"More than Rutting Bodies": Cambist Films, Quality Independents, and the "Lost" Films of George A. Romero

This article traces the industrial development of sexploitation production-distribution company Cambist Films, revealing its vital importance to a historiographical understanding of American independent film. Exploring Cambist's navigation across divergent marketplaces in the 1960s and 1970s uncovers a rare intersection between conflicting cultural institutions, including arthouse cinema, adult media, and so-called quality independent film. This investigation includes close scrutiny of the company's collaborations with filmmaker George A. Romero, particularly the romantic drama There's Always Vanilla (1971), a film long considered lost and thus overlooked in analysis of the independent sector.