Show Notes
Fasten your seatbelts, don't forget to pack your mother's diaphragm, we're heading to Main Street, USA for an evening in "Love Land." In Episode 31 of The Sin Syndicate, we are joined by author, brick-breaker and long-time exploitation film historian, Chris Poggiali, who personally chose the subject of this week's episode: actor/stuntman Gary Kent's directorial debut, the woozy, mysterious, sensual, Secret Places, Secret Things (1971).
Described by Casey as "a special experience," this underrated gem made for the Pussycat Theater chain and distributed by Fineberg & Miranda's Grads Corp feels like it shouldn't exist at all. And for a long time, it looked like it never did. But recently, thanks to film archivists and historians like Joe Rubin and Charles Devlin, this magical little diamond resurfaced in a scratchy but still comforting scan-from-British VHS. It's a rare film that gives popular sexploitation performers Neola Graef and Kathy Hilton more to do than strip and look pretty (though they do that, too), and girl next door Debbie Osborne, unsurprisingly, gives another lovable, standout performance (more akin to Cindy and Donna than Tobacco Roody) as the kind of hippie chick you could bring home to momma.
But maybe the most interesting thing of it all is new information from Chris about two of our leading men: Hollywood-handsome Edward Blessington and The Love Butcher himself, Erik Stern. Of course, there will also be diversions to talk about the irascible duo of Lee Frost and Pete Perry, amongst other things. So, send the porter for a bottle of grog, listen to the thunder outside your window, and join us for a very special look at marriage, love, infidelity, and triumph.
Links: Subscribe to our Patreon Get your tickets to Casey's screening: Alice in Wonderland Instagram with us at The Sin Syndicate Follow us on Letterboxd: Gentry & Casey Listen to other podcasts on Someone's Favorite Productions Contact us: [email protected] Special thanks: Chris Poggiali and Charles Devlin
Links: Join the community on Patreon Instagram with us at The Sin Syndicate Follow us on Letterboxd: Gentry & Casey Check out the Something Weird Channel Listen to other podcasts on Someone's Favorite Productions Contact: [email protected]
More from The Sin Syndicate
This house is not a home, but all our friends are here. For the first in our Haunted House Duology for the 2026 Halloween season, The Syndicate is joined by the artist formerly known as Spicy Goldman to discuss a mad and mysterious transitioner distributed by "The Professionals" and directed by a red Corvette driving Edward D. Wood Jr.
Few women in "the industry" left more of an impression than the young, squirrelly, sometimes buxom, Rene Bond. Born Rene Ruth Bond on October 11, 1950, the Queen of Porn was one of the first superstars of the nascent, still-illegal industry. In this episode we chart Rene's relatively short but memorable career in both the hard and softcore adult film industry, with a special emphasis on her role in the Ed Wood-scribed women-on-the-run sex 'n action film, Fugitive Girls.
I hope you haven't forgotten your girl. We sure haven't. It's true, we will never stop talking about The All-American Girl, director Mark Haggard's 1972 coming-of-age, sex positive, Southern California masterpiece. We discussed the film at length in Episode 20, "Don't Forget Your Girl," have long been clammoring for a new home video release, and thus, were more than a little excited when we heard that the film was being screened on 35mm at the New Beverly Cinema in Los Angeles on Labor Day, 2026. Friend of the pod and enthusiastic Vinegar Syndromer Eli Olsberg was able to attend as our proxy, and joined us in this Short Ends episode to give his report. Keep your hankerchief on hand, it's going to get messy.
Can you afford the price? The film might call them hookers, but there is no hooking. Instead, in the 1967 anthology film, The Hookers, we are treated to three different stories dealing with three different ways in which the female body is sold and commodified, either by choice, or by coercion.
Here at the Sin Syndicate, we love websites. Not apps, not Substacks, not ad-filled modern forums, but websites. One of our favorites is Mondo Digital, the long-running project of Nathaniel Thompson, a long-time figure in the scene, whether it be moderating the Mobius Home Video Forum, covering genre cinema online and in print, contributing to disc releases, or working at Image Entertainment (not in that order). It's that last thing we wanted to talk with Nathaniel about, specifically around his work as part of Image in the period of the early aughts, which also coincided with the LA-based distribution company's partnership with Seattle's Something Weird Video.