I didnt realise until after watching this one that it was intended as a sequel to Doris Wishmans 1974 Cult Classic 'Double Agent 73'…Its not integral to the plot of this movie for you to have watched THAT movie. But you'd be forgiven for not realising, given 'Double Agent 73' was entirely a vehicle for Chesty Morgan (A woman who, at the time claimed to have 'the biggest bust in cinema'). And that this film not only doesnt feature Chesty in any way shape or form. But the actress they hired to replace her doesnt even remotely resemble Chesty.

The only tie to 'Double Agent 73' is the catalyst for the film itself. And the film opens in Wishman style with 'Agent Jane' being murdered by an unknown person while resting on her balcony. (That…pretty much is where the sequel element of this production begin and end. As the REAL plot of the film picks up with 'Ginny', 'Sandy' and 'Nancy' Three women who are invited (seemingly at random) to a reading of Jaynes last will and testimony.

During the reading, its revealed that the girls are in fact daughters of Jaynes, which non of them knew prior to arriving. And that, Jayne has left them a combined fortune of 3 million dollars to be shared between them with one catch. Jayne is convinced she was going to be murdered, and in order for the girls to claim the cash, they will have to hunt down three men that Jayne thought would be the most likely to take her life, and either kill them, or bring them to justice.

If any of the daughters die, the fortune will be redistributed between the surviving daughters, if all three die, the executor of her estate will pocket the lot, and if they dont find the killer, noone gets anything. And thus a sleazy 'sexploitation' spy thriller begins! As the daughters all move into Jaynes old house, and begin trying to figure out who could have killed there late Mother.

While im not sure if the ties to 'Double Agent 73' are entirely required, I will say that I did have some fun with this one. The plot moves at a clip, the pacing is consistent and perky throughout, and while it does fall into the trap a LOT of Doris Wishman films seem to do, I.E extended awkward softcore scenes and nudie shots that do nothing really but pad out the runtime. Their place in this film felt a lot more relevant than in some of her other pictures.

The characters are fun and engaging, though I do feel that Cindy Bordeau got WAY more screentime than her counterparts, which did make this feel a bit lopsided in that regard. It should also be mentioned that the actual plot of this film is RIDICULOUSLY simplistic. To the point that you'll figure out who the killer is within 10 minutes, and how the rest of the films going to play out within 15 minutes.

That being said this does have a distinctly exploitation grindhousey edge by way of 42nd street. I think this would pair up well with another 'all girl' action exploitation feature like 'The Vixens of Kung fu' or 'Joy'. It has enough going on to keep you on track will the closing credits and characters that are fun enough to make it feel somewhat worth while.

The direction feels a lot bigger than most of Wishmans other productions i've seen, the attempt at recreating Vegas using backdrops and stock footage would almost seem believable if it wasnt for how much time we spend once again in Wishmans apartment. Its a cheap looking production, but the attempt to make things seem a lot grander than the budget would allow was welcome and really helped shake things up after the last 2-3 films where AT MOST you'd get 1 other location alongside Wishmans apartment.

Character direction is largely non existent, but then, I didnt really expect it would be. The cine is rough around the edges, but again; feels at least a bit more competent than some of the other entries i've seen in 'The Twilight Years' set. shots are soft, the sound drops in and out and sequences feel quite thrown together at times without a whole lot of consideration for the flow to the scene…But then, when the plots this simplistic, its hard to lose track of whats going on.

I dont really have a problem with the performances perse, they're all fine. But this film in particular seems to have the most HORRENDOUS problem with pairing these beautiful 20-30 something women, with THE most gruff, greasy looking 50-60 year old men…It made me feel more uncomfortable than any of the other exploitation elements i've seen in a Wishman film to date. When I say that i've seen 'No budget' Italian 'Erotica' with male performers who's looks could knock a train unconcious. And these guys somehow feel seedier. I hope that gives you the vibe.

As for the soundtrack, its a mixture of what im assuming is library instrumental tracks. One track in particular gets a real wearing out, it sounds like a 'muzak'/'inspired by' take on Barry Whites 'My First, my last, my everything'…Which came out a year prior to this film…so im assuming that was Doris's attempt to get 'down with the youths'. Otherwise it's pretty complimentary…messsy. But complimentary.

All in? this is one of the more easy to digest and enjoyable 'Wishman' offerings i've seen up to this point. It doesnt do THAT much different from the Chesty Morgan films or 'The Amazing Transplant'. But the way the elements are assembled here just sits right a bit better with me than the others. I'd say its worth your time with tempered expectations. And given this was a rewatch for me, I can say it held up 'not terribly.'

source https://letterboxd.com/tytdreviews/film/the-immoral-three/