HotMovies takes a look at the truth behind some of the most famous urban legends, bizarre stories, and strange “accidents” and “bedfellows” that have been whispered about from behind the scenes in the industry for decades now. We’ll reveal how many porn urban legends featuring angry mobsters, death cults, famous filmmakers incognito, and erections lasting longer than four hours are rooted in TRUTH! So, is the infamous Manson girl catfight from an early 70s release authentic? This is PORN LORE!
Vinegar Syndrome and Diamond Stud
The Ladies of Spahn Ranch
Everyone at HotMovies still have sex-death cults on our minds thanks to the sexy insanity that was Mind Fucked: A Cult Classic from Severe Sex, but in 2014, director Will Ryder and his studio Will Ryder Productions gave us a spoof featuring the infamous Manson Family in Manson Family XXX. Manson Family XXX takes a look at the life of the sociopathic cult leader played by Jeremy Steele and the sexual shenanigans of the Manson girls, featuring Sara Vandella, Nadia Styles, and Cassidy Klein.
But did you ever hear that some of the Manson girls really did appear in porn? Manson and his family of lost acolytes have been rumored to have connections to the industry pre-Golden Age. The Spahn Movie Ranch in Southern California was initially used for filming Westerns for television and movies before the owner allowed the notorious Manson family to move in rent-free in exchange for their labor. Spahn Ranch was the home of the Manson Family cult while they committed their infamous and horrific murders in Los Angeles in 1969.
Diamond Stud, a historical drama and an early softcore attempt to elevate sex films closer to the mainstream was first released back in early 1970 and recently remastered by Vinegar Syndrome. Diamond Stud is a pre-Golden Era porn release telling the tale of lady-lovin’ Diamond Jim, a rail tycoon traveling the country chomping cigars and breaking hearts while amassing a huge fortune based on a real-life 19th century character, Jim Brady. It’s pretty much trains and tits and was shot at the Spahn Movie Ranch. The film includes a large amount of unaccredited and often naked extras, and rumor has it that a few of the girls are from the Manson Family. Director Greg Corarito has claimed the the production used two girls from Manson’s service for the big nude catfight scene in the middle of the film, birthing the rumor that the extras in the rowdy bar room brawl scene are two of Manson’s girls, as these women were not officially credited and Corarito’s claim was never verified.
Here’s what director Greg Corarito had to say:
“We got the Manson girls wrestling naked. And Manson was like in the background, but we never messed with him. He was just always in the shadows. I never even said ‘hello’ to him.”
Since the actresses’ identities haven’t been verified, many claim that Corarito is full of shit, and the two women pictured above are women who were softcore talent at the time. Corarito did work on other productions at Spahn Ranch before the murder-spree by the infamous tenants. It’s possible that Corarito was embellishing the Manson claim for the film, and the cat-fighters have never been identified as Manson followers. The blonde actress is identified as unknown/unaccredited Dorthea Cristie on IMDB, not entirely disqualifying, but it definitely cast some doubt on the claim.
In Corarito’s defense, he knew the Spahn Movie Ranch inside and out, and we know who was living there while he worked on many of these productions. Could this mysterious Dorthea Christie be a pseudonym for a Manson girl, or is she just an unknown, lost to history in two unaccredited appearances? It’s really just his word against ours. Just the claim in and of itself and, of course, Vinegar Syndrome’s amazing restoration, make this otherwise-forgotten softcore feature worth a look, despite the uncomfortable (and tantalizing) sheen that haunts the movie thanks to Corarito’s creepy casting claims.
Watch Diamond Stud, filmed at the infamous Spahn Movie Ranch, on HotMovies today!
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