The Amazing Transplant (1971)

There are far too many fascinating (and fun) elements in the Amazing Transplant to simply trash this Doris Wishman film as a whole. True, the story unfolds at times like a disjointed train wreck. But quirky little cinematic treasures should deter one from aggressively ridding the fast forward button.Meek and kind hearted Arthur Barlen admired his close friend so much, that upon his death, Arthur wanted to have his own penis removed, and replaced with the penis of his deceased buddy. Now THAT'S friendship! And contrary to other reviews, Arthur was anesthetized during the surgery, and the absence of an attending nurse during the procedure was reasonably and logically explained In Frankenstein, when Dr Frankenstein inadvertently implants the brain of a psychopathic murderer into the body of his monster - mayhem ensues. Of course, this couldn't happen in the Amazing Transplant. Because everybody knows - men don't think with their . . . ah um - penis. Right? Only it appears that in this movie (as in life) that we do. Because Arthur's new dong drives him to kill the first woman who arouses him.Arthur's uncle, police detective Barlen, searches for clues in hopes of proving Arthur's innocence. Endless closeups of the detective's facial expressions (his eyebrows were hilarious) blended with closeups of the hem lines of the women he was questioning (or maybe ogling would be a better word), painted the disheveled detective as a cross between Columbo and Chester the Molester. At times Det. Barlen seemed more dangerous than did his young nephew, walking around with his former friends' hostile penis, sutured to his groin.Wishman's treatment of the numerous women Arthur encounters is more interesting and bizarre than menacing or sexual. Nudity is abundant and it's good to see some body hair again. Five stars for the Amazing Transplant It would have been a solid six stars if shown at a drive-in theater!

This is classic Doris Wishman - shots of dead air, horrible dubbing, impossibly bad acting, New York City streetscapes, and scene direction so terrible that'll it make you gasp. (Also expect a ton of her signature feet shots and eccentric art direction; this time around it involves a puzzling equestrian theme). Anyway, if you know Doris and like her take on gonzo sleaze, "The Amazing Transplant" is gonna be a fun time. Similar to "Bad Girls Go to Hell" "Deadly Weapons" and "Double Agent 73," this movie is, in its awfulness, pretty consistently funny. My only real complaint with "Transplant," as an unintentional comedy, is that the sex scenes are way too long. (Picture a 5-min scene between two ugly people, most of which comprises shots of the guy's bare arse. Yeah...). That said, expect to fast forward through some parts. It is worth it, though, because almost every scene is laughable in some way. (The scene with the killer's mom, whose dress sports multiple mustard stains, had us laughing heartily). If you are new to Doris Wishman, and feel up to the task of viewing some of the poorest film-making imaginable, I'd start with "Bad Girls Go to Hell," because it showcases all the signatures of the Wishman style, minus half the sleaziness of "Transplant." If you had a good time with "Bad Girls," and weren't offended or anything, queue up "The Amazing Transplant." This is unintentional surrealism at its sleazy finest. Further proof that Wishman was, alongside Coleman Francis, America's most inept film director.

If you've seen one of Wishman's "movies", you've pretty much seen them all. Although I wasn't expecting much, Amazing Transplant has the same slow pacing, dull characters, monotone setting, sub-par directing, etc. that characterizes much of her films.A man goes around entering homes of women, strips their clothes, rapes, and then kills them. It's the same thing over and over again. If the women were prettier and the soft-core scenes more arousing, I would forgive much of the shortcomings of the plot and acting. But this movie just drags. I do have to say the penis transplant towards the end was unintentionally hilarious.The ending doesn't make any sense. As a matter of fact, almost nothing makes any sense. Don't waste your time watching this. There are better things to do with your life. Amazing Transplant certainly lives up to it's billing from Something Weird.

Of all the excessively nonsensical, rancid and imbecilic Sexploitation movies ever made during the decade of the 1970's (and genre buffs know there are a LOT of them), Doris Wishman's "The Amazing Transplant" definitely takes the cake when talking in terms of pure senselessness and sheer incoherence. This doesn't even qualify as a movie; this is just some crazy lady (Wishman was the only female smut-director at that time) showcasing her most lurid and morally incorrect sexual fantasies. The premise appealed to me, since it sounded like a deviant and exploitative variation on the "Mad Love" and "Hands of Orlac" concept. In those classic films the hands of an executed killer become transplanted onto a pianist who lost his in an accident, but the hands gradually turn their new owner into an unstoppable killing machine. "The Amazing Transplant" basically features the exact same plot, but of course we're dealing with a raping penis here instead of a murdering pair of hands. It's a curious and interesting concept for a sleazy and gritty 70's exploitation flick, but the sad truth is that Wishman wasn't the least bit interested in telling a story, as the (not so) amazing penis transplant only gets mentioned ten minutes prior to the ending. The rest of film merely exists of sleazy and soft-core padding with atrocious acting performances, painful dialogs and unattractive women. In the opening sequences, Arthur Barlen strangles his fiancée – and what a fight she puts up – and flees. His uncle, who's also a police detective, goes after him using Arthur's address book as the only lead. Whilst the sleazy fat copper checks out the young girls' legs and breasts, they explain through flashbacks how Arthur changed from a quiet and introvert boy into a perverted and mad-raving sex machine. At those points, we're not supposed to know anything about the penis transplant, but obviously the title and every possible synopsis description on the internet already revealed everything. The film only lasts a mere 70 minutes, yet it's insufferably boring and contains over 75% of redundant footage. There's an inexplicably large amount of images showing people's legs and feet as they simply stroll over sidewalks. Larry Hunter's character of Bill Barlen the detective is unintentionally hilarious. He displays the weirdest facial expressions when astonished, makes offensive remarks towards lesbians and simply walks away when women clearly need emotional support. This was my fourth movie directed by Doris "Sultana-of-Sleaze" Wishman (after "Deadly Weapons", "Double Agent 73" and "Let Me Die a Woman") and she never ceases to "amaze" me. Not necessarily in a positive way, but you have to admit she dared to exploit pretty much every controversial topic.