Not too long ago fans of cult cinema suffered a terrible loss when the original bad girl herself, Doris Wishman passed on. She left behind an incredible cinematic legacy and a few unbelievable treasures of classic flicks and extra features on DVD including her glorious audio commentary on Elite Entertainment's A Night to Dismember and the behind the scenes footage on this very DVD for Satan Was a Lady (but more on this later). Love her or hate her, Doris Wishman was a filmmaking force and her legacy will live on. She may not have made the best films, but one thing's for sure, she did make some of the most bizarrely compelling films in motion picture history and like a horrible train wreck, you just can't turn away until the last body is unloaded onto the ambulance (or in this case, the credits roll).

Honey Lauren stars as a down on her luck stripper/whore who wants just a little more out of life (can you blame her?). Looking to make some extra cash (and quick!) and a way to get out of her rut, she blackmails one of her "johns" (a middle aged man who likes a good whipping every now and then) with some incriminating photos. Threatening to send the photos to his wife she manages to extort $25,000 dollars, cash. The only problem is that her hipster/beatnik boyfriend (played by Glyn Styler) is a borrowing deadbeat himself. He borrows, mooches and never pays back, even going so far as to gamble her money away. One thing our young heroine didn't expect was to fall in love and in her own bizarre way, she does just that with the son of her blackmailed john (oh, delicious irony!). Is she with the young lad for love, or is she looking for another pocket to pick and a direct route to this mink coat she's been eyeing up in the window at a local hipster store? It's from this point on that things only go from bad to worse as each of our characters embark on a downward spiral that only Wishman could somehow manage to pull off (bad acting, silly dialogue and all!).

Satan Was a Lady is pure Wishman from start to finish and it's evident that the gal certainly hasn't lost a thing. What's so amazing about this flick is how it looks as if it could actually be a Wishman flick that would have played the grind house back in the day. Satan Was a Lady is just chock full of your typical Wishman moments including an extremely useful close-up of a thermostat (she loves bizarre close ups) and an homage to the Wishman ashtray towards the end that should bring a smile to the face of any fan of Doris.

Now don't get me wrong, this film is still pretty ridiculous from the first frame to the last. Acting is pretty much on par with what one would expect from a standard Wishman film and the dialogue is quite often silly, with classic lines like "What are you so flippin' happy about?" It's hard to understand each character's motivations and why they react the way they do in certain situations, but It goes without saying that this is all part of the charm of Doris and I (as well as her die hard fans) wouldn't have it any other way.

The real find here has got to be the musical stylings of Glyn Styler who is extremely cool in his flipped over hair and dark glasses playing his guitar in just about every scene (appropriate or not). He also manages to sneak in about 5 full songs, complete with some of the most inane lyrics and melodies you've ever heard with titles like You Killed My Love and Come Cry With Me. This guy could very well be the next Roy Orbison! In other words, if there's an album out somewhere, I have to get it.

Satan Was a Lady is presented in a mildly letterboxed transfer and I'm not kidding when I say that it looks nothing short of spectacular. Colors are sharp and vibrant and the bizarre color schemes come through nicely (just check out that apt. with the multicolored walls and deep blue painted bedroom). There is no evidence of print damage and no digital artifacting. This is a solid transfer, Wishman would be proud.

Audio is presented in a nice clear mono mix. Dialogue is crystal and Styler's folksy ballads come across nicely as well.

Extras include 2 Glyn Styler performance solos (extended performances from the film) a Wishman filmography and the literal icing on the cake (of which I spoke earlier) a 20-minute behind the scenes segment! This 20-minute bit is worth its weight in gold and also worth the price of admission all in itself. This isn't a glossed over DVD documentary, this is just raw footage of Wishman on set doing what she does best… directing! See Doris poke and prod her actors (literally)! See Doris coach the performers while standing just inches out of camera range! Hear Doris dispense pearls of wisdom to her actors and accept a take that she even knows was just sub par! Hear Doris proclaim action! Cut! Best yet is that the behind the scenes footage is inter cut with the actual scene from the flick it corresponds to! I can watch this magical 20-minute segment over and over again! All in all this is a fine DVD that Wishman fans would be wise to snatch up ASAP. With the DVDs new distribution deal with Eclectic DVD, this should now be easier than ever. For Wishman fans this one comes highly recommended.

Be sure to check out Eclectic DVD online by clicking here!