So if you’ve been paying attention to my movie reviews, you’ll know pretty quickly I love two things: I love classic films, and I love Vinegar Syndrome. You should seriously look up Vinegar Syndrome; they do an incredible job as a company, hand-picking classic titles and giving them new life through remastering and excellent packaging. They have a ton of cult and horror movies that we don’t carry here on HotMovies (yet). And I’m a big fan of those… but I absolutely adore the adult titles they decide to resurrect.
The Golden Age of Porn has some sort of ineffable quality to it that is wrapped up in dualities. It somehow feels simultaneously more filthy and more mainstream. It carries an air of fun and freedom while more often than not feeling more romantic—since the sex was less about blocking and opening up for the camera, and more just about depicting a romp. All of this can be felt strongly in our recent Vinegar Syndrome addition, Carlos Tobalina‘s Undulations.
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So this movie shouldn’t have won any awards for its script or story. The idea that there is a plot is quashed pretty quick, as the title popping up over video of the horizon dissolves to Jamie Gillis already in the middle of sex with two gorgeous young women. The sex is incredibly organic and hot. The women both have this vibe that reminds me of the girls cast for Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood to live on Spahn Ranch. It feels as though the trio have no idea the camera is even running.
The brunette is in the middle of shark week, but it didn’t stop them from filming the scene. And while I’m normally squeamish about that sort of thing, it didn’t diminish it. It just made it feel more like a regular threesome between regular (but hot) people. The women both have some fuzz in their pits on top of having a bush and, again, it just lent this vibe that Tobalina was able to procure super-hot regular women that just happened to be okay having sex, rather than professional actors (even though both have more than just the one credit). In fact, the blonde, Serena, had quite the career.
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After the threesome, we get an idea of the “plot” of this movie. Basically, it comes down to a television talk show that also shows hardcore sex that we get to watch while also seeing the reactions of a woman and man watching the show separately. The talk show is hosted by Mai Lin and Suzanne French, and features Gillis, John Holmes, and Kitty Shayne as guests. They all play themselves, and they talk a little bit before cutting to sex.
In the second clip, they cut to a scene Suzanne French was talking about… where a friend of hers who looks like a certain celebrity decides to get freaky with her. The friend is Brooke West in a bad blonde wig and a painted-on mole to emulate Marilyn Monroe. She breathily talks about being so horny, while in bed with Suzanne, that she can’t wait to go out and get some dick. So the two of them decide to have a little fun with one another. It’s a great little lesbian scene… both women looking utterly squeezable and grabbable. The bedroom is light and clean, and there’s a great black velvet painting hanging above the bed. They wind up the loving, and Brooke decides to phone in a cock, because she needs it now.
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Jamie Gillis comes over at Brooke’s behest… and he very tenderly joins in on the fun. It gets psychedelic at points, when the camera creates a kaleidoscopic effect. I don’t know what the point of that is, but I like the way it looks. Suzanne French has puffy nipples… which is a rare (and welcome) sight in adult. She and Brooke take turns on top of Jamie, and it is hot hot hot. The scene starts out slow, but Jamie is able to get them both off hard.
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We’re back to the talk show. The hosts talk about how men are normally the ones in power, and that they use that power to get what they want from women. They then ask us to imagine what it would be like if women were the ones that held the cards. Then we’re taken to a scenario where Billy Dee is applying for a job with boss Juliet “Aunt Peg” Anderson. She tells him that she is looking for a man with experience. And then she offers the job… but tells him that she finds him very attractive, and then has her secretary hold her calls. The two begin to screw inside her wood-paneled office.
Truth be told, the pair both sport a late 70s/early 80s aesthetic with their hair and clothing (the film is from 1981) that I find to be displeasing. There’s just something about those big curly almost-fros that doesn’t do it for me. But there’s also a reason Juliet Anderson is an all-time legend. And it is her unbridled enthusiasm that manages to overcome my stylistic preferences. She is at the top of her game in this scene, as she giggles between moans while Billy is going down on her, “You’ve got a tongue!” It’s a very short scene, but very steamy despite it all.
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We are then taken to another scenario of women holding power over men. Eric Stein is looking at a painting in an antique store. He tells the shopkeep that he loves the picture but doesn’t have the money for it. The woman running the shop suggests that he use another way to pay for it (the immortal porn trope). They move to a couch in another room, and he asks what her accent is, and she claims she is from Germany. It is unclear who this actress is (we weren’t given a scene-by-scene breakdown of performers for this film), but I’d sure like to see her in more. This is one of the best two scenes in the movie.
The woman might have the perfect body. She rides him with enthusiasm, and he responds in kind. This might actually be one of my favorite classic scenes, honestly. There is a little bit of ass-spreading while she’s riding cowgirl, which is a total rarity in classic porn. And it makes everything all the hotter. The dubbing in this scene is so atrocious that it borders on criminal (dubbing moans is one of my biggest pet peeves in classic porn)… but the action makes up for it.
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We’re back to the talk show, and the hosts are asking Kitty Shayne her thoughts on women paying men for sex. John Holmes pipes up and says that he believes that is a fantasy most women have… and especially to be the first person to convince a man to sell his services (something tells me he’s mistaken, and that’s not a very common fantasy). And then we’re shuttled away to the next scenario.
Stephanie Boyd (who I wasn’t familiar with before, but am now president of the Stephanie Boyd Fan Club) is talking to Jon Martin. It’s a little unclear what’s happening… but my understanding is that Jon and his wife need money to have a kid. So Stephanie talks to her friend (Jon’s wife) about paying for a little nookie with hubby. Despite her being one of the hottest human beings on the planet, he seems hesitant to take the leap, so Stephanie takes the lead and gets things moving slowly. Stephanie has an amazing body and gorgeous, natural big tits. She is very responsive, and the scene is surprisingly tender. It’s another home-run clip in the movie.
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The final scene begins with another roundtable discussion about what turns everyone on. John Holmes has the most… interesting answer, as he says he enjoys very delicate petite women and pulls out a little jar and spoon and indicates that the contents of the jar are his other turn on. The jar makes the rounds in a rare display of the subculture of the day. And soon enough the talk show stage becomes a group sex scene. Suzanne claims Holmes all for herself, and so Mai Lin and Kitty Shayne share Jamie.
Mai Lin, inducted into her fair share of adult Hall of Fames, steals the show in my opinion. It’s incredible to me how one person can be such a standout when there are five people having sex (including the most well-known male star of all-time: Holmes). But there is something about Mai Lin’s performance, and her genuine reactions to hugging Gillis’ cock with her womanhood that leaps off the screen.
When everything is said and done, we switch back to the male and female viewer of the talk show. They are both spent, and a little upset that the show is over. They click off the TV, and that’s the end of the show.
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