Most people would probably prefer to have sex than learn why the Mesopotamians considered adultery to be a form of theft. There is, however, something to be said for "enjoying the ride" and not just for "achieving the destination". Thus, this teasingly demure journey documents amore through the ages with scholarly testimony, well-endowed statues, lascivious stars, and a few cheesy G-rated re-creations. The narration trips through ancient civilization ( - the Greeks didn't castigate people over their sexual orientations) to the early Eastern world ( - Chinese men were obsessed with holding on to their yang), to tribal Africa ( - where woman could take wives).

The story of THE LOVE GODDESSES is itself a history of sex in the movies, beginning with America still in the shadow of the Victorian Era and the movie-heroine bound by the same conventions as any young lady of society.

This brilliant documentary from Paul J. Turell, famous with Splodge! for his spiffing series, THE HISTORY OF THE MOTION PICTURE, chronicles the massive changes in women's sexuality on film, from the beginnings of the motion picture in silent cinema at the turn of the century, to the newfound frankness of the 1960s, with clips of more than 100 of the most beautiful and important actresses to ever have graced the silver screen.

Classic scenes are shown from the early romance, TRUE HEART SUSIE (1919), starring Lillian Gish, to LOVE ME TONIGHT (1932), blending sex and sophistication, starring Jeanette MacDonald ( - pre-Nelson Eddy), and  from Elizabeth Taylor in A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951), plus much, much more. Paramount Pictures’ stars are favoured, but, nevertheless, many of the great ladies of the silver screen are represented, and Turrel refreshingly casts his purview beyond the US, scoping HEDY LAMARR (as Hedwig Keisler), famously nude in ECSTASY (1933) – reputedly one of Adolph Hitler’s personal favourites - and that wanton Lulu - LOUISE BROOKS - also abroad on the Continent. There's even a sizeable chunk of EXPRESSO BONGO (1960), easily one of the most daring (and under-rated) flicks of its day — SYLVIA SYMS a love goddess? You bet!

Produced in 1965, LOVE GODDESSES is a wonderful collage of the manifold varieties of vamps, starlets, love goddesses, girls-next-door and sirens. See THEDA BARA, POLA NEGRI, LILLIAN GISH, GLORIA SWANSON, GRETA GARBO, MARLENE DIETRICH, ELIZABETH TAYLOR, GINGER ROGERS, RITA HAYWORTH, and even the child star SHIRLEY TEMPLE put their own indelible brand of love on the screen. It examines how, over the course of sixty years, women's sexuality has evolved, and played itself out in different arenas of cinema.

Our print runs for 77 minutes. However, this film originally ran for 86 minutes. So you can bet that some Percy Quill-type has souvenired some of the choicest scenes. We have run this print previously, and know - for a fact - that the montage of smoking scenes- a compilation of clips of vampish smoking by LOUISE GLAUM, NEGRI et al, is missing. LYA DE PUTTI sensually rolling an unlit cigarette between her lips. SWANSON exhaling in close-up, with smoke streaming unforced from her mouth. DIETRICH smoking provocatively. WEST sporting a holder. STANWYCK smouldering – all absent! PC gone MAD! We can only speculate as to  what else  is denied us in this truncated edition!

Oh yearh, and PERCY FAITH did the soundtrack! Check it out:

1.	The Love Goddesses	Listen	Listen
2.	Cheesecake	Listen	Listen
3.	Marilyn	Listen	Listen
4.	Surrender	Listen	Listen
5.	The Vamp	Listen	Listen

Prod: Gram Ferguson; Saul J. Turell. Theatrical Dist. Paramount Film Service Ltd. Dir: Saul J. Turell. Wr: Gram Ferguson; Saul J. Turell. Mus: PERCY FAITH. Featuring: AGNES AYRES; THEDA BARA; BRIGITTE BARDOT; RICHARD BARTHELMESS; INGRID BERGMAN; CLARA BOW; CLIVE BROOK; LOUISE BROOKS; HORST BUCHHOLZ; MAURICE CHEVALIER; MONTGOMERY CLIFT; CLAUDETTE COLBERT; GARY COOPER; BETTE DAVIS; LYA DE PUTTI; MARLENE DIETRICH; NORMAN FOSTER; CLARK GABLE; GRETA GARBO; LILLIAN GISH; LOUISE GLAUM; BETTY GRABLE; CARY GRANT; JEAN HARLOW; LAURENCE HARVEY; SESSUE HAYAKAWA; RITA HAYWORTH; BRIGITTE HELM; AUDREY HEPBURN; EMIL JANNINGS; RUBY KEELER; ANNETTE KELLERMAN; HEDY LAMARR; DOROTHY LAMOUR; CAROLE LOMBARD; SOPHIA LOREN; MYRNA LOY; JEANETTE MACDONALD; HERBERT MARSHALL; MAE MARSH; ADOLPHE MENJOU; RAY MILLAND; HAYLEY MILLS; MARILYN MONROE; NITA NALDI; POLA NEGRI; GREGORY PECK; DICK POWELL; ESTHER RALSTON; GINGER ROGERS; HEATHER SEARS; SIMONE SIGNORET; BARBARA STANWYCK GLORIA SWANSON; SYLVIA SYMS; ELIZABETH TAYLOR; SHIRLEY TEMPLE; LANA TURNER; RUDOLPH VALENTINOFANNIE WARD; MAE WEST; HENRY WILCOXON. Narrated by Carl King. 77 mins. NFVLS