A debut issue from 1960s Britain that’s part spy thriller, part catfight and part rubber-and-leather fashion shoot. All of it is played completely straight, which is exactly why it’s so much fun.
The publisher
Bizarre Capers was published by Pictorial Productions Haverhill, Suffolk, and distributed by Ben’s Books Ltd., which traded from the Covered Market at 24b Crown Street in Acton, London W3. The masthead credits Bridget du Barry as editor, Basil Ryness as photographer and Ken Smith as art editor. The cover price of 25/- (with $3.00 for the American market). The beehives, PVC macs and wallpaper put it firmly in the late 1960s.
Ben’s Books seems to have been the commercial engine behind the title. The magazine includes a full-page list of “unusual books” available by post from the Acton address, with titles such as The Cult of Pain, Sexual Fetishism, Spanking and Chastisement, all priced in shillings and pence. There is also a subscription form offering six bi-monthly issues for £9-0-0.
The story: “The Madam ‘X’ Caper”
The issue is a single photo-story told across 30-odd pages with short captions and pulp-comic speech bubbles (“OOPS!”, “TAKE THAT!!!”, “This doll is a real wild one!!!”). The plot is pure Swinging-London B-movie. Professor Lindell has invented “a revolutionary new sex drug” and hides the formula on microfilm. He hands it to Kirsty, the International Courier Service’s “most experienced courier” and a “typical Swedish beauty”, who is helpfully introduced with her vital statistics. The notorious Madam ‘X’ wants the film, and she sends two heavies, Len and Charlie, to get it.
Kirsty kicks, judo-throws and flips her way through the opening pages (“Kirsty didn’t take judo and karate lessons for fun”). She is eventually dragged to a first-floor hideout, tied to a chair and interrogated by Popsy, the gang’s moll, who wears a leopard-print coat and a motorcycle helmet. The search for the microfilm is a pretext for undressing her one layer at a time, and the bondage and domination angle comes through clearly in these pages.
Pearl & Kay, and the rubber
The second half is where the fashion fetishism takes over. Pearl and Kay are left to guard the microfilm, and they spend a long and lovingly photographed sequence helping each other into Madam ‘X’s wardrobe. It includes thigh-high boots, strapped leather leggings, corsetry and a rubber bodice. The captions are as subtle as you’d expect: “Fits like a glove”, “SKIN TIGHT!!”, “…try my gear for size”. Fans of 1960s rubberwear and strap-and-buckle leather will find a lot to enjoy here, because the outfits are shot full-length and often in detail.
Kirsty then makes her entrance in a borrowed leopard-skin coat, and a three-way brawl spills across the sofa and sheepskin rug. Riding crops come out, and in the end everybody but our heroine is laid out on the carpet. “Ah! The microfilm is safe.” A full-page teaser promises “Kirsty’s exploits next month … even more breathtaking.”
The colour centrespread
The centrespread is the only colour inside the magazine, and it reprises the cover set-up in rich saturated tones. Madam ‘X’ appears in a sheer rubber catsuit, Kay in a leather corselette and thigh boots, and Pearl in a full strap harness, all posed on a white sheepskin against a red curtain. It’s dominance theatre staged with complete sincerity.
As a period piece, Bizarre Capers No. 1 shows the British fetish under-the-counter trade before it became self-aware. The production values are surprisingly good, and the outdoor action photography is genuinely dynamic. The whole thing is held together by a plot that wouldn’t have been out of place in an episode of The Avengers if Emma Peel had a less forgiving wardrobe department. It’s essential for collectors of British bizarre magazines and an easy recommendation for anyone who loves vintage leather, rubber and a good old-fashioned catfight.