I could mention a hotel window I know in Verona. But all
that would do is inspire me to sing opera. While I’ve never been good at
singing, or particularly fond of opera, I am fond of sex. Yum. Not that I
wouldn’t want to have sex in Verona while hanging (banging?) out a window.
Singing.
But never mind all that. I found an inspiration much closer
to home.
On June 6, I attended an evening at the San Francisco Center
for Sex and Culture, promoted by M. Christian through his involvement in Digital
Parchment Services. Quite inspiring. The speaker that night, Chris’s partner in
the project, was Jean Marie Stine who worked for the sex film industry in the 60’s and 70’s.
Her droll delivery and wry sense of humor was both entertaining and
enlightening.
Most of William (Bill) Rotsler’s films were, compared to
today’s standards, soft-core, featuring simulated sex. Although he did some
hard core stuff toward the end of his movie career, he was known more for the simulated
variety. There were no home computers and VCR tapes were just being developed; so if anyone saw his films, they likely saw them at porn houses. At that time it was all considered transgressive.
Rotsler was more than a filmmaker, proficient at many
things, a true renaissance man. One of his many mainstream accomplishments was
the novelization of the film “Arachnophobia”. His stories won five Hugo awards.
His sculpture occupies public space in Los Angeles and he designed the Nebula
Award trophies.
Digital Parchment
Services is a complete ebook and print-on-demand service for literary
estates and literary agents with clients who want
to self-publish new and out-of- print
books and see
these titles made available to the public. They have resurrected William
Rotsler’s classic
work: “The Golden Age of Erotic Cinema” as well as reprinting his
novels.
The three-session program is over for now, but anyone
interested in Digital Parchment Services or William (Bill) Rotsler may try
these links:
The Golden Age Of Erotic
Cinema (1959-1972)
The estate-authorized
William Charles Rotsler site – featuring his adult films and photography (http://rotsler-erotic-cinema.blogspot.com)
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Watching sex films featuring all those cute hippie chicks who I
fell in love with back in the day makes me want to have sex. Or at least to
write about it, given I can’t always find a willing partner at this age. (Thank
goodness Momma X still comes across :>)
So, here’s a flasher inspired by that night at the (smut)
movies:
Half Masked
What if Eleanor’s father sees the film? Or one of his
lowlife relatives? Even if she didn’t actually go all the way.
“If you keep refusing to fuck,” said the flustered director,
“lose the mask. I’m not paying for that sweet face unless it’s covered in
jizz.”
“I’ll still suck somebody off. Maybe just a half-mask. We
could go with a New Orleans theme. Mardi Gras. I’ll wear pasties and a
feathered merkin.
“Sounds like a cool outfit, sweetcakes. But what about the
money shot? Producer wants semen in those pretty eyebrows.”
“Shit. Do I hafta?”
“That or fuck. Plus—take a look at who you’d have to blow.”
“Oh my god. He’s old!”
“Hah! Wouldn’t you rather fuck? At least you’d get somebody
more your age.”
The grizzled derelict shuffled up in a collapsed hat, his
limp, pasty cock hanging visible between the flaps of a stained overcoat. “Suck
on this baby-” he muttered.
“So why does he
get to wear a mask?”
“Not the same, honey,” said the director. “Robber’s mask
looks creepier, and nobody’s gooping up his
face.”
“Eccchh.”
“Now take it off!”
“Him first. I can’t wear a mask, neither does he.”
“Okay—take it off, Herman.”
“ … Uncle Herman?”
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This sounds like a really interesting series! Particular interesting since I recently attended Queer Porn Night at the Center for Sexual Pleasure and Health in Pawtucket, RI. That also presented a historical view, going through various examples of queer porn chronologically. I walked out with a list of films I want to see in full. Really fascinating stuff.
ReplyDeleteAnd the flasher has one of your typical twist endings! :)
On the subject of stories about porn, I'd highly recommend Vanessa de Sade's Black and White Movies. I love her poetic writing style, and she does a lot of really hot and unexpected stuff with the voyeuristic theme of her collection.
History of just about anything can be interesting, especially if presented in a way that connects with more modern concepts. Tracking a path, so to speak.
DeleteSomehow that flasher movie seemed more like a Hammer horror film to me - limp pasty cock, oh dear God!
ReplyDeleteYeah, Herman's a real Ewwwie, isn't he?
DeleteI've been seeing a lot of attention paid lately to the old pulp porn, although it's been more about paperbacks than films. Is sex entering a retro stage? Might be a reaction against FSoG, etc.
ReplyDeleteLove the flasher. Especially the subtext of Uncle Herman being a probable flasher himself.
I know a lot of the old Grove/Olympia/Ophelia Press stuff wouldn't be acceptable today because of content restrictions. The non-FSOG.
DeleteThanks on the flasher. Fun to write that one.
Oy! Another Gonzo flasher! Very good, Daddy!
ReplyDeleteI'm not familiar with Rostler's films, but I love Radley Metzger's work. Are you familiar with him? "Therese and Isabel" (one of the first lesbian erotic films, I believe), "The Lickerish Quartet", "Score" (my favorite), and later, as "Henry Paris", the hardcore "The Opening of Misty Beethoven".
Metzger's work is also soft-core, but it has a huge amount of sexual tension, and plays deliciously fast and loose with gender. "Score", for instance, is about a swinging couple who seduce a much younger and more innocent pair of newly-weds. Starts out heterosexual but before the end of the story that changes!
Actually, I much prefer adult films from the seventies. Women actually had pubic hair then! And real breasts. And the men looked more natural as well. This was before the stereotypes were so well-established.
In fact, going back to your flasher, I don't think the money shot convention existed back then, at least not as a sine qua non.
But NOW I want to know about Verona!
Not that familiar with sex films beyond the usual for our times: Behind the Green Door, Deep Throat, etc. Yes, the first thing that hits the viewer is the big bushes and more err... substantial women. Not the naked poon heroin chic straight up and down of today. Not that there's anything wrong with that. :>)
ReplyDeleteBack in the 90's, Momma X had a job with a publisher who did their color work in Italy--Milan and Verona. I went along (kicking and screaming) for seven years in a row-- up to six weeks a year. What a great perk. I got to know Verona well enough to guide folks around who came in from the states to work with her.
Very cool! I just posted a piece about your piece to the Rotsler blog: http://www.williamcharlesrotsler.com/2015/06/night-at-movies-by-daddy-x-inspired-by.html. Thanks so much for the great story and for making the event!
ReplyDeleteThanks Chris! And thanks again for a fun and enlightening night.
DeleteJust love pieces about pieces. :>)
Retro porn is always interesting because of how it differs from more current stuff. Thank you for posting this, Daddy X. (And I already commented on your flasher. Egad! But I suppose the whole point of masks is that the masked don't want to be recognized, and in many cases, the viewers don't really want to know who is behind the mask. :)
ReplyDelete