''The Man from O.R.G.Y.'' (''Organization for the Rational Guidance of Youth'') (also known as ''The Real Gone Girls'') is a 1970

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

directed by James Hill and starring Robert Walker Jr., Louisa Moritz, Slappy White, Lynne Carter and Steve Rossi, based on the 1965 novel of the same name by Ted Mark. It was filmed in Puerto Rico and New York City. The film has elements of espionage and sex.

Plot

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 or nom-de-plume 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 name may be used to make the author's na ...

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

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

# ''The Man from O.R.G.Y.'' ( Lancer Books, 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 American imprint founded in 1955 by Charles Byrne and Frederic Klein owned by the Penguin Group unit of Penguin Random House. History Berkley Books began as an independent company in 1955. It was founded as "Chic News Compa ...

, 1968) # ''Here's Your O.R.G.Y.'' (Berkley Books, 1970) # ''Around the World is Not a Trip'' ( Dell Publishing, 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, 1975) # ''The Man from O.R.G.Y.: Thy Neighbor's Orgy'' ( Zebra Books, 1981) # ''The Tight End'' (Zebra Books, 1981)

Casting

Louisa Moritz made her feature film debut in ''The Man from O.R.G.Y.'' Lynne Carter 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 films including an award-winning performance in Alfred Hitchcock's ''Lifeboat (194 ...

Bette Davis Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress of film, television, and theater. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in Hollywood history, she was noted for her willingness to play unsympatheti ...

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.

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 English-language spy comedy films