The Reincarnation of Betty Paige

Metro Interactive

Genre: Vignette

Director: Roman Pornanski

Cast: Darla Crane, Dino Bravo, Guy DiSilva, Tony Michaels, Ryan Connor, Tanya Danielle, Amber Michaels, Frank Fortuna

Length: 87 minutes

Dates of Production: 7/5/2002 to 7/26/2002 (box); 7/5/2002, 7/7/2002, 7/17/2002, 7/26/2002 (credits)

Extras: There was a photogallery, some trailers, and spam on the DVD. Inside the DVD case, is a fairly large foldout poster of cover gal Darla Crane.

Condoms: None

Audio/Video Quality: The Reincarnation of Betty Paige was presented in the same 1.33:1 ratio full frame color it was shot in by director Roman Pornanski for release by Metro Interactive way back in 2002. The lighting was solid in every scene and the amount of grain and/or video noise was minimal. The down side for this movie shot long ago (in porn terms) was the weakness of the composition used to frame the scenes, typically zooming in too much, providing a bad angle, or emphasizing the worst features of the gals all too often. Darla in particular is not one to present this way so the fantasy of Betty Page was weakened by the lack of skill at the camera. I did see some compression artifacts but they were rare and I was looking hard for them so your mileage may vary. The audio was presented in 2.0 Dolby Digital English stereo but the vocals were almost certainly in monaural with the light music track as generic as could be.

Body of Review: Metro Interactive was once one of the best producers of adult entertainment in the industry with regard to the DVD format. While numerous other companies made crappy looking titles, Metro was often way ahead of them in terms of technical values, solid casting, and fuck for the buck. Over the years, they went with a different approach, cutting costs and trying to be too many things to too many people, suffering as a result. Well, thanks to the release of a Betty Page movie lately, Metro dusted off an older title for fans of the lovely fetish model, re-releasing The Reincarnation of Betty Paige. The movie plays on the slight resemblance of lead Darla Crane as a Betty Page impersonator, to mixed results but if you drink a few beers (well, maybe shots of hard liquor) and squint a little, Darla is as close a Betty replica as the numerous Elvis impersonators in Las Vegas. Here's a quick look at the scenes by cast and action, noting that no condoms were used and the cast wasn't identified (I have the women down pat and think the men are covered too since I've seen most of them before):

Scene One: Darla Crane, the brunette on the front DVD cover that is made to look like legendary fetish model Betty Page, was up first in an office setting with Dino Bravo. She dropped to her knees and gave him a hummer, showing a moderate amount of care as she inhaled his meat pipe beside the counter. The Betty Page wig used to enhance the look was okay but the camera work messed up the illusion by continually zooming in on her huge freckled breasts and old lady hands, ruining the mystique for me. Still, the jazz playing in the background was okay, though I prefer vocals, and she diddled herself well enough as she slobbed his knob. Sadly, instead of him boning her pussy and/or ass, she finished him off orally for a disappointing scene.

Scene Two: Darla Crane, lounging by the hot tub at night in red & black lingerie, woke up to find Guy DiSilva and Tony Michaels(?), standing over her. She offered to provide them with their tip now, essentially having sex with them in lieu of financial compensation, starting with Guy's meaty shaft first. She tried to give each man a fair amount of head as she used her hands in alternating fashion. The guys then took turns tapping her pussy and ass (well, Guy got her ass) but it was a relatively boring bit of boning since the men did all the work. She looked even older this time, perhaps in her mid to late 30's, coming across as a wannabe trying to role play for her partner(s). She finished Guy off by doing ATM to clean him off after the facial but it was definitely a weak scene.

Scene Three: Ryan Connor, a bleached blonde with huge breasts and a willing mouth, began the next scene by sucking off Guy DiSilva in the atrium. He returned the favor by giving her some pleasing head (enough to give her goose bumps) and the two screwed heartily after that. She's the type of gal that I'd have little problem with in a local bar, somewhat older than average for a porn performer (even back when this one was made) but with enough skill to cover the age thing. Once she was on top, she was the best ride of the show, bouncing on his cock like she was getting off to some extent. Guy was in heaven unlike the previous scene and even in the anal, she came across as having a sweet time. It ended with a facial and some ATM, and I miss her tan line already.

Scene Four: Tanya Danielle, another bleach blonde with huge breasts ( prefer them real though), and Darla Crane, were up next in a lesbian scene where the two started off by washing a car outside on a nice day. Granted, I liked their minimal outfits (I'd floss with Tanya's thong in fact) although the stripper shoes might've been a bit much to believe. After soaping up the car a bunch, Darla got frisky with the hose, squirting Tanya and the two ended up licking each other silly to finish the action up on the car hood. Fans of toy use will appreciate that one was used but the generic nature of the action was far from the lovely Tanya's best work and the location appealed to the voyeur in me but the camera work wasn't all that great (perhaps it was just the lame editing).

Scene Five: Amber Michaels, another gal that fit the blonde with large breasts mold of the show, was up last in a scene where she and Darla Crane were models for a fetish photoshoot at the hands of Frank Fortuna. Initially, the tease portion of the scene was pretty appealing and the lesbian action not bad but Darla took a back seat to Amber once Frank joined in, limiting the appeal for me. Amber was the second most active ride of the show, handling vaginal better than anal but still managing both as Darla masturbated beside them on the couch. The camera work interfered again though with Amber's scars getting too much air time and too many close ups of the wrong stuff. It ended when Amber jerked him off onto her face and neck, showing why she was such a hotty back in her prime.

Summary: The Reincarnation of Betty Paige was described on the back cover as: "She started as the girl next door who dared to be provocative with racy lingerie and a flirty grin. She turned into a timeless legend that graced the pages of men's magazines and wowed the hearts of men worldwide. Now, her legacy lives on... Find out what happens when a busty bombshell pin-up model is determined to follow her idol's footsteps." Okay, most of that is porn hype you'd expect but it wasn't a terrible movie, just one that didn't come across as anything I'd drop more than a handful of bucks on, based on the supporting ladies more than Darla. I'm going to rate it as a Skip It since it didn't live up to the potential of the cast but your mileage may vary compared to a critical guy like me.