''The Man from O.R.G.Y.'' (also known as ''The Real Gone Girls'') is a 1970

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

directed by James Hill and starring

Robert Walker Jr. Robert Hudson Walker Jr. (April 15, 1940 – December 5, 2019) was an American actor who appeared in films including ''Easy Rider'' (1969) and was a familiar presence on television in the 1960s and early 1970s. He became less active in lat ...

Louisa Moritz Louisa Moritz (born Luisa Cira Castro Netto; September 25, 1936 – January 4, 2019) was a Cuban-American actress and lawyer. After arriving in New York from Cuba, she became a film and television actress, then earned a law degree. She is best k ...

Slappy White Melvin Edward "Slappy" White (September 27, 1921 – November 7, 1995) was an American comedian and actor. He worked with Redd Foxx on the Chitlin' Circuit of stand-up comedy during the 1950s and 1960s. He appeared on the television shows ''Sa ...

Lynne Carter Lynne Carter (ca.1924 – January 11, 1985) was a prominent entertainer, actor, and female impersonator.Coleman, Bud. "Carter, Lynne." In ''The Gay and Lesbian Theatrical Legacy'', edited by Billy J. Harbin, Kim Marra, and Robert A. Schanke. Univers ...

and

Steve Rossi Joseph Charles Michael Tafarella (May 25, 1932 – June 22, 2014), better known as Steve Rossi, was an American stand-up comedian and singer, best known from his work with Marty Allen as Allen & Rossi. Early life Born in New York City in 1932, ...

. It was filmed in Puerto Rico and New York City. The film has elements of espionage and sex.

Plot summary

Protagonist Steve Victor (

) is a spy and scientific investigator for the group ''Organization for the Rational Guidance of Youth'' (O.R.G.Y.). Victor is given a mission to determine the location of three prostitutes who are due $15 million from their deceased female manager. Victor starts on the trail knowing only that the three women each has a tattoo on her buttocks of a gopher grinning. He is stymied in his efforts by hired assassins Luigi (

) and Vito (

). Luigi and Vito have an interest in the investigation because they provided financing for the burlesque business. Another prostitute Gina (

) states her lack of interest in her owed portion of the money as she does not wish her wealthy spouse to find out about her activities. Gina tells Victor some clues about how to locate the other two women, although Victor later discovers they are both deceased. Gina had murdered them for in actuality she wants the money. She kills Vito by thrusting a knife into him as he is planning on murdering Victor. Gina turns to kill Victor, but he first shoots the woman and she dies after falling from a window.

Production

Source material

''The Man from O.R.G.Y.'' was originally a paperback book by Ted Mark, the

pen name A pen name, also called a ''nom de plume'' or a literary double, is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen na ...

of Theodore "Ted" Mark Gottfried. The first seven books in ''The Man from O.R.G.Y'' series were published by

Lancer Books Lancer Books was a publisher of paperback books founded by Irwin Stein and Walter Zacharius that operated from 1961 through 1973. While it published stories of a number of genres, it was noted most for its science fiction and fantasy, particularl ...

Ted Mark’s ''The Man from O.R.G.Y.'' series

# ''The Man from O.R.G.Y.'' (

, 1965) # ''The 9-Month Caper'' (Lancer Books, 1965) # ''The Real Gone Girls'' (Lancer Books, 1966) # ''Dr. Nyet'' (Lancer Books, 1966) # ''My Son, The Double Agent'' (Lancer Books, 1966) # ''A Hard Day's Knight'' (Lancer Books, 1966) # ''Room at the Topless'' (Lancer Books, 1967) # ''Back Home at the O.R.G.Y.'' (

Berkley Books Berkley Books is an imprint of the Penguin Group. History Berkley Books began as an independent company in 1955. It was founded as "Chic News Company" by Charles Byrne and Frederick Klein, who had worked for Avon; they quickly renamed it Berk ...

, 1968) # ''Here's Your O.R.G.Y.'' (Berkley Books, 1970) # ''Around the World is Not a Trip'' (

Dell Publishing Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and ...

, 1973) # ''Dial "O" for O.R.G.Y.'' (Dell, 1973) # ''Beauty and the Bug'' (Dell, 1975) # ''The Girls from O.R.G.Y.'' (

Manor Books Manor Books was an American publisher of paperback books. It was founded by Walter Weidenbaum in 1972 and based in New York City. Manor's library was built on assets purchased from Macfadden Communications Group, Macfadden Publications after the ...

, 1975) # ''The Man from O.R.G.Y.: Thy Neighbor's Orgy'' (

Zebra Books Zebra Books is an imprint of American publisher Kensington Publishing Corp. As the company's flagship imprint until the late 80s, it currently publishes women's fiction, romantic suspense and bestselling historical, paranormal and contemporary ro ...

, 1981) # ''The Tight End'' (Zebra Books, 1981)

Casting

made her feature film debut in ''The Man from O.R.G.Y.''

portrayed the female proprietor of the prostitution establishment in the film; he appeared in drag. His character imitated celebrities including

Tallulah Bankhead Tallulah Brockman Bankhead (January 31, 1902 – December 12, 1968) was an American actress. Primarily an actress of the stage, Bankhead also appeared in several prominent films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Lif ...

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...

Marlene Dietrich Marie Magdalene "Marlene" DietrichBorn as Maria Magdalena, not Marie Magdalene, according to Dietrich's biography by her daughter, Maria Riva ; however Dietrich's biography by Charlotte Chandler cites "Marie Magdalene" as her birth name . (, ; ...

and

Hermione Gingold Hermione Ferdinanda Gingold (; 9 December 189724 May 1987) was an English actress known for her sharp-tongued, eccentric character. Her signature drawling, deep voice was a result of nodules on her vocal cords she developed in the 1920s and e ...

Marketing

The production company marketed the film with the slogan: "Meet Steve Victor, a new breed of agent. He stands up for what he believes in ... SEX!"

Reception

Overall, the film did not get a positive reception. A reviewer for ''The New York Times'' commented: "A certain charming innocence pertains to all the low-level vulgarity, as it does to the plump, often pretty girls themselves, with their piled-up hairdo's, their freighted eyelids, and their brave little attempts to say their lines." This poor reception had a negative impact on the filmwriting career of Ted Mark. ''British Film Culture in the 1970s'' described the film as a sex parody piece.

References

External links

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''The Man from O.R.G.Y.''
book series analysis {{DEFAULTSORT:Man from O.R.G.Y., The 1970 films 1970s spy comedy films American spy comedy films American independent films Fictional intelligence agencies Films scored by Charles Bernstein Films shot in Puerto Rico Films directed by James Hill (British director) Films produced by Sidney W. Pink 1970 comedy films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films