Memphis Cathouse Blues (1982)

Plots surrounding the world's oldest profession and the hypocrisy of the religious right, politicians, and/or men in power are evergreen. Were it not for the film version of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Louie Lewis's Memphis Cathouse Blues may not have been made in 1982, but it probably would've been made eventually.

Mavis (Annette Haven) is the third generation madame of the Feline Farm, the South's premier brothel. She has a long-standing relationship with Sheriff T.J. Thomson (Mike Horner), but unfortunately, Reverand Noble Pritchit (Paul Ross) has had his fill of the community turning a blind eye to the Farm and convinces Judge Franlkin (Dale Meador) to shut Mavis down.

Mavis's loyal ladies, Rose (Kay Parker), Cherry (Dorothy Lemay), and Angel (K.C. Valentine), are determined to find a way out of the Feline Farm's jam, primarily by using their feminine wiles on Deacon Davis (Herschel Savage) and Brother Pyle (Jon Martin). The day is really saved by Tammy Sue (Danielle), a new-to-town naif that Mavis has taken in and - it turns out - has some dirt on the pious Pritchitt.

The set up is ripe for antics and shenanigans, but the execution is narrative path of least resistance and lousy with substandard Southern accent attempts.

Rimmer gives no indication as to why Memphis Cathouse Blues should be considered a Collectors' Choice, merely giving a plot recap and saying that:

The action is better than you will see in the movie Best Little Whorehouse in Texas....

Well, no shit, Sherlock. You'd certainly hope that the "action" in a porn flick would outdo a Hollywood studio adaptation of a musical.

Given the concept and cast, this film should have been way better than it was. It doesn't do anything necessarily poorly, but doesn't do anything particularly above average. CC100

RANDOM THOUGHTS
° Louie Lewis was one of "The Lewis Brothers of Detroit" who were covered in typically exhaustive fashion by the Rialto Report.

° The most visually interesting hardcore scene was with Lisa De Leeuw and Eric Stein which was also the least pertinent to the story. De Leeuw portrayed Dixie who was one of the best women to ever work at the Feline Farm, apparently.

° Memphis Cathouse Blues is another film I reviewed in the initial incarnation of this blog. As always, I did not read what I'd previously written prior to re-watching and reviewing, so let's see what I thought last time:

In theory, there's room for a great deal of dramatic tension. In practice, the story is just a flimsy pretext to support a series of solid sex scenes.... It helps that the cast is great and everyone is at the top of their game.

A greater focus on the actual story would have bumped the final rating up by a half letter, but as it stands, Memphis Cathouse Blues is a solid B+.

Guess I was feeling a tad more generous back in July 2011.

*********************************************************

On deck: