The Pig Keeper's Daughter DVD Review from Another World!

As far as ‘60s and ‘70s producers go, there were a raging and heaving gang of ‘em, especially in the 1970s, who would happily throw money and deals around to get any kind of sleazy or nasty low budget flick out on the big screens. No limits, that seemed to be the rule of the decade back then. Hardcore nudity, brutal violence, surreal and senseless images, nothing mattered but making the public happy, whether it was a large or small crowd because the grindhouse machine existed to make some cash for any film.

Harry Novak, one such producer who specialised in… well, anything really. He had his name attached to gory horrors, pornography, wild science fiction, etcetera. Coming from a huge lengthy career at RKO, he formed his own company, Boxoffice International Pictures, which became, I reckon, a seal of disapproval ‘cause you at least knew you would be entertained somehow or other. Novak concentrated on hicksploitation films for a short while, which is the shelf this one sits upon.

As far as the ’72 quickie flick, The Pig Keeper’s Daughter goes, it’s hillbilly nudity and sticky moonshine smelling bodies all over the place. Filmed with that nostalgic eerie hazy gritty old school look which makes you expect a pitchfork carrying psychopath to emerge any moment saying prayers loudly before having his/her way with copulating sweating hairy torsos.

“Meet the Swyners, and their daughter, Moonbeam.” begins the introducing narration accompanied by fast and toe tapping hillbilly tunes. The beginning actually shows a few highlights of things to come, so it does the neat trick of bagging everyone’s attention ASAP before running the show. “The pig keeper’s daughter, the pig keeper’s daughter.” bleats the singer.

Daddy Swyner listens to his wife stating he’s a pig like the ones he raises. “Pigs make better friends than some people I know.” he says slowly whilst chewing. Moonbeam has her own pet pig, and she dresses in revealing gear. Of course she does, if she wore baggy sweaters or a potato sack, it wouldn’t be the beginning of a ‘70s softcore porn now would it? As her parents wag fingers at one another about her young nubile daughter, she is meanwhile foolin’ ‘round wit’ dat der local boy, Jasper, who is happily suckling on her breasts. Jasper also has regular rolls around the field with Patty, who has her breasts out also. That’s two pairs of breasts and a nude frolicking in less than two minutes. Oh, and a tiny pig running around the couples. Cool. Salute to the person who edited this quick paced intro.

Screenshot from The Pig Keeper's Daughter

“You could run for President cause you so smart an all.” says Moonbeam to her piggie, Lord Hamilton (playing himself) “I mean, if you were a lil’ taller, we could go to dances.”

Patty, by the way, is a virgin who is saving herself for the right time, not whilst Jasper feels her up on a field. He gets as far as to bare her chest and stick his fingers inside her panties before she pushes him away. “Do you know what we almost did?” she yells. Jasper lays on the ground, his face all frustrated. “Do I know what we almost did??!! What you think I am? A ten year ol’ idiot? Sheeeet!” He storms off over the hill to see Moonbeam. Patty sneakily follows and masturbates whilst watching from a steel shed roof the couple making out.

Anyhow, for what there is of a plot lost amidst the tidal waves of flesh, involves a travelling salesman who drives into the area, singing to himself a witty ditty. “Here in the backwoods, the people ain’t too bright, but along comes a salesman to set things right! He sells his perfumes an’ the pennies bloom, to the local yokels an’ their pretty daughter’s too!” Yep, that sums up his role in this adventure. “I ain’t too bothered bout the women I choose, if they’re too bad I’ll hide it with booze!” Our salesman happens to come across a naked bloke tied with his wrists to his ankles, shuffling along the dirt road. Turns out the guy was robbed at gunpoint. So the salesman does what any happy guy would do in that situation — he unzips and gets ready to bugger the poor unfortunate bloke.

Afterwards he picks up and gets down ‘n’ dirty with a female hitchhiker (played by Tina Smith, a lady who in the ‘70s made numerous uncredited fill in roles throughout porn society). She tells him he owes her fifty bucks. “You wouldn’t want anyone to know you raped a fifteen year old child would ya?” she coos looking all of in her twenties. He looks into the camera breaking the 4^th wall. Now usually I’d get mad, it’s my pet hate, aside from the fact Oliver Hardy and Fresh Prince do it fine enough. Yet, somehow it really works here.

“That’s the best lookin’ pussy I done ever seen.” slobbers the salesman as he gets it on with old lady, Swyner. Oh my word, their sex scene becomes absolutely terrifying. A fish eye lens upwards makes her seem Russ Meyer sized but somewhat intimidating with her tongue lolling out as her melons heave about the place. I can imagine many withered phalluses in the theatres back in the day.

The other intense plot line comes in the form of us popping the question — will Patty finally give up her dukes to Jasper? That’s just about it for this one. It’s a classic cheap skin flick which does its job, giving men strong wrists and rounding up a few chuckles with its goofball comedy. Its style is great, as I said before, gritty and grimy. To get the full effect of how it was intended to be seen, you have to really urinate in your room the night before until you can smell stale piss, then splash beer around and about. The grindhouse show effect will be right on point then, so long as you can get a few homeless folks off the streets to sit around you.

Peter James is wonderful as the mugging travelling salesman. Shame his career didn’t really take off. As for Terry Gibson who plays Moonbeam, according to various websites she only worked in this one film, I’ve checked over my books for any mention of her – nothing. The thing is, the softcore and hardcore industry at that time was an out of control beast. It was difficult to keep an eye on everything. She could have changed her name or retired. Peggy (Patty) Church however found employment in a few more comedy nudie flicks, sometimes using pseudonyms. You see!

The Pig Keeper’s Daughter is available on a Something Weird Video double bill, but my review is from the Another World Entertainment DVD from Europe. The picture is good, until the last couple of minutes which insanely begins to shatter and corrupt with wear and tear. The audio is a bit muddy here and there, but the DVD comes with a wide selection of trailers including 99 Women and The Italian Stallion (that’s a tedious trailer).

The Pig Keeper’s Daughter is not really erotic, more fun, and just one to chill out to with a big wide smile on yer moonshine suppin’ mouth.