There was once a time in the porn business where the legendary Ed Wood—yes, the same B-movie icon famed Glen or Glenda, Plan 9 From Outer Space, and other films—worked on Swedish Erotica, a series of 10-20 minute-long explicit sex scenes. Were they shot in Sweden? Gosh, no. Then near-destitute Ed Wood’s San Fernando Valley apartment was undoubtedly nowhere near Stockholm. However, the films captured levels of mystical, ersatz “European” class, and sophisticated, ethereal fucking that evolved into a legacy involving untold thousands of short films starring Golden Era pornographic superstars. In an industry that is frequently demonized for offering less-refined art and much more hastily-produced smut, Swedish Erotica highlights a glorious middle ground of “hastily-produced art” between the two disparate expectations that deserves praise.
There are nearly a quarter of a million films stretching over a half-century of creative work in HotMovies’ database. The era before 1990 currently represents just two percent of that collection. However, though there are not many films within circulation from this period, the legacy Swedish Erotica created for itself as a series between 1973-1986 is notable. Wood and company made content at speed beyond par with today’s quick-producing studios. However, unlike many modern features that impressively provide a premium on arousal that almost loses adult-cinema-as-art in the mix, Swedish Erotica maintains the craft of filmmaking as an exquisite art.
Ultimately, it’s in how the pornographic film industry blends art and commerce that creates how Swedish Erotica continuously offered so much captivating content. In the early 1970s, adult filmgoers (adjusted for inflation) paid $17 per-head to see double features of top films like Deep Throat and Devil In Miss Jones. These films packed movie houses nationwide, and likely earned $2,500 daily (adjusted for inflation), per film house, for two total hours of action, multiple times a day.
At this level of revenue, the space for say, a low-budget B-movie directing icon at the end of their life and career to thrive becomes apparent. Swedish Erotica was also shot initially on costly 8MM film reels. The resulting films were shown for (adjusted for inflation) $4.50 in adjacent, individual-viewing “peepshow” booths to supplement the expensive big-screen showcases. An economically depressed porn fanatic who could not afford to see 60 minutes of John Holmes starring in Johnny Wadd need not worry. For a quarter of the price, watch him in a ten-minute Swedish Erotica reel.
Writer Joe Blevins notes that by 1978, Swedish Erotica as a brand was so successful that it had exploded into magazines and paperbacks. As well, other loop series, including Fanny Films, the John Holmes-featuring John’s Girls, and Garter Girls were growing in distribution. Due to this success as a weekly-paid freelancer, Ed Wood’s paystubs from Art Publishers, Inc. (the company that initially owned the Swedish Erotica brand) eight months before his death, ranged from (adjusted for inflation) $200-$800. The 1970s were an exceptionally lucrative decade for adult films.
For as much as watching your favorite classic-era star in a feature film is lovely, there’s something so highly entertaining about watching them in a Swedish Erotica reel. Behind The Green Door‘s Johnny Keyes stars alongside Jonathon Younger and Connie Peterson in Hot Black Soul, a 17-minute long short in the series. There is no audible dialogue in the film. The scene is simply described as “Johnny Keyes and his ripped friend are working on a new musical routine, and they need a girl for a part.” However, there’s just enough method acting present that the ability to establish characters, their provocations, and cause for dramatic action significantly adds to the scene’s erotic thrust. Allowing for the most literal definition of “the most bang for your buck” to occur on both a literal and metaphorical level showcases the director’s talent to get peak performances from their talent in intriguing circumstances.
After Ed Wood’s passing in 1978, Swedish Erotica’s creative direction was overtaken by Caballero Video‘s Bob Vosse (who, in 1968, as a cinematographer, also filmed the opening credit sequence to the TV series, Hawaii Five-O). By this era, light cameras, low-budget sound recorders allowing for minimal dialogue, and 16MM film had gained popularity. As well, long-form adult cinema had evolved. The genre’s growth from art-house style movies to more conventional plot devices did not deter the series’ success, though. The emergence of performances by actresses like Seka in this era allowed for the Swedish Erotica series’ continued popularity.
When mentioning Seka and Swedish Erotica, it’s crucial to note silk scarves worn around the actresses’ necks in the series. Few things in the history of adult cinema approach the timelessness of neckerchief-adorned Seka showcasing her skillsets of sucking, sexing, and overall onscreen seduction. The appearance of brightly-colored neck scarves on Swedish Erotica actresses had occurred since the era of the film’s inception and had nothing to do with fetishistic desires. Shooting in Ed Wood’s dimly lit apartment and other low-light indoor locales required the silk scarf to be worn to allow the film’s photographers to do color checks for 8MM film, as it typically shoots darker and bluer and greener in hue. However, Seka—who wore the scarves even in non-Swedish Erotica films throughout her career—offered something more.
There’s something about watching Seka in a scene like the early-80s-shot Sex With A Lady that elevates the scarf far past light direction and fetishized clothing. Instead, it alludes to the very definition of what “Swedish Erotica” is on an idyllic level: an incredible sexual encounter that should be with an escort. Instead, it is with a person you could find in an everyday environment. It’s hypersexual entertainment filled with unbridled desire served by a kinky, unrivaled imagination. Even deeper, there’s Seka. Then there’s Seka with the scarf. As if asking you to denote—like a famous TV commercial—the difference between your brain and your brain on drugs, her scarf-adorned performances are a mind-scrambling and head-exploding watch.
Seka and her unnamed paramour are engaged in polite conversation before a planned sexual encounter in the scene. The apartment is all gold inlays, sumptuous leather, roaring fires, indoor palm shrubbery, and opulent fur, par for the era. Seka’s wearing a long white silk sheath, almost caftan-like dress, white heels, and an unusually long red scarf. Four minutes into the conversation, Seka’s nude, save for the scarf, white garters, and black stockings. The sex is intense and wholly believable. However, it feels like something you, as the viewer, could only have if you supplanted her male costar.
The scarf elevates the entire presentation. There’s a level of class there that is incongruous with the fact that the person watching the scene is probably locked in a dingy, three-feet-wide by three-feet-long by eight-feet-tall booth somewhere in Times Square, NYC. The scene’s artful shooting, direction, and performance make the viewer’s location or condition—imagine mid-arousal, underwear askew, mouth-breathing heavily—feel entirely immaterial to the level of arousing allure presented.
Swedish Erotica highlighted an era where non-feature porn shorts were written and directed by indie legends or people once contracted to mainstream television networks. There’s something about having that level of expertise available that elevates the quality of both the craft and work immediately. For performers like Johnny Keyes, John Holmes, and Seka—none of the three necessarily known as “actors having sex,” but rather “sex actors”—the ability to benefit from this level of mastery present unquestionably elevated their performances.
Swedish Erotica was driven by high-level professionalism encouraging once-in-a-lifetime performers to consistently achieve ideal showcases. This aided the development of the series’ ultimately undeniable aesthetic. A unique film universe unto itself—divey, street-corner cinemas, and upscale locales—metaphorically meet in a sophisticated and libidinous European nation. The alchemy involved in smut and art colliding at this level of excellence allows Swedish Erotica to remain beloved and renowned, plus provide lessons for generations to come.
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