Beating at Cards

‘Beating at Cards’ is a 34-minute long movie made by Cavern Spanking (catalogue number 06) in 1993.  I don’t know how it was originally distributed in the UK but it was eventually available from the Cavern Spanking on-line store which operated from 2004 through 2016.  It was also included in the first Moonglow North Compendium tape (N03) in 1997 under the name ‘The Gambler’.  In the US, it was renamed ‘Beaten at Cards’ and released together with ‘Stacy’, the American name for ‘Punishment Loft’ by CalStar as part of their English Discipline Series.  The CalStar release is currently available from several video on demand services such as www.hotmovies.com.  But, just to add to the confusion, this movie is also distributed under the title"Gambling Effects" by 6666 Productions.  I don't understand the connection between Cavern and 6666 Productions but this is not the only case of a movie being associated with both companies (and it gets worse as I will discuss in my next post).

When I was in high school, I watched the French anthology movie known as ‘Spirit of the Dead’ (originally ‘Histoires extraordinaires’), an anthology film based on three Edgar Allen Poe short stories.  One segment, ‘William Wilson’, was directed by Louis Malle and it features Brigitte Bardot as a gambler who is whipped after she loses at cards and she can’t pay off her bet.  It made quite an impression on me at the time but I was disappointed when I saw it again many years later when my expectations had evolved.  Nonetheless, I still love the idea of combining gambling and punishment and ‘Beating at Cards’ is an early Cavern Spanking movie that does exactly that.

‘Beating at Cards’ opens with Paul spanking his wife Stephanie outdoors, although we never know why.  According to the Moonglow Girls Database, Stephanie is played by Janine, a tall red-head who also appeared in the Cavern film ‘C.P. Administration’ and the Moonglow films ‘Count Spankula’, ‘Wayward Wives’, ‘Wrens in Trouble’ and ‘Thawed Bottoms’.  Paul and Stephanie are soon joined by a friend named Joe (Joe Stewart) and, over Stephanie’s objections, they arrange to meet for cards that evening.  With the arrangements complete, Joe leaves and they resume a rather ordinary hand spanking.

That evening, the three are at Joe’s house with Stephanie, in a stunning red dress, watching while Paul and Joe play cards.  Paul isn’t doing well but he gets a hand that he thinks is a winner only he’s short on cash.  Joe offers to bet everything he has against spanking Stephanie any way he wants.  Stephanie is reluctant but Paul eventually convinces her and they make the bet.  Of course, Paul loses and he leaves telling Stephanie to take a taxi home when Joe is finished.  This takes us to the 10-minute mark of the movie.

Stephanie tries to talk Joe out of the spanking but he’s not to be deterred.  He brings out a flogger and tells her to get on her knees and bend over the chair.  He starts with the flogger and soon decides to lift her dress.  After about 3 minutes Joe has her move to the couch.  Unfortunately, this isn’t a good position for either camera or sound but he continues with a vigorous flogging, pausing occasionally to fondle her backside and pull down her panties.  After a very abrupt cut, Joe decides to abandon the flogger in favor of his hand.  His hand spanking is much harder than Joe’s at the beginning of the movie.  When she starts to beg him to stop he responds by pulling down the top of her dress but soon he has her lying flat on the couch, but with her face away from the camera, and the hand spanking continues.

Near the 20-minute mark of the movie he has her move back to kneeling in front of the chair and the hand spanking continues for about another 3 minutes.  Then it’s on to the hairbrush but he takes her over his knee for that.  This position allows for some facial shots that have been missing until now.  Another brief hand spanking follows the hairbrush but Stephanie soon calls a halt and asks to stop.  Joe makes her an offer, another hand of cards.  If she wins the punishment is over and she gets Joe’s money back but, if she loses, she will change into another outfit that he has waiting for her upstairs and then submit to a caning.  She agrees.

They play and of course she loses so she goes off to change.  She returns in a black bustier, stockings and garter belt.  He examines her new outfit and he has her pull down the top of the bustier so her can cop a feel before beginning her caning.  He has her kneel on the chair and he delivers six hard strokes of the cane then he tucks some money in her G-string to pay for her cab ride home.

Overall, I like this movie.  Both the concept and the execution are good.  There are some technical flaws throughout; abrupt cuts, poor camera angles and framing and background noise including a very loud car horn; and the tape quality had obviously started to deteriorate before the movie was digitized but all of these are tolerable.  But Stephanie is the reason for watching this movie.  I would have like to have seen her naked for the final caning but that just wasn’t to be.