Russ Meyer (director)
Severin Films (studio)
18 (certificate)
70 min (length)
27 January 2025 (released)
28 January 2025
In a partnership with The Russ Meyer Trust, Severin Films have just released three movies of the director’s legendary VIXEN-trilogy, each making their UHD/Blu-ray debut, restored by the Museum of Modern Art and Severin.
A landmark in American cult cinema, the first film in this trilogy, VIXEN (1968) can be considered a satirical ‘sexploitation flick’ with political undertones that also addresses racism. Of course, it was one of the first films to have received an X-rating back in its day though compared by todays standards (and compared with later Meyer films, which we won’t review on here), it all seems relatively mild by comparison.
At the centre is the seductive Vixen (Erica Gavin), who lives with her hubby Tom Palmer (Garth Pillsbury), a bush pilot, in the Canadian wilderness where they own a tourist lodge. Despite being happily married, Vixen is a bit of a nymphomaniac who feels the urge to get it on with just about everyone in her sight, even a Mountie (Peter Carpenter) and later, a holidaying couple which Tom brings back to the lodge. They are Dave King (Robert Aiken) and his jealous wife Janet (Vincene Wallace). No price for guessing what happens next… All the while the naïve Tom insists that his wife, although she knows the full meaning of hospitality, would never do anything to hurt him. Yes, the men in the film seem as dumb as they come (no pun intended), with the exception of Niles (Harrison Page), an African American Vietnam War deserter who is a good friend of Vixen’s brother Judd (Jon Evans) and who is despised and racially abused by her. Suffice to say, she doesn’t have it off with Niles, which really makes a change from her usual frivolous shenanigans.
The film’s first half (and it’s not a long film to begin with) is about as paper-thin as the flimsy outfits worn by Vixen and Janet, although in the second half, things change when O’Bannion (Michael O’Donnell), a rather wealthy Irish tourist, coaxes Tom into flying him across the border to the United States and takes Niles with him. As a special treat, Tom invites Vixen along on this special journey, though if he had an inkling of her behaviour, he’d leave her behind for good. Anyway, high up in the air in Tom’s small Cessna plane, O’Bannion reveals his true colours: not only is he an IRA sympathizer but a Marxist and well, well…his real destination is not the US but Cuba. To make sure that his plan works out, he declares Vixen and Tom hostages and threatens them with a weapon – not a good idea while high up in the sky. Meanwhile, poor Niles is stuck in the middle and initially remains neutral to the different political opinions of the others, though of course it doesn’t stop Vixen from further insulting Niles. Eventually, he and Tom manage to overwhelm O’Bannion and land safely on US-soil, where our courageous pilot ensures that Niles escapes the US-customs and he runs to freedom…but not before he and Vixen reconcile. Ready to take off again and fly back to Canada, another American couple are waiting in the wings and look forward to a holiday in the Canadian wilderness. Little do they know what lies in store for them…
This is a very 1960’s counter-culture affair with plenty of pseudo-political babble and nudity thrown in the blender. Don’t expect too much intellect here, because you won’t get it (it’s Russ Meyer, after all). What you will get, however, is the director succeeding in insulting all sorts of sensibilities! The restoration looks great as do the scenes shot in the Canadian wilderness. Erica Gavin and the rest of the cast are all fine and courageous in their parts, in particular Gavin.
Bonus material consists of audio commentaries, interviews, a special on the film’s censorship battles plus trailer.