Ilsa - Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks (1976)

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Although Spalding Gray would probably like to forget this first of three sequels to Ilsa, She-Wolf of the S.S., he does indeed appear as the mad oil baron El Sharif. The sadistic Ilsa (Dyanne Thorne) is in charge of his elite harem guard and struts about with two topless Amazon guards, Satin (Tanya… More Although Spalding Gray would probably like to forget this first of three sequels to Ilsa, She-Wolf of the S.S., he does indeed appear as the mad oil baron El Sharif. The sadistic Ilsa (Dyanne Thorne) is in charge of his elite harem guard and struts about with two topless Amazon guards, Satin (Tanya Boyd) and Velvet (Marilyn Joi), who do things like ripping off men's testicles with their bare hands. Don Edmonds' film is a real freakshow, as Ilsa fattens up a huge fertility goddess and trades in white slavery while devising her usual clever tortures. Highlights include an exploding dildo and a head-cage in which a hungry rat is trapped against the victim's face. Subplots deal with the Sheik's son (Bobby Woods), who is kept feral in a dark pit to keep him from claiming the throne, and the usual blond American stud (Michael Thayer) whom Ilsa cannot resist. Despite its smarmy sleaze and gory special effects by Joe Blasco, this is a gorgeous-looking film, with the sort of expansive photography and flamboyant action one might expect from a desert epic costing ten times as much. Although its predecessor and Jesus Franco's follow-up Greta, Haus Ohne Maenner (1977) are more notorious, this is the best and most entertaining film of the series. Cult actors Ivan Rassimov, Sharon Kelly, and Uschi Digart also appear. ~ Robert Firsching, Rovi