working time watching the TV- and in this version of the film, it’s implied what he’s watching. Julie is fed up with her life, with her only hope coming from being part of a small resistance group. 

The goal in their society is to get invited to the ‘pleasure dome’ where citizens can carry out their fantasies on very human-looking robots. One day she gets randomly selected to go to the pleasure dome- and the resistance group's leader asks if she will place a bomb in the main computer of the dome to overthrow everything- Julie agrees and makes her way to the dome with other lucky winners. Each winner is given their own human-like robot guide- and in the edited version the dome consists of killing robots on motorbikes level, and going back to the 50’s to make out at a drive-in scenario. I won’t detail the plot beyond this- but in its edited/ cut form, it’s a passable enough example of low-budget dystopian Sci-fi, with the inhabitants of the world wearing very Process Church-like red , black and emblem smocks. And we get a few chase scenes, and a few killings too.

The uncut version certainly adds in more humour to the mix, as well of course smut- we get a man breaking in and stripping a slightly pudgy woman, a man tieing down his disobedient wife, a young male salesman made to make love by a knife-wielding woman, and a few other scenarios. It certainly is interesting to compare the two versions, and the different intents each has- and not just one has sleaze and the other doesn’t. Also, the cut version shifts around a few scenes in quite an interesting way.

The Dirty Dolls is from the year 1973- and is in its uncut form a crime caper-come-ragtag gang psycho-thriller. It was written and directed by Stu Segall- in total he had twenty-six credits to his name, and these were seemingly largely split between porn and horror. Some of his titles are adult drama Your Wife Or Mine? (1971), thriller The Suckers (1972), slasher Drive-In Massacre(1976), and adult comedy Hot Blooded (1985). The smut-removed version plays at around forty-nine minutes, and the smut-in version plays at one hour and twelve minutes. And it’s fair to say that compared with the first films the print here is very rugged ‘n’ damaged, with more than a few audio jumps/ pops.

The picture focuses on Johnny (John Alderman)- a charismatic, though rather unpredictable small-time criminal- who runs a female gang that carries out robberies. The film opens with the gang pretending to be happy clappers going into a bar, then holding up the patrons- we get an idea of Johnny's unpredictability as he guns down someone in the bar for just moving wrongly. As we get into the film we find out Johnny's sisters Janet(Denise Drake) has recently joined the gang, and wants to try and make sure no one gets hurt/ killed.

The gang have planned a more elaborate diamond heist, dressing up in disguises. And here as a security guard is classic cult movie actor George ‘Buck’ Flowers- so it was nice to see him, and as always, he gives an entertaining performance. As you’d expect things don’t quite go as they should with the heist. And the last quarter of the film finds the gang bricking/ fighting back at the gang's rundown country house, with darts in psychodrama in the last turn of the film.

The smutt-free version does still have a bit of nudity- we see a topless stripper, and a few other cropped fleshy encounters. This version of the film feels rather bad hacked about really, but it plays well enough crime thriller, with Alderman being memorable as the sleazy ‘n’ sleeping with the whole gang Johnny, and when he starts to unfold towards the end of the film it’s done in hammy glory.

The smutt in version takes in four softcore scenes- the first occurs in the first ten minutes, it’s man on women one on one- lit by a single stark bulb. Its soundtrack by smoky to discordant jazz, and to be honest is rather bland and lengthy. Half an hour in we get a female three-way with one of the women handcuffed/ slapped at points. The final one appears at the hour mark, and is man on woman. Of the two versions here, the cut one works a lot better, and to be honest the uncut version is very tiresome.

On the extras side, we get a commentary track with five members of the AGFA team. And this is worthy/ interesting- they start by pondering if the female character was a proto-yuppie, and discuss other films it was influenced by. We find out the film was shot in San Antonio, and how the idea of smut without smut came about. They discuss how the film was lost for forty years, and this is the only surviving print of the film. We find out that the film was funded by the owner of a pizza takeway, and what is known about the makers/ those who added in the sex scenes. Later on, they discuss what each member on the track do in their jobs for AGFA. We get talk about set design and costume, and much more. 

In finishing Smut WithOut Smut concept is excellent, and I do hope AGFA continues it for more releases. Of the two films Things To Come is the most successful( in both versions), The Dirty Dolls is passable- and the cut version is certainly the better version. Again another great addition to 101 films reissue of this AGFA series.