I, a Man - by Paul Morrissey, Andy Warhol (1967). DVD5

Warhol’s first deliberate effort to make a commercial sexploitation film was I, a Man (1967), which was supposed to feature both Nico and Jim Morrison, but Morrison backed out at the last minute – possibly because Warhol wanted him to have sexual intercourse on-screen – and he was replaced by an actor friend of Morrison’s named Tom Baker. In I, a Man, Baker attempts to have sex with eight different women: Cynthia May, Stephanie Graves, Ingrid Superstar, Nico, Ultra Violet, Ivy Nicholson, Valerie Solanas, and Bettina Coffin. The scenes are separated by shots of Baker reflectively smoking a cigarette. It’s a very simple premise – one that certainly fits the notion of a sexploitation film by presenting an opportunity to display a number of different female bodies, while also being a test of Baker’s seductive power. In terms of the casting, I, a Man featured Warhol superstars: Nico, Ingrid Superstar, and Ultra Violet. In addition, Valerie Solanas, the lesbian author of the SCUM Manifesto (Society for Cutting Up Men) and Ivy Nicholson would add unpredictable elements to the film.

The idea for I, a Man came from a suggestion by Maury Maura, the owner of the Hudson Theater in the Times Square area where a new version of My Hustler was playing. This particular version of My Hustler included 13 extra minutes of sexually explicit footage at the request of the theatre in order to capitalize on the sexploitation market. Maury wanted another sexually explicit film to show after My Hustler finished its run and suggested something like I, a Woman, a Swedish film about a nymphomanic that had successfully toured the art-house circuit in early 1967.

Nico had agreed to be in the film as long as she could do it with Jim Morrison who she had a crush on. Morrison agreed to it, but his manager vetoed the idea and Nico, instead, showed up with Hollywood actor, Tom Baker, who was a friend of Jim Morrison's from L.A. Andy had been spending a lot of time with Nico but he never had the same rapport with her as his other female stars. While most other Factory regulars were on speed, Nico liked heroin. She was also a star in her own right and not as dependent on Andy as the others.

I, a Man follows Tom as he sees six different women in one day in New York, "having sex with some, talking with some, fighting with some." One of these women were Ivy Nicholson, a model who had been hanging out at the Factory since 1964 and, like many of his other stars, had developed an obsession for Andy and thought that "she might be able to secure her fame and fortune not just by working with Andy but by marrying him," similar to Andrea Feldman who, in later years, would proclaim herself to be Andy's wife. Ivy's irratic behaviour included throwing a cup of coffee in Ondine's face and even shitting in the Factory elevator. In 1968, after Valerie Solanas shot Andy, Ivy threatened to kill herself if he died.