"AFRICA EROTICA" (1971) aka "A HAPPENING IN AFRICA"(1971)


Like an episode of Daktari for the grindhouse crowd, this French-Belgium-U.S. co production has several elements which help differentiate it from other sexploitation films of its day, primarily its exotic African setting -- much of the film was shot in Tanzania and pre-Idi Amin Uganda. Pretty young blonde Karen (CARRIE ROCHELLE) is approached by Robert (DARR PORAN), a middle-aged Euro photographer (who looks like a cross between Godfather-era Marlon Brando and Grandpa Munster) who wants her to accompany him on a photographic tour of Africa. Although initially wary of Robert and plagued by frequent flashbacks to a horrific rape she suffered when she was seventeen, Karen nevertheless accepts Robert’s offer and, before we know it, Happening in Africa switches to National Geographic mode as Robert and Karen trek through Eastern Africa in an amazing red convertible that also floats and travels across rivers thanks to some handy propellers installed beneath it! (The car predates 007’s underwater Lotus Esprit by a good eight years.)


When the shonky supercar bogs down in a river bed, Robert and Karen settle down in the wild for the night, but Karen’s proclamation that she “doesn’t want to sleep” ensures that the pair don’t get much shut-eye. While both travellers have demons in their past -- Karen’s rape and Robert’s doomed love affair with a poor Chinese-boat girl which has left him wary of commitment -- the jungle wilds seem to help them overcome their fears, but not before they confront some dangerous situations: deadly snakes, elephant stampedes, jungle spiders, lions, hippos, and even a cheetah, all of which the heroic Robert manages to fend off with little more than his bare hands. One of the film’s most memorable highlights occurs when Karen -- having finally been convinced to pose in the nude -- runs off naked and screaming into the jungle after Robert suggests she pose as if she has been tied-up by the natives (a suggestion which brings up memories of Karen being bound by her rapist). A dash of humor is also thrown in when a monkey steals Karen’s clothes and later returns to examine and fondle her nude sleeping body! (It’s a scene that was prominently featured in the film’s advertising and wrongly suggested that audiences would gasp at explicit scenes of jungle bestiality!) Although the film comes to an abrupt and somewhat confused climax (one gets the feeling this dubbed-into-English print may have had some narrative trimmed prior to its U.S. release, probably to get to highlight the nudity and appease the raincoat crowd), Happening in Africa is an intriguing if not entirely successful attempt to mix adventure and erotica. Helmed by the same director who gave the world How I Lived as Eve (1963), Love in the Pacific (1970), and The Awakening of Annie (1973), Happening in Africa was also released under several different titles including Africa Erotica, Jungle Erotica, and Karen, the Lovemaker. From a letterboxed, stampede-inducing 35mm print. #3836 -- John Harrison, The Graveyard Tramp.
( Plot summary from "Something Weird Video" ).













"AMAZONIA" the movie( 1985 )

The Catherine Miles Story -In the tradition of cannibal-themed exploitation films from Italy comes AMAZONIA (aka WHITE SLAVE). On trial for murder, long-missing heiress Catherine Miles narrates an amazing and harrowing tale to reporters about her disappearance. After graduating from her boarding school at the age of 18, Catherine joins her parents in South America for a vacation. But during a trip down the Amazon, their boat is attacked and everyone is brutally slain by natives, except for Catherine. Captured by the tribe, she is subjected to humiliation and torture, managing to survive by adopting the natives' grotesque cannibalistic customs and with the help of one warrior who falls in love with her. The entire time, however, she plots her revenge for the death of her parents. Featuring plenty of nudity and gore to satisfy fans of the subgenre, AMAZONIA is comparable to films like CANNIBAL HOLOCAUST.

The music of CHARLOTTE GORDON CUMMING
"African Skies" from the album "MINDWALKING" (2005)




SOME AFROPOP MUSIC LIKE "AFRICAN SON" AND "AFRICAN JOURNEY" !

"With an infectious and spirited fusion of traditional West African music, roots reggae and rhythmic traditional folk,
it is hard not to truly feel the pulse of their hearts through the music they create."... "Their music will grib you..."







SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SWIMSUIT 1998
WITH REBECCA ROMIJN STAMOS in Africa.
























Other miscillaneous pictures :

The "JUNGLE GIRL" series(1941) with actress Frances Gifford








PULP ART




An illustration by FRANK CHO




NIGERIANS AND THEIR PETS








OTHER MOVIES OF AFRICA