OLGA was the first hit series of the New York Roughie scene, but even if there were a number of great films to follow it up with, there had to be another group of film makers to create the films which would keep the madness alive. Michael Findlay and John Amero had two choices-either to keep working for the ABC station in New York City, or make films that would have an impact on the Wild Film scene forever, and their collective bodies of work after making THE BODY OF A FEMALE was the answer to that. With John's film school experience helping out the production in quick time, they completed BODY with Michael's wife Roberta and John's brother Lem, and unleashed it to a welcoming public wondering what was going to be next after Olga went retirement. With a good amount of sadism and kinky moments, it was an instant hit when it was picked up by Brenner in the start of 1965.
BODY OF A FEMALE features Lem Amero playing a sadistic heir living in New England who's obsessive over a Cuban stripper (Roberta, playing under her "Anna Riva" stage name) while his assistant who captures girls (Michael, under the name "Robert West") turns his affections to the new catch and kills the heir in the end. After noticing the business of the film, and the not-so-accurate reports through Brenner, they decided to whip up action through another company, Sam Lake (Which was linked with a company they would later work for, Distribpix), for another one of the made-up "Shocking expose of an underground drug ring-sex group" Roughies called either ZERO GIRLS (as it was listed in the AFI) or THE SIN SYNDICATE. ZERO GIRLS / SIN SYNDICATE had a cast that was also used in the footage to complete a film that was originally called JUDAS CITY that wound up being the now-legendary SATAN'S BED, with it's story of a drug dealer wanting to get out of the scene appendexed with a second story of three of his customers going on a crazed spree while robbing the victims so that they can get the money to buy their drugs (Yes, Yoko Ono is in it, but she is in the scenes of the original film, not those with the Roughie production values that were added on).
It is interesting to note that SATAN'S BED was made under Prothetheous Productions, and TAKE ME NAKED under the Nebuchadnezzar Productions banner, both names not used much. The Findlays were also part of the Amero Brothers production of THE LUSTING HOURS in 1967, which included some of BODY OF A FEMALE, but not of DIARY OF A SWINGER, a story of a small town girl turned sour by the wild life that was actually distributed in The West by Box Office International in it's Mid 60's days of presenting films by people like Lou Campa. While Lem Amero took the opportunity to manage a couple of movie houses, ther was still time to bring out a film like EVERYTHING FOR EVERYBODY in 1969, BACCHANALE in the Summer of 1970, and THE CORPERATE QUEEN late that year, winding up their 60's era in style as it was distributed through another name Exploitation company, Victoria Films.
After completing SATAN'S BED (directed by “Marshall Smithâ€), the Findlays went with American Films Distribution for their best-known series of films including all three parts of the story of the "One Eyed Killer," Richard Jennings, (Michael Findlay) in THE TOUCH OF HER FLESH, THE CURSE OF HER FLESH, and THE KISS OF HER FLESH. First, however, there was a film in 1966 called TAKE ME NAKED that had been noticed around the time of American's more tame wonder PRIMITIVE LOVE around November of that year. Kevin Sullivan plays one of the many memorable loser characters in the Rivamarsh Wolrd as a Bowery-based alcoholic who is lost in a daydream involving a stripper who later becomes a victim at the end in a bedpost tie-up finale. During this sad tale, Michael / "Robert West" appears as a man who is killed by the wino, and a lesbian fantasy is played out as well. Obviously this was the stuff of 42'nd Street film lovers, and was a big enough hit to cross over to the West Coast by Late 1966.
With the Amero Brothers getting jobs at noted Exploitation movie houses like the Trans-Lux, the Findlays were continuing to perfect their craft on the FLESH trilogy which did great business at theatres like the Rialto and other movie houses. The Richard Jennings saga was like this-Jennings leaves for an important business meeting, thinks something is wrong back home, sees his wife in the arms of another, runs enraged through the streets of NYC, gets struck by a car, has one eye blinded, and goes on a killing spree; and while it may read like a number of quickly-made films, the world of The Findlays would make this trip in a warped and wild manner which is unique and twisted. TOUCH involves finding Claudia through a series of murders of strippers and hookers through inventive ways, CURSE focuses on the "other man," and KISS finally ends Richard Jennings, while the classic song "Right Kind of Loving" was first introduced to the public through this series (See the extra on the SCARE THEIR PANTS OFF disc, "Girls for Sale," featuring some classic footage!). By the time KISS OF... was unleashed, the Findlays were looking towards Distribpix, then an emerging hotbed of quickie Nudies that had the occasional wonder usually in the Ghoulie vein of an AFTER THE BALL WAS OVER, or something that was adventurous like the Amero's BACCHANALE in 1970, but not without turning in a few more twisted tales like the ULTIMATE DEGENERATE (1968) which features Michael Findlay in a combination of Jennings, the heir of TAKE ME..., and a drug feeding doctor, and the daydream-turned-nightmare called MNASIDIKA (1969).
With the FLESH trilogy, the Findlays made their reputation of creative death scenes in the Exploitation scene as Jennings kills off characters with poisoned roses , a poisoned cat's claw, a bow and arrow, and wired earrings. 1968's A THOUSAND PLEASURES added interesting characters like a grown up lady as "Baby," who is taken care of by a lesbian couple who terrorize a man who enters into their world, while even the tame Horror SHRIEK OF THE MUTILATED had it's moments.
The Findlays were at work through a series of lesser known short features for Distribpix in 1969 including ALL NIGHT RIDER, CLOSER TO THE BONE, and CRACK-UP in 1969 and TAKE MY HEAD and VICE VERSA in 1970. Sometimes someone named Jack Braveman would help out on the films, and another murderous film was made in JANIE for Cine Flix International from 1970, but by then, they were no longer making the bizarre wonders that made their reputation in the Late 60's, a list that is at least longer than most directors of the scene in terms of influence and uniqueness.
They tried to make hardcore films, but had better known films in the Horror field with SHRIEK OF THE MUTILATED being the better known through American (possibly the company's final film if it is the same company of Stan Borden's). Sadly, by the Mid-70's, the final scene in their partnership had their Argentina-lensed production SLAUGHTER forced into a fiasco through a tacked-on ending by the films distributors that renamed it SNUFF, much to the Findlay's anger.
What was great history of a brilliant team in The 60's turned into a bitter end by the mid 70’s after a split-up, being ripped off, and Roberta not very communicative as she continued in the X field. In early 1977 Michael Findlay was killed in a helicopter accident on the roof of the Pan Am Building (today's Met Life Building) in New York City. On his way to Kennedy airport to connect with a Paris-bound flight, Findlay was planning to demonstrate his newly developed 3-D camera to potential backers in France. Findlay and three other passengers were about to board the helicopter when its landing support collapsed. The helicopter fell onto one side and its spinning rotor blades decapitated Findlay and killed three other passengers. A woman on the street below was also killed when she was hit by a detached rotor blade from the helicopter. Mr. Findlay's twisted soul lingers in the hearts of his fans and his ghost still lurks in the streets of Midtown Manhattan.
