Mondo Freudo (1966) - full transcript

(dramatic music)

(wind roaring)

- [Narrator] It is Saturday afternoon

in Southern California.

A lazy summer afternoon.

And on this day some 25,000
people will come to this beach

in search of fun and relaxation.

Our cameraman has
established a vantage point

on a hill high above the beach.

This is a 1,000 millimeter
telescopic lens.

Together with a Telebar
attachment developed



by Burns and Sawyer Cine
Equipment Rentals on Hollywood.

The unit is equal to a
1,700 millimeter lens.

The lens is being mounted
on a Arriflex Model 11B

35 millimeter motion picture camera.

This camera and lens will provide you

with the majority of the
film you are about to see.

It will give you a long,
close up look at our society.

This lens and this camera will be your eye

to peer into Mondo
Freudo, a Freudian world.

A world of sex and sex symbols

and the strange and unusual
laws that govern it.

(upbeat music)

This film is sensitive to infrared light.

It was developed by the United States Army



during World War II for use
in scouting bombing missions.

An infrared spotlight similar to this one

was attached to the belly of the plane.

The light itself was not
visible to the naked eye,

since it works on the principal of heat

rather than that of burning elements.

The scout plane would fly
in low in the cover of night

and without being seen
by enemy installations

photograph potential target areas,

therefore giving US
bombers an advanced look

at what lay ahead.

It was our intention to
photograph this same beach

under the cloak of darkness.

Our camera is now photographing the ocean.

As we pan the infrared
light into the scene,

the waves become visible.

However to someone standing on the beach

looking at the ocean the
spotlight would not be visible.

(waves crashing)

This couple was approximately
one fourth of a mile

from our camera position.

(sensual music)

We located this couple almost
directly below the hill

on which we were standing.

Sex under the sun is
not for the civilized.

Only the night can release inhibitions

and wash away the mask of modesty.

(upbeat music)

On the same night in Hollywood,

a phenomenon was taking place.

This is the Sunset Strip area.

These 12 city blocks
are crammed with no less

than 14 teenage Watusi clubs

and every Saturday night
they are packed to capacity.

A few blocks away we find the Losers club,

now specializing in topless Watusi shows.

The strip area attracts a
wide variety of young people.

Some are content to sit in
the outdoor hot dog stands

while the more aggressive
ones fight their way

to places such as this, It's Boss.

The name of this particular
club is a teenage expression

in the United States meaning it's great.

(upbeat music)

This is Hollywood Boulevard,

located about a mile and a
half from the Sunset Strip.

It is here that our teenage
phenomenon takes place.

Every Saturday night
thousands upon thousands

of automobiles filled with teenagers

are here for only one purpose.

To drive up and down Hollywood Boulevard.

(upbeat music)

The traffic problem is immense.

The teenagers themselves are most friendly

and upon seeing our camera
most of them remarked

"Smile, you're on Candid Camera!"

The shops in this 26 block
area used to remain open

on Saturday night, now
most of them are closed.

Customers interested in buying no longer

try to buck the traffic,
they go elsewhere.

The motion picture
theaters on the Boulevard

used to have their biggest
grosses on Saturday nights.

Now it is the worst night of the week.

Same problem, it is all
but impossible to get

to the theaters unless you
live close enough to walk.

So why do they do it?

Why do they drive aimlessly
about, back and forth?

When asked, they say
"we like it, it's fun,

"we get to see our friends,
everybody's doing it".

And for this and no other reason,

they come here by the thousands.

(sensual music)

On this same Saturday night,

we go to a burlesque club,
teenagers are not allowed.

In this sequence from the motion picture

Hollywood's World of Flesh,

we see an exotic dancer who works

under the name Baby Bubbles.

There are strict laws governing the dance

this young lady is now performing.

Her hands, for example,
must never touch her body,

but may only touch the garment
that she is removing.

She must finish her act wearing less

but certainly nothing more

than the usual g-string and pasties.

(sensual music)

This is London, England.

In some ways laws governing
sex in this country

are more stringent than
those in the United States.

While in other ways, they
are far more lenient.

The basic problem seems to revolve around

whether a particular show
or act is being performed

for the public, or for a private audience.

In most cases performances for the public

are controlled by censors
who think sex should be

on television, which has
no censorship whatsoever.

This is Downey's,

one of the more fashionable
clubs in London.

It is a public club
where the featured nude

is required by law to keep 15% of her body

covered with clothing.

(sensual music)

(audience applauding)

This is Piccadilly Square

and at midnight we visit the private club

appropriately called The Cellar.

Membership to this private
club is open to all.

Now you might say that
makes it public, but not so,

according to British law.

You are stopped at the front door

and advised that you may not enter

since it is a private club.

Before you can turn away, however,

you are told membership
would be one pound.

Here, there is no orchestra,
it costs too much.

The music comes from a
phonograph in the corner.

There is no chorus line,
no lavish costuming,

just a spotlight and a girl
wearing street clothes.

The girl is not particularly beautiful,

that is not one of the
club's requirements.

Nor could she in any way

be considered a professional dancer.

The Cellar has only one
thing to offer, total nudity.

There is no law for censorship in England

governing private clubs.

This girl will finish her
act totally au naturale,

sans pasties, sans
g-string, sans everything.

(sensual music)

(audience applauding)

The girls are paid what would amount

to 10 American dollars
for their evening's work.

The shows in this particular
club begin at midnight

and continue until dawn.

There are five girls who
rotate throughout the evening

with a half hour
intermission between shows.

(audience applauding)

Prostitution in London is governed

by a peculiar set of laws.

In a side street just
off Piccadilly Square

we find a billboard for prostitutes.

Since in London street walking is illegal,

the girls solicit customers
by placing their names

and phone numbers on
billboards such as this.

Although they do not outwardly
call themselves prostitutes

or exhibitionists,
reading between the lines

easily tells each girl's specialty.

We found ads for lesbians,
masochists, sadists,

and also good, straight,
normal prostitutes

of all sizes, shapes, and descriptions.

We followed one of these
ads and found two lesbians

in a flat near the center of town.

Their main occupation was
performing sexual exhibitions

and they were more than
happy to discuss their lives

in front of our cameras.

- She's prettier than men.

- [Narrator] Yes, well I
think you're both lovely.

- Well thank you.

- [Narrator] Are you from London?

- Well I'm from London,
she's from the United States.

- [Narrator] And how
long have you been here?

- Approximately four years.

- [Narrator] May I ask why did
you leave the United States?

- Well I like the freedom here.

People don't look down their noses at us.

- [Narrator] Now, you are both lesbians?

- Yes.

- [Narrator] You have a
very nice apartment here.

May I ask how you manage to pay for it?

- Well we've got a lot of nice friends

and they lend us money.

- [Narrator] Am I your friend?

- You're all our friends.

- [Narrator] How much do your
friends usually leave you,

I mean at one time?

- Well it varies, sometimes
as much as 20 pounds.

- [Narrator] I see.

What type of men generally
are your friends?

- Oh, all kinds.

- [Narrator] If I were to
loan you 20 pounds right now,

what would that accomplish?

- Well if you and your crew
were to lend us 20 pounds,

it might make us very happy

and we'd invite you to
stay here for a while

and have a drink.

And maybe we'd be so overcome with joy

we might even make love to
each other here on the couch.

- [Narrator] I see.

Okay, here's 60 pounds.

- Well, you'll have to
turn the camera off.

- [Narrator] Why?

- Well, if this is ever
sold we'd be arrested

for participating in exhibition.

- [Narrator] I see.

(men chattering)
(sensual music)

This is a restaurant in
San Francisco, California.

Home of the Golden Gate
Bridge, San Francisco Giants,

Knob Hill, the Cable Car,

and the topless bikini fashion show.

This is a businessman's
club known as The Party.

It starts serving lunch at 12 o'clock.

Shortly thereafter the
room is filled to capacity.

No one really knows what the food is like,

since no one really comes here to eat.

These girls are models
and not entertainers.

And as such are not
governed by the same laws

as strip-tease artists.

However, the show is so designed

that by 1:30 in the afternoon,

the end of the average
junior executive lunch hour,

these girls will be showing more nudity

to their customers than the law allows

on any burlesque stage.

What then is the difference
between a topless fashion show

and a strip-tease artist?

The courts define it thus,

if a girl is modeling
clothing that can be purchased

in a clothing store, and if
the clothing she is modeling

happens to show some degree of nudity

and said nudity is
necessary in the display

of said garment, said
nudity is not objectionable.

(men chattering)

(men laughing)

The customers in these establishments

seem to take everything in stride.

Most of them don't have
any time to eat lunch,

and if they do they usually
wind up with acute indigestion.

(men chattering)

In Downtown Los Angeles
we found another club

devoted to Watusi music.

It is called The Kabuki,
and most of it's patrons

are of oriental descent.

(upbeat music)

The ancestors of these oriental teenagers

never did the Waltz.

In fact, they never
danced together at all.

This was left to the Geisha girl

whose dance was meant only
for the entertainment

and the delight of
her paying customer.

(upbeat music)

(woman vocalizing)

(upbeat music)

The adult society of San
Francisco, California

has added a little spice
to this new dance craze.

They call it the Topless Watusi.

This nightclub is located
in San Francisco's

North Beach District and the
same laws governing nudity

in topless fashion shows is applied here.

Girls may dance and wait on
tables wearing topless bikinis

as long as it can be proven
that the bathing suits

can be purchased by the public.

Were they not available in stores,

these girls might be arrested
for indecent exposure.

Also, the girls are not
considered performers

and as such are not restricted by the laws

of the burlesque stage.

(upbeat music)

This is Helman Thor, an
artist with a most unusual

and interesting theory on oil painting.

It is his claim that
the warmth of the body

and the texture of the skin
create a lifelike surface

that breathes depth and
being into a painting.

This is a so-called beatnik nightclub

on San Francisco's North Beach.

It is owned jointly by Mr. Thor

and another artist of
equally questionable talent.

Fortunately for Mr. Thor,
he has never sold a canvas,

for to do so would be illegal.

(dramatic music)

(playfully sensual music)

And this is Mr. Thor's partner.

A gentleman who clearly loves his work.

Ever since his third grade teacher

opened the door of excitement
in finger painting,

Joseph Morenzo had searched desperately

for a way to make a living in that medium.

His success seems apparent.

His impressions sell for from $10 to $50.

This in addition to
the substantial revenue

received as part owner of this club

nets him an income that would be the envy

of any living contemporary artist.

(somber music)

There are those who say that
Mr. Morenzo is not an artist,

but a recent court
hearing proved them wrong.

According to the San
Francisco Supreme Court,

what is not considered art today

may tomorrow be a priceless possession.

(audience applauding)

The system Mr. Morenzo uses here

was originally started in France,

presumably by a frustrated
artist who found

that he was unable to properly proportion

the human body on canvas.

He started using his
models to make an outline

for the base of his work.

The result of this outlandish art form

sometimes resembles nothing better

than a colorful Rorschach Test.

(audience applauding)

(upbeat music)

Four miles south of San Diego we come

to the Mexican border town of Tijuana.

Offering Caliente, a lavish
horse and dog racing track,

a downtown bull fighting arena,

offering some of the best
matadors in the business,

(speaking in foreign language),

where one of the fastest
games in the world is played

and some of the fanciest abortion parlors

to be found anywhere on the continent,

to say nothing of it's lovely cathedrals.

This is an Indian village just 14 blocks

from the center of town.

Their graveyard is located on a dusty hill

which overlooks the village.

(somber music)

Our telescopic lens
allowed us a closer look

at the deplorable conditions

under which these people live and die.

This extreme poverty is located
only five and one half miles

from the richest nation in the world.

Here the average family numbers eight.

Living on a yearly income of about $500.

There seems very little
a man or a woman can do

to raise their economic level.

For Tijuana is a highly
overpopulated community

and for those who live in these villages,

begging and prostitution is
the major source of income.

Street walking in Tijuana
is not a lucrative business,

and it does not have the sanction

of the federal authorities.

If a young girl is pretty
enough and lucky enough,

she may be sold into
prostitution by her family.

Through the use of our hidden camera,

we shall show you one of the last

slave trading operations in the world.

(somber music)

The girls you see here are
being sold into slavery.

This is not a sad occasion,
for if the sale is made

both girl and family will be better off.

If sold, the girl's family will
receive 50% of the sale price,

the remainder going to the trader.

If the girl is to be used as a prostitute,

she can bring as high as $2,000.

The better looking girls will be used

in illegal nightclub
acts and sex exhibitions.

Whatever may happen to her now,

her living conditions will
have greatly improved.

At worst she will be
living in one of the city's

32 houses of prostitution,
she will have a private room,

and be fed regularly.

And in return for this she
must merely make love to anyone

and everyone ushered to her bed.

(light music)

(indistinct chattering)

(soft music)

The majority of the
nightclubs in this town

offer the same type of entertainment.

A few singers, a comic
using 1940 material,

and several tired strippers.

(shouting)

- [Man] Who says they
wanna get me a (mumbles)?

(audience applauding)

(upbeat music)

- [Narrator] But this club is different.

It is one of the few clubs in town

that supplies the customers
with some of the sin

that Tijuana has become so famous for.

It operates as a front for
a house of prostitution.

Prostitutes openly solicit the
customers on the club floor.

They come and go as freely as they please.

Our camera is hidden in a suitcase

on one of the back tables in the club.

(sensual music)

(audience applauding)

(announcer chattering)

(sensual music)
(men whistling)

The shows don't vary too
much from one to the other.

As you have obviously concluded

the girls are not professional dancers.

Most of them, in fact, are prostitutes.

Depending on the
audience, she will ask one

of the male members to
join her on the stage.

If he is shameless or drunk enough,

he will cooperate and the two of them

will perform a sex act for all to see.

(audience applauding)

(sensual music)

(men chattering)

(audience applauding)

Quite a contrast from the
dingy squalor of Tijuana,

are the bright lights of
Broadway in New York's Manhattan.

We are traveling on Broadway
toward Times Square.

On the right, the Broadway
theater presenting

a legitimate musical play
entitled Baker Street.

And now Times Square can
be seen in the distance.

We are now in a loft in a
Puerto Rican neighborhood

17 blocks off Times Square.

(intense upbeat music)

These people are witches,
or at least so they claim.

They have met here on
this Thursday evening

to perform a Black Mass.

In order to be a member,
you must first denounce God.

Your principal aim from that moment on

is to contact and pledge
your allegiance to the devil.

A religious cross has been painted black

and placed upside down on a black altar.

The circle in the center of the floor

is where the devil's spirit shall appear.

But before Satan will present himself,

he must first be shown
the sincere intentions

of this group of witches.

- [Woman] Those of us who
believe in the power of Satan

shall join hands.

We believe in Satan and his power,

that he will show himself
to us on this night.

Our power is the power of the devil.

He is our motivation and strength.

- [Narrator] Religious
candles have been placed

around the circle and the
lighting of these candles

indicates a presence of God.

The blowing out of the
holy candles by each member

represents their denouncement of God.

This young lady is the primary witch

and her dance is meant to stimulate

and to entertain the devil

so that he might look more favorably

on this sacrilegious group.

(intense sensual music)

(screaming)

The blood of the chicken represents death,

a subject that is most pleasing to Satan.

Our witches must prove to the
devil they do not fear death.

In fact, they find it pleasing.

And now the major part of the mass begins.

The sacrifice of the virgin to the devil.

This girl is 17 and her
parents consider it an honor

that she has been selected on this evening

to give her body and soul to Satan.

(intense drumming music)

(screaming)

The hog's head again represents death,

and now that the sacrifice
herself has seen death,

she has become more physically
attuned to the Black Mass.

She is laid in the center
of the devil's circle,

giving Satan easy access to her body.

- [Woman] We denounce God,
we denounce God's church,

and we denounce all that is holy.

- [All] We denounce God,
we denounce God's church,

and we denounce all that is holy.

- [Narrator] It is now
presumed that each member

of the mass is taken with the devil

and the devil in fact
has entered and is a part

of each of their bodies.

The drugs they have taken
and the sound of the drum

has pushed them to a
pitch of emotional frenzy.

They believe that their
hands are the devil's hands,

and that it is he and not they
that are fondling her body.

(speaking in foreign language)

And now the sacrifice has felt death.

Her mind and her body have
now been fully prepared

for Satan's assault on her virginity.

- [Woman] Oh Satan, we
offer you this virgin

as a token of our esteem

and we pray that you are
pleased by our choice.

We offer this girl to you as a symbol

of our eternal devotion.

She is now yours to do with as you will.

- [Narrator] The final act of this mass

could naturally not be shown
for one of the main members

representing the body of Satan will later,

and in full view of all of the members,

sexually assault this girl,

fulfilling the last conceivable
desire of the devil.

Prostitution is illegal in New York,

but like the mass,
prostitution does exist.

One just needs to know where to go.

This is a side street
on the Lower East Side.

This scene was photographed
on infrared film.

Our camera was mounted in a packing case

with a false two-way glass front.

And a small transistorized microphone

was taped under the door handle.

- I got a great thing in mind, $10.

- [Narrator] What goes for $10?

- Well what do you want for $10?

- [Narrator] Well I sort of dig (bleep).

- (bleep), oh no honey, not for 10 bucks.

Oh, by the way you pay the room.

- [Narrator] I'll pay the room.

How much for (bleep)?

What have you got in
mind that's different?

I want somethin' special.

- You like garter belts, baby?

- [Narrator] Yeah.

- Well why don't you come with me

and I'll go put on a black garter belt

and black hose and a black pair of heels

and then we'll have some fun.

- [Narrator] Let me have a better idea

of what you mean. Specifically
what do you got in mind?

- Well after we get up there,
you and I will fool around

and (bleep) a little bit,
and then you can (bleep).

- [Narrator] How much would that cost?

- Look I'll make it
cheap, I'll make it $20.

- $20?
- Yeah.

- [Narrator] You dig masochism at all?

- Huh?

- [Narrator] You dig getting beaten?

- Well, I never tried that.

- [Narrator] How much would
you charge me for that?

- Look baby, you got like...

- [Narrator] How about your friend?

- Yeah, yeah that's a good idea.

- Hello.
- Hi, baby.

- [Narrator] What's your name?

- Secret, what's yours?

- [Narrator] Bob, Bob (bleep).

- Nice to meet ya, honey.

- [Narrator] I'd like
to go up to your place

and have a little action--
- Action?

- [Narrator] But your friend and I

can't seem to get along together.

- What's the problem?

- [Narrator] Well I'm looking
for something unusual,

something different.

- Oh, like what?

Like maybe like these?

- [Narrator] Let me see that again, honey.

- Next time you gotta pay for it, buddy.

- [Narrator] Well I don't
wanna buy unless I see

and you turned away...

- I'm sorry, you already
got your free sample.

How much do you want, huh?

- [Narrator] Very nice.

Aren't you afraid of police problems

right out here on the street like that?

- Huh?
- Ah (bleep).

- [Narrator] Why don't
you get in the car with me

and we can go up to your place.

We'll talk money, come on.

This is Sasabo in Japan.

In this city, prostitution
in any form is legal.

As a matter of fact, there is
very little in this country

with regard to sex that is not legal.

Abortions are available at nominal cost

to all women who desire.

Unlike Tijuana the street
walkers are commonplace.

Sex shops selling pornography,
sexual stimulants,

and lovemaking devices can be found

in almost every Japanese city.

Here at the sign of the peacock
we find the Club Sasabo.

It is a club dedicated to
sadism and is somewhat similar

to The Grand Guignol Theater in Paris,

in that it appeals to the
violent side of the human mind.

(playfully sensual music)

The show begins not too unlike
a burlesque show in America.

(audience applauding)

(audience applauding)

(intense music)

(woman screaming)

The cast is well paid
for this performance,

for there is no way for a
beating to look realistic

without being realistic.

(woman groaning and moaning)

(pipe thudding)

(whip snapping)

This is a restaurant in West Germany

called The Old Heidelberg.

And like the Sasabo in
Japan, it presents an unusual

form of entertainment.

(crowd chattering)

On this Friday night, The Old Heidelberg

is holding it's weekly championship

between Higa Schmidt and Kara Pansch.

This is the world-famous mud fight

that has titillated audiences
for more than 12 years.

The club itself is very small

and only seats 150 people.

There is an entrance charge

which amounts to around two
American dollars per person.

As for the girls, well it
requires no special talent

to be a mud wrestler.

A good figure is preferable,
and a strong back is essential.

(upbeat music)

(crowd shouting and laughing)

(audience applauding)

(crowd whistling)

(crowd cheering)

Saturday morning in Southern California

and the beaches are crowded as usual.

In Germany two new girls are now stepping

into the mud ring, while in
London the nightclub stages

are being readied for another evening.

In Tijuana a new batch of
girls is being purchased

to fulfill the demands
of the local brothels,

while the head torturer at
The Sasabo Club in Japan

is busily oiling his whip for
this evening's entertainment.

Throughout the world people are preparing

for a weekend of relaxation
and entertainment.

And tonight in Los Angeles, California

thousands of teenagers
will drive endlessly

up and down Hollywood Boulevard
searching for Mondo Freudo.

(upbeat music)