There are a ton of greasy, sleaze filled movies I’d recommend to you if you asked me for some. The Sinful Dwarf is not on that list. Not because it isn’t an entertaining romp through the bad side of town though. I enjoyed watching it, even when it sped right past the sign for soft-core porn directly onto hardcore avenue. To paraphrase a quote from the eternally wise Hunter S. Thompson “You don’t look for The Sinful Dwarf! The Sinful Dwarf finds you when it thinks you’re ready.” I think this is probably the truest thing I can say about this movie. It really isn’t for everyone but not like horror movies aren’t for everyone though. This one goes deeper. This is one of those movies, like Nekromantik or Salo or Cannibal Holocaust, that will turn the stomach of many of those that consider themselves seasoned.

The story breaks down as follows: The titular character, Olaf, and his Beef Eater swilling mother run a hostel/boarding house of sorts that also doubles as a front for a white slavery and prostitution ring. Oh, and don’t forget the heroin that runs through the place to keep the girls this mother/son team have imprisoned docile and unable to attempt escape. The day to day of these operations is overseen by the son, Olaf, while his mother drinks endless amounts of gin and dances Carmen Miranda style , entertaining her old bitty friend and generally being a drunk old lady.

Into this situation step a newlywed couple desperate for accommodations and willing to settle for anything with a roof and a mattress. I say willing to settle for anything because it’s not like the boarding house appears to offer much, even in the way of bed bug (or semen) free sheets. All prostitution and slavery aside, you’d really need to be all kinds of down trodden to consider staying at this ramshackle place to begin with. As one would expect, from basically the moment the husband exits the picture to begin his work (he’s a writer apparently but this really isn’t expanded upon or very important to the events) Olaf is after his young wife, eager to have her join the lewd goings on in the attic. It’s at this point that the movie steps up the sleaze, crossing over into hardcore porn territory for a good chunk of time as we witness johns have their way with the doped up girls Olaf keeps in the attic. Of course, our newlywed heroine (for lack of a better term) eventually trips up and is subjected to the dwarfs lecherous perversions via his walking stick.

Being a sleazy offering to begin with, the majority of the cast doesn’t appear to have been recruited for any talents that involve acting. Somehow though, this is more forgivable than poor acting that is on display in modern films, almost unequivocally because the sleaze knob was cranked up to 11 and broken off. There is no shortage of full frontal shots of sexy ladies writhing in either the throes of passion or heroin withdrawal on or shots of men’s balls and taints (…) if that’s more your thing. Acting? No. Boobs and balls? Yes. It’s a simple formula we are too PC to follow these days.

For those well acquainted with the offerings of the 42nd street, of yore, The Sinful Dwarf is an enjoyable is somewhat slow escape to a time when an intriguing titles and full frontal nudity was all that was needed to fill seats (and shorts because, you know, 42nd street and all). For anyone who’s tastes don’t reside in or near the gutter, you could probably continue on with life never seeing this movie, not knowing or caring what you are missing. In closing, I want to pose a question to those kindred souls who watch life from the scum filled gutter: Does Olaf look like an even shorter Jack Black or what?

-Scotty Floronic (@DrunkGraveyard)