INGA
Jag - en oskuld - 1968
DVD kindly submitted by Retro Seduction Cinema
After her mother dies in a car crash the seventeen-year-old Inga (Marie Liljedahl) is sent to her 32 years old aunt Greta (Monica Strömmerstedt). While Inga is an introvert, shy girl, her aunt is a more sexual liberated woman. Besides being very much in love with the younger Karl (who stays with Greta only for her money), Greta also has an affair with the rich playboy Einar. When Karls expenses are beginning to weight on Greta, she tries to sell of Inga to Einar who is very much attracted to Inga. But not only Einar has an eye for the young beauty. Karl is evenly interested in the young girl. The still innocent Inga is rapidly changing and can’t ignore all the attention, but who will be the lucky one?
I won’t discuss the many facets of Joseph Sarno in this article as we are planning a special Eye-On on this man later on this year. However I would like to introduce you Miss Playboy sex star 1971 Marie Liljedahl.
Marie Liljedahl, was born in Sweden in 1950 and was 17 years old when she did her first movie “Jag en oskuld” (I, a virgin). The sizzling Swedish cutie whose best work was with Sarno might be better known for her role in Jess Franco’s Eugenie (1971) but it’s definitely her earlier work that you have to search for. In the mid sixties Marie, a former ballerina, left the ballet as a form of early teenage rebelling. Recommend by a Swedish actor, Joe Sarno starred her in his next movie “Inga”. Having no acting experience, she never hesitated a second to go nude or to do the more "harder" scenes (for that time). While she found it very natural and common to do the nude scenes, Joseph SarnoInga, Marie Liljedahl suddenly became an international sex symbol and nude star, who eventually made it in playboy.
It’s fair to say that Joe Sarno is the man who discovered her and made her. However 3 years (and 7 movies) later Marie decided to quit the movie industry. Her main reasons for this was the fact that she didn’t want to move to the UK or another country and that the combination of sex and violence became too important in the newer European movies.
Although she has only made a handful of movies somehow her presence has left a mark on the soft erotic film market.
Another special word needs to be said about the music for this movie. During the movie & the opening credits of the film you can hear some bursting sixties, psych & beat sounds, that make every sixties lover weak. The Music is credited as composed by Clay Pitts and performed by the band The Good Grief or by Lucien Farrar or by Clay Pitts himself.
In total there are only three songs in the movie but they are used over & over again so you can’t get around them. The tunes are typical sixties beat sounds with some psychedelic infused sounds and would be worth a handful of bucks if you still have them on vinyl (if it exists). The 3 tunes are “Middle Of Nowhere”, “Step into my mind” & “Inga” all composed by Clay Pitts with help from Al Martin, Edlan Lewis or Robert Sterling.
But the story goes that it was written and performed by the then pre-ABBA duo of Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. I couldn’t find many references to the name Clay Pitts, on the Internet, nor in my books, but after checking out with EI Independent Cinema they confirmed the rumours about it. The music was indeed scored by Benny and Bjorn prior to meeting Agnetha and Anni-Frid(Frida).
Calling Inga a sex flick today, would be way out of line, but in these days the footage was certainly liberating and I can imagine that both Europeans and Americans were shocked at that time. Time has already proven that much more shocking a liberating movies were made, but turn it or leave it, Inga was a pioneer for the European cinema. The release of this movie on DVD, together with trailers, outtakes, an interview with Marie Liljedahl and a commentary track, this last bonus makes this piece a "must-have" item for all
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