The Swap and How They Make It (1966)

 

An early Joseph Sarno film - a guy you have to appreciate for always trying to class up the sexploitation landscape with good acting and compelling human dramas.  This film isn't as well known as his Sin in the Suburbs, but still an example of a well acted, well directed film that just dares you to call it "smut".

Mona Parsons (Patricia McNair) sees a couple college boys tossing the football and drools.  Her friend Brooke Furman (Monica Davis) tells her to go for it.  Mona is still a bit too conservative and traditional to make the plunge into adultery.

Mona tells Brooke she must be going.... as Brooke has just invited over a couple, Morgan (Rick Sheldon) and Gene Hackett (Carol Holleck), for a little swapping.

Brooke loves getting with all the suburbanite husbands.

Karen Picard (Sheila Britt) is a young wife talking to her husband Wayne, who never seems to have time for her thanks to his new job.

Karen begrudgingly has coffee with Mona, and Wayne's request. Their husbands have gone into business together, and so the two wives must get along.

Karen does have a thing going on the side with a young college boy named Dick (Alix Reed).  She uses Mona's bed to carry out her fling.

In the evening, the two couples have some drinks: Mona (Patricia McNair) and Les Parsons (George Wolfe) and Karen (Sheila Britt) and Wayne Picard (Louis Waldon).  Their business is hilariously a "Custom Extrusion Business" they've named "Karmona Enterprises" after their wives (Karen and Mona).

Brooke (Monica Davis) and her husband Pete Furman (Judson Todd) invite over Penny (Crystal Snow) and her husband Kent Craig (Richard Sarnes) for some swapping.  The deal is a bit more complicated because Kent is Pete's boss.  Indeed, Pete is getting ahead in the business thanks to Brooke satisfying Kent. They're also informed of Mona and Wayne - potential candidates for their swappers club called "The Exchange".  Penny says: "Parsons... isn't that the young man who was selling you aluminum extrusions?"

Karen continues her tryst with Dick.

We finally get some nudity thanks to Sheila Britt

Mona finally gives in to lust and gets it on with college boy Paul Masters (Warwick Christian)

Later with her husband Les, they confront their marital problems. Mona suggests they join Brooke's swingers club, The Exchange.  Les agrees.

Karen and Wayne are also in on the swinging.  So, Brooke makes the phone call to get the swinging started.

Mona and Les are introduced to the couple they are to swap with: Stella (Peggy Steffans) and Danny Morse (Frank Spencer).  Stella has been at this a while, and puts Mona's mind at ease.

Meanwhile, Karen gets with Brooke's husband Pete.  I want you to take note of the industrial looking ceiling light.  That lamp is in almost every scene; a great drinking game (of which you will be hammered) would be drink every time that lamp makes an appearance.  It is like the primarily lighting in the movie.

Stella and Les get it on.

In the other room, Mona gets it on with Stella's husband Danny.

The Exchange holds a swapping party.  The men take turns putting on a blindfold and selecting a suburban wife to fuck.

Later, Dick gets a little rough with Karen - tearing her clothes off and screwing her on the living room floor.  He's also brought over a guest...

Kathy (Joanna Mills) is a young girl invited to join in to make it a threesome.

Things start to unravel.  Brooke is getting tired of Penny's shit, but Pete says they mustn't dare upset her.  Let's not forget, her husband Kent is his boss.

A similar unraveling takes place with Mona and Les.  They want out of this swapping bullshit, but they can't either - as Pete/Kent are important clients.  They can't afford to pull out now.

A new couple joins The Exchange, and Brooke is more than happy to initiate the husband.

Monica Davis provides the best nudity in the film right here.

The next Exchange party is masked, and things get out of hand....

To everyone's horror, they find that one of masked men is another couple's stepson.  But Penny tells everyone to relax - the stepson needed to learn a lesson anyway.

Shit hits the fan when it's discovered that one of the girls (Karen?) is discovered to be a reporter - who has infiltrated The Exchange to expose them in the newspaper.

In order to prevent that from happening, Penny orders the men to take turns gangbanging Karen as she snaps pictures as blackmail.

Horrified by the incident, Les and Mona pack their bags and move the fuck out of this suburb and start over somewhere else. THE END

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I've said it before, there is a whole genre of early to mid-sixties films which should be called "Suburbsploitation".  So many films during this period dealt the oncoming sexual revolution still percolating beneath the surface in the outwardly wholesome suburbs. This is among the best examples; while the nudity and sleaze are very sparse, the movie is extremely well-crafted and acted. One complaint might be that there are few too many characters to keep track of, and it can be a little confusing at times keeping the couples straight, and their husband's work hierarchy. Otherwise, an amazing film.

★★★★★★★☆☆☆