Heavenly Bodies

"The real behind-the-scenes story of those magazine glamour photographers and their buxomly beautiful models!" So read the notice under the marquee of the State Theatre on Washington Street. With our keen interest in photography, we hesitated, wondering whether to skip the merely entertaining Captain Newman for an educational look at Russ Meyer's (The Immoral Mr. Teas) latest masterpiece, Heavenly Bodies. When we noticed this was the film's first Boston showing and couldn't recall any criticism in the professional press, we decided that, as a service to the community, we had no choice but to duck in.

We were met by Mr. Mario Giampa, manager of the State, who was to validate our press pass. Remembering that a second film was on the bill, we asked Mr. Giampa, while he inspected our card, "Which one's on now?" He replied, "The lousy one," and we wilted at the thought that Heavenly Bodies might, after all, be what some people we don't know very well call a 'skin flick.' Hoping Mr. Giampa was referring to the lesser feature, we asked, almost suggested, "White Slavery?" He answered "Yeah." We sighed with relief. Sensing our anxiety, Mr. Joseph Watson, the "student assistant manager," reassured us that "Heavenly Bodies is a good one, a very good one." And added reflectively, "Mr. Giampa is a good one too." We were further bolstered by balding Mr. Al Gilman, who was standing nearby. He declared, "Heavenly Bodies is the best!" We later discovered that Al, as we now call him, is studing physical education at North-eastern. "You know, Heavenly Bodies, it's good, but For Members Only--an English nudist, authentic I mean--is the best."

But then Mr. Watson interrupted: (irrelevantly we thought) "The Orgy at Lil's Place, everyone said it stunk--but it lasted five weeks." Mario enthusiastically agreed, "Businesswise it was terrific! Yet they don't care how lousy a picture is. All they care about is how much money it takes in." Though touched by Mario's ambivalence, our earlier fears about the film's genre were fast rematerializing. But now Mario had us in arm, urging us to "interview Mrs. Ascher our glamorous candy attendent."

Mrs. Ascher is a kindly, greying lady, probably in her late fifties. She smiled at us, then at the manager and, in a voice reminiscent of a grandmother we know, anticipated our question, "I like working here very much. Don't ask too intimate questions."

"Do you like the films?" we recovered ungracefully.

"Very nice."

"Aren't they a bit risque, Mrs. Ascher?"

"It's up to the customer," she told us. "If you stay here awhile you'll get your own opinion." Leaning forward she explained, "We used to have very good movies, but people either don't know how to read or they're too lazy to read, and we can't please everybody--it's very hard. "Much sobered we thanked Mario, Joe, Al, and Mrs. Ascher and took our place in the all male audience. Heavenly Bodies, admittedly, is a "girlie" film but as Joe says, it's "a good one, a very good one."