Naked Flame, The

2714. NAKED FLAME (1969-Canada) COLOR. With DENNIS O’KEEFE. A young man falls in love with a young woman. This is not unusual, and is only natural when the woman in question is especially sweet and lovely. Unfortunately, their romance is the cause of much concern in Little Creek, the small Canadian community in which the lovers reside. That is because the woman is a member of the Dukhobors, a Russian Christian sect. The Dukhobors repudiate the symbols and traditions of the Orthodox church and regard with suspicion all outsiders. Furthermore, there are two separate groups of Dukhobors, one conservative and the other a cult-like society whose members practice mysterious pagan rituals and shamelessly prance around in the nude. Onto the scene comes Paul Ashley, a lawyer and troubleshooter. One of his clients does business in Little Creek. The company fears that the controversy surrounding the lovers might lead to trouble with the Dukhobors, and so Ashley is dispatched to Little Creek to get a sense of the situation. Ashley is not completely new to the area. Several years before, he had lived there, and he too had fallen in love with a Dukhobor. The story tells how these and several other characters show their feelings and ulterior motives, resulting in a tense and provocative tale of blackmail, murder, rape and revenge. The film was unreleased for over six years after it was completed. 82 minutes. Drama