The Stewardesses

It is often said that nobody watches a porno for the plot. Perhaps it could also be said that nobody watches a '60s porno movie for the eroticism. Exhibit A: The Stewardesses, a 1969 adults-only oddity that happened to be the first-ever 3D sex film (and, with a reported $25 million box office gross, one of the most successful), now being released on DVD as a goofy camp novelty. Aside from the sight of oddly shaped breasts in 3D, The Stewardesses is standard low-budget '60s soft-core fare. In other words, it's bad in every conceivable way. The plot is incoherent, the audio is barely audible, the sets are abysmal, the acting is embarrassing and shot compositions are so haphazard that it's hard to believe someone was actually awarded the dignity of a "Director of Photographer" credit — his name is Christopher Bell, and let's never speak of him again. "The movie was appallingly bad," admits star Christina Hart in the DVD extras, and she's damn right. Still, if you're the type who would even flirt with the idea of renting such an ancient piece of kitsch erotica, you probably wouldn't want it any other way. If seen with a few friends and a lot of alcohol, The Stewardesses is an amiable, mildly amusing piece of crap. Amazingly, Shout Factory offers such a comprehensive DVD package of The Stewardesses that one would be forgiven for mistaking it for a Criterion release. In addition to three separate versions of the film (3D, 2D and black-and-white — a silver dollar to anyone who watches all three), several short documentaries chronicle the making and restoration of the film, as well as the history of 3D movies. And, for Stewardesses completists, there are even some deleted scenes. Scenes deemed unworthy of The Stewardesses? Now that's a frightening thought.