Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade (1978)

Touches You

best movie i've ever seen.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties. It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

Liberated and uninhibited photojournalist Emanuelle (the ever-delicious Laura Gemser in peak yummy form) once again finds herself in considerable peril and enjoys her usual array of torrid carnal encounters while posing undercover in a prostitution ring that traffics in white slavery. Director Joe D'Amato, who also co-wrote the cheerfully raunchy script with Romano Scandariato, relates the eventful story at a brisk pace, maintains a blithely sleazy tone throughout, and captures the merry spirit of the 70's sexual revolution in the carefree pre-AIDS era of safe sex with total strangers. Naturally, D'Amato not only loads this picture with oodles of scrumptious bare female skin and sizzling soft-core couplings, but also covers the satisfying sensuous bases by including a wide variety bawdy pleasures that include straight copulation, lesbianism, masturbation, an especially hot'n'steamy threesome, and even a couple of (off-screen) gang bangs for good sordid measure. The sturdy cast of familiar solid pro Italian exploitation faces keeps the movie humming: The luscious Ely Galleani as Emanuelle's lusty'n'loyal gal pal Susan Towers, Gabriele Tinti as slimy flesh-peddler Francis Harley, Venantino Venantina as secretive businessman Giorgio Rivetti, and Pierre Marfurt as the dashing Prince Arausani. Special kudos are in order for Nicola D'Eramo as creepy transvestite Stefan, whose unexpected kung-fu fight set piece in a bowling alley provides a definite wacky highlight. The exotic globe-trotting locations add an impressive sense of scope. D'Amato's glossy cinematography makes neat and invigorating use of a constantly moving camera. Nico Fidenco's funky-throbbing score hits the get-down groovy spot (the catchy thumping disco theme song "Run, Cheetah, Run" is a real hoot!). An immensely fun drive-in flick.

Whilst in Nairobi to interview reclusive gangster Giorgio Rivetti (Venantino Venantini), feisty photographer and reporter Emanuelle (Laura Gemser) stumbles upon the existence of a powerful prostitution and white slave trade racket operating out of the US.After banging Rivetti, rolling in the sack with a prince (Pierre Marfurt) and showering with her best friend Susan Towers (the gorgeous Ely Galleani), Emanuelle returns to NY to go undercover as a poor woman willing to sell herself for sex. Infiltrating a high class brothel, she sets about the dangerous task of exposing the unscrupulous organisation.The last of the Emanuelle films to be helmed by trash king Joe D'amato, White Slave Traders is a surprisingly tame affair in comparison to the director's other entries in the series: Emanuelle in America, Emanuelle and the Last cannibals, and Emanuelle Around the World. Where those films relied on scenes of hardcore sex and extreme gore to shock their audiences, this one sees old Joe content to present the usual smörgåsbord of soft-core sex acts and lightweight sleaze that typify the character's non-D'amato adventures.Fortunately, the story is actually half-decent for a change (well, by Emanuelle standards) and there is just enough gratuitous nudity and outrageous silliness still make it worth a watch: during the course of the film, Gemser rubs one out whilst watching Susan shag a mechanic, partakes in a drug-fuelled menage-a-trois, runs naked through the African bush, satisfies an ageing senator, humps kung-fu transvestite Stefan (Nicola D'Eramo), and is rogered by a gang of thugs in a bowling alley. You'd think that by the end of the film she would be exhausted, but in a fittingly trashy finale, the game girl offers herself to a group of fishermen in exchange for a lift back to the city on their boat.I think they call that 'working your passage'.5.5 out of 10, rounded up to 6 for IMDb.

The Black Emanuelle series has some gems; but overall it's very hit and miss, and unfortunately Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade is one of the misses. The plot once against focuses on Emanuelle as she heads out to get an interview with some Italian criminal; but by chance actually happens upon someone that is into the white slave trade, and decides to investigate that instead. The film is directed by Joe D'Amato so as you would expect, there's plenty of sleaze and sex scenes; but actually this entry is somewhat more tame than some of the other Emanuelle flicks. The film actually appears to be going for a more softcore erotic feel; and although to be honest I generally prefer that to the hardcore style that most of these films feature; there's not enough in this film to really hold it together and the result is, unfortunately, rather boring. There are a few standout scenes, however; one that sees Emanuelle and another woman in the shower is worth mentioning, but you can get all this stuff in other, better, films. As always, the film stars the lovely Laura Gemser and once again she's very nice to look at and is definitely the best thing about the film. Overall, however, this is a rather dull entry in the series and thus is not recommended to anyone except hardcore Emanuelle fans!

Emanuelle and the White Slave Trade (1978) ** 1/2 (out of 4) Reporter Emanuelle (Laura Gemser) is doing a story on the white slave trade and tracks everything to a gangster living in Africa. Not happy stopping there, Emanuelle comes back to America and begins working undercover. This is probably the best of the D'Amato/Gemser Emanuelle movies but that's not saying too much. Unlike the other films in the series this one here at least manages to be entertaining without having to have a woman jerk off a horse as was seen in Emanuelle in America. This film here has a pretty interesting story and it moves along without too many boring spots. Needless to say there's a lot of sex scenes with Gemser taking on various men and women and these here are without a doubt the best scenes. D'Amato makes most of these very erotic, which is another thing missing from others in the series. I wouldn't say Gemser gives a good performance but she is comfortable in the role and you can't complain about seeing her naked throughout the film. The scenes in Africa are well shot and it's nice seeing some of the wildlife. Some of the American scenes were lifted from Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals but this just adds to some of the cheap fun. Original title: Via della prostituzione, La.