Living Venus
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Herschell Gordon Lewis
William Kerwin
Harvey Korman
Danica D'hondt
Jeanette Leahy
Lawrence J. Aberwood
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Hoping to advance his career, genial portrait photographer Ken Carter accepts work from John V. Norwall, the shady editor of Newlywed magazine. After the publication of Ken's first cover, a photograph of a couple being chased by a man with a shotgun, the publisher fires John, who vows to start his own magazine full of imagination, humor and sex. At home, John's fiancée Diane urges him to marry her that weekend, prompting John to take money from her purse and leave angrily. Planning his cheesecake magazine, which he has titled Pagan , John searches for inspiration, and while wandering drunkenly, finds it in a statue of the Venus de Milo he sees in a store window. After stealing the statue, he heads to the nearest bar, where he notes the similarity between Venus and his waitress, Peggy Brandon. Promising to make her a star, John brings Peggy to Ken's studio and they shoot artful, nude pictures of her. John labels her "The Living Venus," and uses the photographs to search for backers for the magazine. After everyone rejects him, John convinces Ken to pawn his extra camera to pay for a typewriter, and Ken agrees, in exchange for part of the profits. Finally John manages to convince disreputable publisher Max Stein to finance them, and he sets out to hire more models. Soon after, Diane calls John and begs him to come to their wedding, which she has arranged for that weekend. John mutters that he will try to make it, but soon forgets, and on Saturday Diane and her father go to his apartment. There, John accuses Diane of being a tramp, after which her father punches John and drags a crying Diane away. The first issue of Pagan is a big success, and John secures two years' worth of financing. He then tries to seduce Peggy, who despite her attraction to him, holds him at bay, knowing he is a roué. Meanwhile, Ken is also falling in love with Peggy, and one day asks her to marry him. She informs John, and when he proposes, she assumes that he loves her, not realizing that he merely wants to have control over her for the good of the magazine. Returning to his office, John hires photographer Geoffrey Page, then fires Ken, who punches him and leaves. Soon, John pressures Peggy to stop modeling and become his "promotions manager," a position in which she will seduce clients into buying advertising. Although Peggy realizes that John does not love her, she agrees, quickly turning to alcohol to make her "job" less repellent. As the magazine's sales soar, both John and Geoff begin dallying with the models and paying less attention to work. While Ken's career as a high fashion photographer blossoms, Pagan 's sales begin to slip. One day, a drunken Peggy walks by Ken's photo shoot, and although he urges her to call him if she needs him, she is ashamed and runs off. She stumbles into John's staff meeting, in which he is berating the staff for his own failures, and when she confronts him, he slaps her. She begs him for help, but he calls her an alcoholic and walks away. Weeks later, John is readying for Pagan 's two-year anniversary party when Max arrives. After announcing that he will no longer finance the magazine, the publisher advises John to try to win Ken back. John goes ahead with his party, and when Peggy shows up, sober and still in love with him, he again rejects her cruelly. No one at the raucous event notices as Peggy drinks all night and drowns in the pool. At her funeral, Max brings Ken, whom he has hired to take over John's position. Alone and jobless, John raves that he will start a new magazine and show them all, then collapses, sobbing.
Director
Herschell Gordon Lewis
Cast
William Kerwin
Harvey Korman
Danica D'hondt
Jeanette Leahy
Lawrence J. Aberwood
Linné Ahlstrand
Robert Bell
Lee Hauptman
Andrew Lindhoff
Edward Meekin
Herbert Graham
Charles Cook
Cherie Ross
Clio Vias
Fran Harding
John Perak
Fred Knapp
Adele Kelly
Billy Falbo
Bob Scobie And His Dixieland All-stars
Nancy Downey
Crew
Lewis Preston Collins
James Cook
James Arthur Dennett
David F. Friedman
E. K. Hathorn
Arthur Haug
John Jast
Elsie Kerbin
Harold Lawson
Herschell G. Lewis
Herschell Gordon Lewis
James Mcginn
James Mcginn
Martin Rubenstein
Bob Scobie
Arthur J. Springer
Camilla Starr
Jack Tipping
George Turek
Seymour Zolotareff
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Voice-over narration by Harvey Korman, as his character, "Ken Carter," is interspersed throughout the film. The closing cast credits, which differ in order from the opening credits, are each preceded by the phrase "You have seen" and appear over the image of the cast member. Although the closing credits spell actress Jeanette Leahy's name with one n, the opening credits spell her name "Jeannette." Although the opening credits include a 1960 copyright statement to Mid-Continent Pictures, Inc., the film was not registered for copyright at the time of its release. However, according to copyright records, Living Venus was registered by Mid-Continent on December 20, 1988 under the number RE-416-150. The onscreen credits list William Kerwin's character as "Jack," but he is called "John" throughout the film.
The film includes several shots of Danica D'Hondt, as "Peggy Brandon," posing nude for photographs taken by Korman, as Ken. Modern sources state that much of Living Venus was shot on location in Chicago. No reviews or other contemporary material was located for the film. The picture marked the feature film debut of Harvey Korman, a comedian who rose to fame as a featured performer on television sketch programs, beginning with The Danny Kaye Show and later with The Carol Burnett Show. Living Venus also marked the first collaboration between producer David F. Friedman and actor William Kerwin, who went on to star in seven more Friedman films.
"John V. Norwall" and his publication, Pagan, bear a strong similarity to the career of Hugh Hefner and Playboy magazine. In 1953, Hefner left an established publication, Esquire, to spearhead a magazine featuring photographs of naked women and lifestyle articles, producing the first issue out of his home on a meager budget.
