Touches You

A film with more than the usual spoiler issues. Talking about it in any detail feels akin to handing you a gift-wrapped present and saying, "I hope you like it -- It's a thriller about a diabolical secret experiment."

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

"Diane Marshall" (Angel Tompkins) is a 28 year-old teacher who wants a divorce from her 40 year-old husband. Sexually frustrated, she wants to have an affair with an 18 year-old student named "Sean Roberts" (Peter North) who has just graduated from high school and is off for the summer. Unfortunately, there is a mentally disturbed person named "Ralph Gordon" (Anthony James) who is completely obsessed with Diane and becomes insanely jealous of the attention Diane is lavishing on Sean. Adding to the tension is the fact that Ralph's brother, "Lou Gordon" (Rudy Herrera Jr.) was recently killed in an altercation when Ralph caught Sean and Lou spying on Diane. Ralph blames Sean for Lou's death even though it was clearly an accident. Anyway, rather than spoil the movie for those who haven't seen it, I will just say that this type of low-budget film was quite typical at drive-ins during the mid-70's. The plot was extremely basic, the dialogue was awful and the love scenes were laughable. Quite frankly, the only good thing about this movie was the presence of Angel Tompkins as she was simply divine. Everything else was quite forgettable. That said, I will rate it as only slightly below average even though it feels like a bit of a stretch to rate it even that high.

Not much to add from the mish mash of reviews. I will give it a shot anyway. First off, I do not think this film was meant to be taken seriously. I sense the irony in having Jay North as the naive teen being seduced by his lovely teacher. Added irony is that Jay North aka Sean and his teacher are being stalked by vet Anthony James aka Ralph. Hmmmm wasn't 'Dennis the Menace' the kid that just would not leave Mr. Wilson alone. Perhaps I am reaching, perhaps not. In any event, the acting did not stand out , except for Anthony James, who I felt was brilliant as the stereotypical psycho vet. For male viewers like myself... You have to love the 'generosity' of Angel Thompkins , showing off her natural assets. This was part of my set and I felt it was better than I expected. As you can see I do not expect much from these bulk movie deals . Worth a watch. I must admit , it was refreshing to see a film go against the tide of PC. I do not think film makers would have much guts to do a film like this today. This was a very average flick and please folks , accept it for what it is. I do think it was meant to be somewhat spoofy.

Awful film that deserves at the very least a two rating but is redeemed by the frequently topless Angel Tompkins and her flawless physical features, i.e. breasts. Jay North plays mop-topped Sean Roberts who while not learning the usefulness of a comb spends his summer vacation spying on his gorgeous former teacher who likes to sunbathe topless. When one of his peeping sessions leads to the accidental death of his best friend Lou he becomes relentlessly pursued by, the nuttier than a Planters factory, friend's older brother Ralph, who by the way, happens to live in the abandoned warehouse where the two scamps spy on the nude Tompkins. Did I mention Ralph keeps all of his belongings inside a red coffin? How about the fact that he drives a white hearse? Ralph is also obsessed with the teacher and is played with over-the-top gusto by Anthony James, the only actor worth noting who isn't nude. When a budding affair begins between Sean and the emotionally frustrated Mrs. Diane Marshall it pushes Ralph over the edge. Either that or he wants to kill him because of the hairy wildfire of a mane on top of Sean's head. Sean and Diane are supposed to be neighbors as that is the vehicle used to initiate the relationship yet the address on Sean's home is in 160th block of whatever and Diane's home is in the 120th block of whatever. A forty block difference a neighbor it does not make. (Sorry, I used to be a mailman.) The absurdity of the notion that the beautiful Tompkins would sacrifice her own marriage for the dopey Jay North is too much to believe. This movie might as well be considered science fiction. The love scenes, which basically consist of dry-humping, have all the sexual heat of being encased inside an iceberg. This is one of those movies where all Sean has to do is tell the police the truth and his problems are over but he's too stupid for that. I blame his hair. Never before has a pair of breasts saved a film from a rating it so richly deserves. Just fast forward to the nude scenes and call it a day.

One of the handful of pictures made by Hikmet Avedis, a classifiable low-budget director of not-quite schlock and drive-in flicks, The Teacher is ostensibly about a 28 year old teacher (lovely Angel Tompkins)- the hottie of the town without a husband as he's a drifter/biker somewheres- who bonds with the shy 18 year old former student neighbor (1/2 dimensional Jay North) and start up a passionate affair. This part of the story is basically more or less just a Penthouse letter extended to feature length (and, oddly enough for a drive-in flick, the amount of sex is actually shown to a minimum, above the belt as it were). What makes it just a little bit more interesting, if also insane, is the character Ralph (crazy-eyed Anthony James), who comes off like a 2nd string James Bond villain missing a couple of acting classes.He's weird and a snoop, with an obsession with Diane holding a torch for her unofficially while also trying to hunt down Sean after the death of his younger brother. It seems stranger still why Ralph would be so distraught over his brother's death when all Ralph seems to do is sit in his warehouse by the harbor, take out a pair of binoculars from his coffin (which comes out of the mysterious hearse he drives around) which also has a rifle. But he's a villain nonetheless, creeping up at pretty much any instance Sean and Diane are out, or even while they're on her boat making love as he creeps up like a Z-grade Aquaman.If nothing else his ridiculous performance of an even sillier, deranged cat makes it watchable, when all else is just kind of mundane romance (North especially can barely act his way out of a paper bag, at least Tompkins has her sex appeal). It's nothing very special, or memorable, but if the title ever came up in conversation it would be fun to wax poetic about Anthony James as Ralph, or to contemplate the ways it could make a decent self-made MST3K feature.