‘Lovelace’: A look back at the porno chic era

The porno chic era began in 1972 with the groundbreaking mainstream success of the hard-core pornographic comedy “Deep Throat.” The film became such a catchphrase in pop culture that Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward used its title for the code name of his secret source in the Watergate scandal.

“Deep Throat” was a media sensation, and it turned Linda Lovelace into a most unlikely star.

Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman’s new biographical film, “Lovelace,” starring Amanda Seyfried as the actress, explores that moment in time when it suddenly became hip to see porno films. It opens Friday.

Though many of these films, including “Deep Throat,” were banned in parts of the country and were subject to obscenity trials, porno films were no longer relegated to a male clientele in grindhouse theaters. Not only were couples attending these films, so were celebrities and the intelligentsia.

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After the success of “Deep Throat” there were such porn sensations as “Behind the Green Door” and “The Devil in Miss Jones.”

Vanessa Newell, associate professor at Loyola Marymount University’s School of Film and Television, said many factors were responsible for the legit pornography boom.

“A big part of it was the end of the Production Code,” she said. “The sexual revolution was happening. Foreign films were coming over that were showing simulated sex scenes that were outside the Production Code.”

Even before “Deep Throat,” mainstream Hollywood was exploring frank subjects, including such X-rated films as John Schlesinger’s Oscar-winning 1969 hit “Midnight Cowboy.”

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“I think with movies like ‘Women in Love’ and ‘Midnight Cowboy,’ people were responding to a sense of authenticity” said Epstein. “I think that is where cinema was moving toward stylistically, and that included a more authentic depiction of sex and sexuality. Porno films took it much further.”

Newell noted that “Deep Throat” was “kind of marketed as a regular film.”

And a funny one. “There was humor in it and a semblance of plot,” said Friedman. “You hear all kinds of stories of people remembering seeing it with their parents or people who tell us their parents saw it.”

In the case of “Deep Throat,” it was also Lovelace who was the “big selling point,” said Epstein. “She was literally the girl next door and not your obvious porno star. The plot of the movie, as ridiculous as it was, was also groundbreaking for that genre. It was about a woman trying to claim her own sexuality.”

Here’s a look at some of the other porno films that had crossover success

“I Am Curious (Yellow)”

This 1967 erotic Swedish drama was released with much fanfare and controversy in the U.S. in 1969. The film was banned in Massachusetts for being pornographic. Eventually, a court found the film not to be obscene. “I Am Curious” marked the first time a movie that featured sexual relations performed on screen was not confined to porn houses.

Reviews, though, were dreadful. Roger Ebert wrote: “ ‘I Am Curious (“Yellow”)’ is not merely not erotic. It’s anti-erotic. Two hours of his movie will drive thoughts of sex out of your mind for weeks.”

“Behind the Green Door”

Released six months after “Deep Throat” in 1972, “Behind the Green Door” stars Marilyn Chambers, who once graced the boxes of Ivory Snow detergent. During the course of the hard-core film, her character is forced to undergo public humiliation at an orgy filled with freaks of all shapes and sizes.

“The Devil in Miss Jones”

Gerard Damiano, the director of “Deep Throat,” also helmed this 1973 hit starring Georgina Spelvin as Justine Jones, a thirtysomething spinster who kills herself. Though she’s destined to go to hell because of her suicide, she wishes she had lived a more sinful life and is able to return to Earth for a brief time to pursue one of the seven deadly sins -- lust.

“Emmanuelle”

Columbia Pictures released this 1974 soft-core porn romance, which spawned a series of movies and even a TV series. Sylvia Kristel stars as beautiful young married woman who experiences sexual liberation while in Bangkok. The film ran at the Paris Triomphe cinema from 1974 to 1985.

“Alice in Wonderland: An X-Rated Musical Fantasy”

Bill Osco, who had a great success with his X-rated 1974 erotic comedy “Flesh Gordon,” also produced this porno musical comedy version of Lewis Carroll’s story. Ebert wrote that “I found the movie a pleasant surprise. And it’s most pleasant star, Kristine DeBell, who projects such a freshness and naivete that she charms us even in scenes where some rather alarming things are going on.”

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