The Sin of Adam and Eve (1969)

The Sin of Adam and Eve (1969) - Original Title: El pecado de Adán y Eva

Miguel Zacarías, who had been directing and producing in Mexico since the 1930's, released this religious tale to great success - no doubt due to the amount of skin this Biblical story provided.  It's a curious oddity of appearing both devoutly religious and at the same time delivering the T&A.  A strange juxtaposition that deserves a look...

The dialog/narration of this entire movie could fit on a single sheet of paper; most of the time it's just music playing in the background (and the soundtrack is pretty awful, almost like an educational film shown in the 1950s - that jaunty "Leave it to Beaver" variety).

 Adam is created.  He's played by Jorge Rivero who has 122 IMDb credits under his belt. He was a huge star in Mexico, and eventually made the leap to Hollywood. A year after this film, he was asked  to star in Howard Hawks's Rio Lobo (1970) with John Wayne.

The soul/life is breathed into Adam's nostrils.  I'm guessing Jorge just took a hit from a joint, breathed out and the film was played in reverse.

 Adam gets cleaned up and enjoys Paradise.  Frolicking around butt-naked, gobbling up fruit, Adam is having a gay old time.

The Garden of Eden looks like it was just a pleasant field with big fake flowers stuck here-and-there. Sheep and peacocks roam about.  Sure, it's more fake looking than the set of Gilligan's Island, but what did you expect?

 I'd say a good twenty minutes are spent just watching ol' Adam roam and frolic in Paradise.

We spend a lot of time looking at Adam's backside.  The director steers clear of any frontal nudity, and only shows butt shots when it's at a "safe" distance.

 Finally, Eve is created.

 The look on Adam's face looking upon Eve for the first time is classic. 

Eve is played by the smoking hot Kandy.  She's a bit of a mystery - I'm sure there is information on her out there, but IMDb is pretty lacking.  "Kandy" was only in one other film - Si vous n'aimez pas ça, n'en dégoûtez pas les autres (1978) - and in that film she played a nothing role.  So this was the only film where she starred or did any real acting.  What happened?  I wonder if the stigma of being "clotheless" for this film deterred her from pursuing acting further.

 Of course, like Daryl Hannah in Splash, we get the long hair to censor any naughty bits for audiences who might be offended.  Director Miguel Zacarías is very careful to not show any bush - and in terms of boob, we only get slight glimpses.  The editor for this film was Gloria Schoemann - I hope she received high praise and rewards for her work on this film.  I'm sure Gloria had quite a task to ensure no offending anatomy made it to the final cut.

 Adam introduces himself.

 Adam shows Even the wonder that is The Garden of Eden.

Here and there, editor Gloria Schoemann lets a faint nipple peek through - but it's rare.  I'm sure if this was released on VHS, 1980s boys watching this film would have been pausing a lot and squinting at the screen in search of Kandy's titties.

Adam shows Eve her reflection. Here, we get our first indication that Eve has some flaws; she falls in love with her reflection, demonstrating vanity.

Eve gets upset with Adam and pushes him into a lake.  Adam, tired of being a doormat, picks her up and carries her to the edge of the water....

...and pushes her in.  Gloria Schoemann lets some boobies get past her watchful eye here.  I assume ol' Gloria didn't anticipate a day when her film could be paused.

 Eve lounges in the sun.

Adam shows Eve the forbidden tree - they must not eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil

Adam and Eve pick flowers and fruit from a different tree.  This is the only scene where Kandy's breasts can be seen plainly, with no hair covering them.

 The first humans sleep beneath a tree.

In this scene the director employs a foreground flower as the scenery censor.  It's a tactic often used in films (parodied perfectly in Austin Powers movies), but this is particularly blatant.

Eve is tempted by the serpent.

 Eve sneaks off to the forbidden tree

 Don't do it, Eve!  Don't do it!

 Men - always suckers for a pretty face.  Adam takes a bite.

Suddenly they see each other as naked and immediately get to fucking.  Note the gigantic floral scenery censor for the sex scene.

 God is pissed.

Adam and Eve are banished from the garden.  I swear the next ten minutes are just them looking for each other in the wilderness.

 Adam initially tells her to fuck off, but has a change of heart and helps the wounded Eve.

Adam lifts her up and carries her off into the sunset.  THE END

While this movie is objectively terrible, what else can you do with this story?  You have to fill up an hour and a half with a story that can be told in three short sentences.  In my mind, Miguel Zacarías did a good job with what he had.  It's no small feat to walk the line between religious family-friendly fare and sexploitation - and satisfy both parties. I only wish Ms. Gloria Schoemann wasn't quite so good at her job and we could have seen more of Kandy.

★★★★☆☆☆☆☆☆