Alice in Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Fantasy

The first ever porn parody?

A few days ago a member from an old all things cult forum asked me if I had ever reviewed "Alice in Wonderland", and I was like, "sure mate, I'll give you the link later". To my surprise, there was no review, and then I realized why I hadn't made a review of such a rarity of a film: I didn't have the uncut version of the film and was still looking for it. The uncut version is, as you've probably guessed by now, the one that comes with the real sex scenes, which the original cut had plenty of, since the movie was intended to be the first hardcore porn film with a big budget and a story. Kristine DeBell, the star of the film, spent years denying the existence of a hardcore version of the film, in which she'd performed. By the time this film was released (1976), DeBell was beginning her career as a model and had recently become a Playboy bunny. 

According to David J. Hogan's book "The Wizard of OZ FAQ," Bill Osco, the producer of "Alice in Wonderland" had originally intended to star Kristine DeBell in an X-rated parody of The Wizard of OZ to be entitled "Dirty Dorothy." He eventually decided to do a take-off on Lewis Carroll's "Alice" books instead, probably because their rights were in the public domain and there would be less risk of a copyright infringement lawsuit than with the OZ books. 

So now, let's get down to business and review this classic musical everyone should watch before they die: Alice in Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Fantasy.

Sweet little Alice, the virgin librarian.

Wonderland and some of its weirdos.

Alice (Kristine DeBell) enters in a world of wonder... but not the kind of wonder that you remember as a kid. The Mad Hatter, the White Rabbit, the Queen and others (even Tweedledee and Tweedledum) show Alice some things about her body -- and other people's bodies -- that might be quite wonderful. A tale of love and lust the likes you have never seen.

The story of how Kristine DeBell got involved with this is interesting. According to her, she was a model at the Ford Agency and saw that there were auditions for this film. She did not know what kind of movie it was, so she tried out and landed the part. Now, exactly what point she figured out what sort of movie it is is unclear, but we do know that she ended up going through with it. After all, making the movie only took ten days and a couple of fucks here and there.

Getting dry after a wet rescue.

Wonderland inhabitants show Alice how she can feel wonder too.

The producer was Bill Osco, probably best known at that point (and maybe even today) for "Flesh Gordon"(which we will review eventually). The director, Bud Townsend, had made a few horror films, "Terror House" and "Nightmare in Wax", which are largely forgotten today, even by fans of cult horror.

In "Alice", the songs are cheesy, but fit the theme of the movie. One song, "What's a Girl Like You Doing on a Knight Like This?" was pretty funny, and the others had similar themes going. The trial towards the end was well scripted, and fit very nicely into the world of Alice. The logic and humor were definitely accounted for. There is no denying it is an adult film, but one that has a certain level of intelligence.

Everyone knows how to party in Wonderland.

Even trials are an occasion to party.

What more can you say about a film like this? All I know is, for people who are used to adult films where the "plot" is just a 30-second lead-in to the sex, this one is going to overload you with plot and music. But, personally, I think there is something very special about this film and I do hope, in case you haven't watched it yet, that you do  come across the uncut version of the film that runs for 88 minutes instead of the 72 minute theatrical version. The DVD is currently out of print, but tracking it won't be that difficult. There's a double DVD version that features both the theatrical edition and the uncut version from which our review's been taken. 

In a 2012 brief interview by Metal Rules Radio, DeBell denied having performed any of the real sex scenes in Alice in Wonderland. However, a couple of scenes couldn't have possibly been acted by a body double, unless producers found an exact DeBell's doppelganger. In addition, she agrees she took part in the film because she was too young to care and/or notice what she was getting into.

In order to return to your world, you must learn the secrets of love.

Getting down to business.

DeBell's story following the film is even more interesting. She began dating producer Bill Osco, so through him, she got the lead in another cult (though not adult) film, "The Great American Girl Robbery" (1979). And who co-produced with Osco? None other than Chuck Russell, who went on to direct such films as "The Blob" and "Nightmare on Elm Street 3"! 

I don't see how Kristin DeBell's career could be wrecked by this film, as it was her first film. And Ronald Reagan's tiresome hypocrisies had yet to mar this land when it was released, but in a way he and his stooge Meese did affect Ms DeBell. When Meese was staging his anti-pornography commission (to distract people from his own criminal activities), Meese hired the services of an anti-porn activist named Judith Reisner. Reisner was obsessed with images she perceived as child pornography. She saw the "Alice" cover Ms DeBell did for Playboy and promptly announced she had scientifically proven that Ms DeBell was in fact a photo collage of parts from several grown women and the face of a ten year old. Yeah, right...

Anyway, DeBell escaped the world of adult films and b-movie schlock, appearing in "Meatballs" and being a mildly successful star ever since.

Blowing for some cum.

Back on Earth.

Plotwise, the film follows the stages of sexual discovery since Alice first becomes aware of her own body and what she can do to cum by herself. Then she goes into blowjobs, lesbian sex, and a whole lot more in order to be able to return to her real world and fully understand & fulfill her boyfriend's natural needs.

Alice in Wonderland: an X-Rated Musical Fantasy is what porn used to be, this is a true classic. I mean, it is an x-rated musical based on an actual book! There is a real plot to it and how many x-rated movies can boast that these days? This belongs in an exclusive short-list of true pornographic movie classics, including Debby Does Dallas, Deep Throat, and Behind the Green Door. I think the problem with "pornographic movies" these days is that it's all about the "pornographic" and not about the "movie". Alice in Wonderland has graphic depictions of sex, sure, but it is actually telling a story at the same time. Not one of the typical "Oh, Mr. Police Man, don't write me a ticket" plots, this takes it another step further and makes it a musical! Fabulous! If you want to see an example of "good" porn, this is one of the best. 

Oh Alice, I  knew you could swallow!

Kristine DeBell: All American beauty.

What makes this film such a delightful jaunt is its garden like setting. Partly filmed in the lush, natural splendor of Vancouver B.C.'s Stanley Park, the movie belies its pornographic roots. You don't come away feeling you've watched a sleazy skin flick. At this writing, I haven't viewed the triple XXX version. The extra sex footage tacked on afterward would, in all probability, disrupt the overall flow and remove the light, breezy atmosphere evident throughout.

Naturally, the Lewis Carroll version is the best way to curl up and explore Alice's adventures in Wonderland. However, for a time capsule representing 1970s' adult film archives, Alice in Wonderland: an X-Rated Musical Fantasy is worth following that white rabbit for a ribald ride full of mirthful mayhem. 

Here's the 2012 interview where DeBell talks briefly about the film:

Here's the movie trailer:

The Devil In Miss Jones

In color, adults only!

Following our in-depth investigation about classic porn from the 70's, AKA the Pubic Wars it is time to review a friend's  favorite "The Devil in Miss Jones" so Mr. Ruta Flashback this entry is for your reading and viewing pleasure.

After DEEP THROAT's devastating success shook people's perceptions of porn as some sort of ghetto-bound form of entertainment, its director Gerard Damiano in turn twisted those same people's expectations by radically changing course and creating what is still one of the most thought-provoking adult films of all time. Though it has been the inspiration for a Swiss soft-core reworking (Erwin C. Dietrich's DER TEUFEL IN MISS JONAS) and a mostly forgotten gay porn adaptation (THE DEVIL AND MR JONES, duh !), not to mention five "official" sequels and a recent remake (Paul Thomas' glossy THE NEW DEVIL IN MISS JONES with Jenna Jameson and Savanna Samson as the Horned One and Miss Jones respectively), the original has lost none of its power to shock over more than three decades. Of course, much of this is thanks to the truly amazing Georgina Spelvin delivering one of the most awe-inspiring acting and sexual performances the world has ever witnessed. A former chorus line dancer named Michelle "Shelly" Graham (spelling varies according to source), she entered the adult industry at a relatively advanced age – in her late thirties – and went on to prove that experience (she'd been married and a mom before entering a same sex relationship with porno performer Judith Hamilton) can make a real woman far more sexually interesting than any prettier and younger girl could ever hope to be.

the Snake is long, seven miles...

No wonder why they called it "Pubic Wars".

The movie opens on Spelvin as Justine Jones, a lonely spinster pushing forty, wordlessly preparing her suicide by slashing her wrists in the bathtub as Linda November's soothing vocals wail the absolutely haunting "I'm Coming Home" on the soundtrack. As life's blood drains from her slumping body, she's suddenly transported to the office of Mr Abaca (character actor John Clemens who played leading lady Tamie Trevor's husband in Danny Stone's HIGH RISE) without any memories of her prior actions. It turns out she's at some sort of halfway house between Heaven and Hell where it'll be determined where she should go. While she has lived a spotless life of chastity ("I haven't even done that…"), the taking of her own life makes her ineligible for an eternity in Paradise. She's not expected at either place for a few days anyway, so Abaca grants her the opportunity to experience every form of sexual perversion in the netherworld so she'll at least deserve her damnation. 

Georgina Spelvin, that's her name.

No holes barred!

Guided along by the Teacher (THROAT's Dr Young himself, Harry Reems, in a solemn performance as far removed from that zany character as can be imagined), Justine discovers most erotic variations known to man (oral, straight and rectal penetration in groups of two and three of both men and women) and her gleeful responses to each new experience provide most of those scenes' turn-on value. Real life lover Hamilton (also with Spelvin in Gary Graver's excellent 3 A.M.) supplies the Sapphic action with the howling wind adding an eerie touch. The only other female, Sue Flaken (from Lloyd Kaufman's hard to see XXX musical THE NEW COMERS aka SEVEN DELICIOUS WISHES), playfully fights Spelvin for oral dominance over the massive member of Marc Stevens (who made a memorable Jacob Marley in Costello's PASSIONS OF CAROL), the latter returning for the legendary "sandwich" scene with Georgina and Levi Richards of A DIRTY WESTERN notoriety. Rumor has it that both "studs" were so nervous that the actress had to convince them the actual shooting was just a rehearsal, encouraging and talking them through the whole act ! Inevitably, Miss Jones winds up in Hell, a white-chalked dungeon of never ending boredom, the only escape of which is obsessive lunacy as demonstrated by Damiano's cameo turn as Georgina's cell mate trying to focus on an imaginary fly while the woman tries to tempt him with her fleshy wares. 

Two cumloads for the price of one.

"here, lemme clean those pipes"

Deep and downbeat (a reason the film has generated as many detractors as it has followers), DEVIL IN MISS JONES is a rare adult film that once seen can never be truly erased from memory. Plot (liberally "borrowed" from Sartre's HUIS CLOS a/k/a NO EXIT), acting and production were unlike anything experienced by audiences at the time, illustrating Damiano's huge gamble that pretty much generated the whole subsequent "Golden Age" deal, roughly encompassing the remainder of the '70s and the first half of the '80s. Time has not dulled its effect one iota. Spelvin's dramatic intensity still makes you feel Justine's despair at having (wrongheadedly, perhaps ?) lived a life of sin-free purity and her sexual performance scorches anything in its path. Anyone genuinely interested in the history of porn cinema should start his studies right here. The only downside being that this masterpiece will spoil you for life!

Some water to freshen up the beaver.

Boy this girl has cravings.

Here's the unfortunate heavily edited movie trailer I found for the film.Also,  don't forget to drop by later as we will be reviewing two more films from the classic pubic wars era: Behind the Green Door & Deep Throat. Moreover, there will be a review for Captain America II, The Winter Soldier, since we are also very interested in the world of Comic books, and at this point, in the world of the Marvel Universe Movies Phase 2 so, stay tuned my fellow readers!

The Opening Of Misty Beethoven

Pubic War Days.

For a brief moment in the mid '70's, before herpes, AIDS; at the beginning of the disco revolution and the absolute beginnings of the VCR, American society had grown up enough to allow genuine adult entertainment on the mainstream big screen as entertainment and not disguised as a morality play like "Reefer Madness."(shall I review it later?) Unlike its predecessors, "Deep Throat"(coming soon in a review) and "The Devil in Miss Jones," "The Opening of Misty Beethoven" features rich production values and exotic locations. The production values of this film are on par with most Hollywood productions at the time and huge cut above "B" movies of the era.

So, here it is, the Holy Grail of adult cinema, the finest porn film ever made both by critical consensus as from a fan's point of view. Director Radley Metzger of course had a solid background in mainstream movie-making with tasteful titillation along the lines of CAMILLE 2000 and THERESE AND ISABELLE to his credit before taking the plunge into explicit territory with a mere five high class productions. SCORE and THE PUNISHMENT OF ANNE, both of which contain a little bit of hardcore footage, don't really count as they're borderline cases.

Diddle her skittle.

THE OPENING OF MISTY BEETHOVEN rests proudly in the middle of this fabulous five-some, following THE PRIVATE AFTERNOONS OF PAMELA MANN and NAKED CAME THE STRANGER yet preceding BARBARA BROADCAST and MARASCHINO CHERRY. It has charm, style, wit and grace, qualities not usually associated with pornography. Every aspect of production has been handled with the utmost care, from its sumptuous cinematography (as good as any seen in big studio movies from the same period) to its lively soundtrack by rock group Elephant's Memory. Unlike other well-produced adult fare though, this one also has all the scorching sex to cement its legendary reputation for generations to come. This is the kind of adult film that should sway even the most ardent of naysayers, unless the very thought of explicit eroticism repels them. It was made by and for intelligent people who can also appreciate a good dirty joke.

Let the training begin.

Beauty like no other.

Borrowing its plot from Shaw's PYGMALION, MISTY finds noted sexologist Dr Seymour Love (porn's bad boy Jamie Gillis cast against type and delivering a career performance) cruising the streets of Paris and running into a coarse streetwalker by name of Misty – formerly Dolores – Beethoven, played to perfection by the all too rarely seen Constance Money who made only a handful of flicks. Never one to resist a challenge and fired up because of a wager with fellow jet-setter Geraldine (one time performer Jaqueline Beudant), Seymour invites the girl to come along to his mansion in the States where he will groom her to become the next "Goldenrod Girl" of naughty magazine publishing tycoon Lawrence Lehman (played by Ras Kean, star of Armand Weston's brilliant EXPOSE ME, LOVELY), a title only bestowed on women who're revered the world over for their exceptional beauty, sensuality and lovemaking skills. On a crash course, Misty's put through her sexual paces, gaining insight and technique as she's presented with a number of "difficult" cases for seduction. All the while, she is falling in love with her mentor who doesn't (or pretends not to) notice… It is absolutely impossible to overpraise this film. While other adult movies made since may eclipse it in certain areas, there has yet to be made another one that surpasses it in all aspects. The sheer brilliance of the leads is ably supported by a cast filled to the brim with fan favorites, most of whom deliver equally fine performances vertically as well as horizontally. Terri Hall (the leading lady from Gerard Damiano's STORY OF JOANNA) shines as ballerina Tanya who does a sweltering Sapphic number on beautiful Beudant.

a mouth is better than two hands.

Misty is hard at work.

Gay porn icon Casey Donovan (BOYS IN THE SAND) plays the effeminate gallery owner who finds himself at Misty's mercy and later supplied the buttocks for the Ras Kean rectal excavation portion of a three-way involving Misty and Gloria Leonard, the latter then at the start of what was to become a most distinguished career in the adult field. Mary Stuart (who had played the lead in Shaun Costello's extraordinary THE PASSIONS OF CAROL) and Jenny Baxter (from Costello's TRAVAILS OF JUNE) are stewardesses on a most peculiar airline in a sequence characteristic of the type of off the wall humor Metzger excelled at.

While the sex is explicit and at times shown in the kind of close-ups that makes one feel as if they are a gynecologist, few of the sex scenes follow the pattern of modern pornography where the partners are filmed in close-up and changing positions every three to five minutes. On one hand, little of the sex between the main characters is gratuitous, yet, since this IS a sex film, it can be argued it is ALL gratuitous. The story is clearly a twist on the classic "My Fair Lady" theme. Can a lowly, "civil servant" class sex worker be elevated to the pinnacles of being a sexual legend? The dialog can be very witty at times and the movie doesn't mind stopping the "action" for a few good lines. The acting is above average for the period. The hip, very vogue fashions of the day are a wonderful flashback to another time and may be worth witnessing for their own value.

Not even the Star Wars opening sequence is so epic.

A little more to the left please.

By 1978's "Debbie Does Dallas," the moment was over. Production values had fallen along with the caliber of the story lines and quality of the actors ability to act. Theater owners were under political pressure about showing such explicit movies. Mainstream Hollywood never took the bait to make their own adult productions, marginalizing the industry. And most importantly, there was a new technology entering the homes of Americans that would allow people to view such explicit content in the privacy of their homes, the VCR (first introduced to consumers as the Sony Betamax in 1975).  

Here's the recently updated movie trailer made to promote the DVD/Blu Ray release of this true classic of porn when porn was classy:

Debbie Does Dallas

the word Score gets a whole new meaning

Returning to the dirtiest roots of this B movies blog today we enter a new section that I'd like to call "Classic Porn" although, some call the 70's porn as the "Golden era of porn" I will settle for classic as I'll depict only 4 or 5 films  that are considered to date to be true classics from the genre. 

Debbie Does Dallas was a 1978 pornographic film that, along with its predecessor Deep Throat (we will talk deeply about it in forthcoming reviews), helped jumpstart the pornographic industry and introduced us to the concept of "pornographic chic" and the above mentioned "Golden Age of Pornography." Had it no been for this particular film, along with others, who knows what the porn industry would've stooped to. To paraphrase Ron Jeremy in his documentary Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy, the quality of pornographic films during the "Golden Age" matched the quality of the B-movies Hollywood was churning out at the time.

Girls showering, classic!

People constantly ask me, when I detour from traditional cinema into the erotic wonders of pornographic cinema, how exactly do I review a film of the genre? First off, it's incredibly difficult to tackle a contemporary pornographic film from a critic state of mind. Nowadays, the films play like the actors and actresses can't wait to take off their clothes. Contemporary pornography forgets the essential element of the project that is the tease. The film must have some dialog to captivate us, excite us, and arouse us. Not just five minutes of flaunting the body of the female before a fellatio begins. Reviewing a pornographic film from the "Golden Age" period isn't difficult at all; I consider the writing, the comedy of the story, the kinkiness of the scene, and finally, whether or not the sex is exciting or simply phoned-in on the actors' behalf.

Feed your body to make it in Dallas gal!

The titular character of the film is played by the gorgeous Bambi Woods, a blonde, innocent young woman who has dreams of trying out for a cheerleader position of the Texas football team (actually the Dallas Cowboys, although they're never referred to by name because of rights issues). Debbie and her girlfriends are changing in the locker-room one day (with Clark's camera bluntly focusing on the obligatory parts of the female body) when they realize their cheer-squad has been accepted to tryout for the Texas cheerleaders. The girls must then try and raise the money to commute to Texas on short notice by doing odd jobs for people around town. Debbie, in particular, gets a job working at a sports store for Mr. Greenfield (Richard Balla), who is instantly captivated by the beautiful, young Debbie. One can only imagine what he wants to do such a young, blonde woman.

Those were the days.

You're likely aware of cheap parodies of pornographic films from decades past that utilize lines such as "how could I ever repay you?" or "what are you gonna do to me?" Debbie Does Dallas was likely the direct inspiration for those parodies. The film includes all of the corniness, the lameness, and the transgressive squareness of pornography in terms of dialog and tone. This isn't a bad thing however, and adds to the comedic effect of the film, something, as stated, I feel is greatly missing in the modern porn industry.

Practice makes perfect.

On that note, Debbie Does Dallas is entertaining. Its level of eroticism is pretty basic, with the shower orgy and Debbie's sex scene being the notable highlights. I will say, however, that Clark knows how to appropriately choreograph a sex scene. The scenes are very intimate and run longer than many scenes from the era that I've seen. Scored in a germane fashion - corny and strangely relaxing - by the likes of Gerald Sampler and assisted by the wonderfully charming likes of Woods, it's easy to understand why Debbie Does Dallas is the iconic film it is. It defined an age and kickstarted the quirks of pornography that we've grown accustomed to. On that note alone it's worth watching.

Debbie scores!

Overall, a movie that it's not meant for PG rated enthusiasts, it's a porno, Mckay? However, this movie along with a few more from its era possess a feature that gives them the "Classic" label as they were innovative in storytelling and character development. Watching this flick you won't get the usual porn cliches where actors and actresses are one liners and go straight to sex with no further explanations. Nevertheless, Debbie Does Dallas is still a porn movie that features the hairy 70's and all the usual masturbation to oral-to penetration-to cumshot scheme so if this bothers you, I suggest you to skip it and stop visiting our blog for a while as we'll be reviewing a few classics from the genre.

Hairy Wet Debbie.

Now before we wave goodbye until the next review let me tell you a few interesting trivia facts about Debbie Does Dallas. 

Reception.

In New York, an adult theater showing the films was successfully enjoined from showing the film by the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders under the Lanham Act (trademark). The case was The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders v. Pussycat Cinema. In affirming the district court's decision in favor of the Cheerleaders, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit described the movie as "a gross and revolting sex film". The Cheerleaders successfully argued that their uniforms were mimicked by the film's producers and used in advertising. The theater argued that uniforms are strictly functional items, but the Second Circuit explained that "[it] is well established that, if the design of an item is nonfunctional and has acquired secondary meaning, the design may become a trademark even if the item itself is functional." The decision has been criticized on free speech grounds, but the Seventh Circuit has cited it for the proposition that "confusion about sponsorship or approval, even when the mark does not mislead consumers about the source of the goods," may be sufficient to state a claim under Lanham Act 43(a).

In another 1983 court case in New York, United States v. Various Articles of Obscene Merchandise found the film not to be obscene.

The 1986 publication of the Meese Report contained graphic descriptions of the film's sex scenes and uncensored excerpts of dialogue, which may have contributed to the report becoming a best-seller.

"Lemme swallow some of that warm cum"

Filming Location.

The movie was produced and directed by Jim Clark. Some scenes were shot at the Brooklyn College athletic field, and the Pratt Institute library in Brooklyn, New York, without the administration's knowledge or approval. There is an unfounded internet rumor that certain scenes were shot at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, including the library scene. However, that was found to be unlikely after an investigation with alumni, and the president of the Debbie Does Dallas production company said such a claim "was purely inconclusive".

Videotape Blockbuster.

The film was highly successful, selling 50,000 copies when it made it to videotape, making it the most successful video release of a porn film in its time.

Does Debbie actually do Dallas?

  

Contrary to the title, the film is not set in Dallas nor does the eponymous Debbie "do" anyone in or from Dallas.

Top 5 porn movie of all times.

According to the documentary "Debbie Does Dallas Uncovered", this film is one of the top-five highest grossing pornography titles in history.  

"I'm going to Dallas, I can feel it"

The Dallas Cowboys Suit.

The Dallas Cowboys filed suit against this film for using its cheerleader uniform in the ads and in the film without permission. The sequels used a different uniform.  

Debbie the uncensored.

On 14 September 2000, the British Board of Film Classification authorized for the first time the uncut release of this film, as part of a policy change to censor adult films less and children's films more.

Debbie Does Dallas Cast.

Starring: Bambi Woods, Christie Ford, Robert Kerman, Robin Byrd, Herschel Savage, Eric Edwards, and Arcadia Lake. Directed by: Jim Clark.   

Here's the extended movie trailer:

And here as a very educational bonus content, the episode from The Dark Side of Porn that digs deep in the Debbie Does Dallas film: