Alley Cats

A hotel room tryst. The illicit, and may I add, fully-clothed, couple approaches each other. Regarding her lover, the woman purrs, "I like you, because you're always....ready." A curio of pre-Boogie Nights-era erotica, this story of a young woman torn between her faithless fiancé and her awakening desires for a socialite was hot stuff in 1965. Today, it seems rather quaint. You'll see more skin on an episode of Silk Stalkings. Directed by Radley Metzger, whose sexploitation films were in a class by themselves--soft core chic--with superior production values, Alley Cats may attract viewers with the promise of sex, but what they'll find is coo-coo lounge music, a time capsule look at European swingers, and such witty touches as the discarded bra that doubles for a cocktail glass holder. Optional. (K. Lee Benson)