To me, it really comes as no surprise when watching vintage porn, New York's Time Square was undoubtedly the Mecca of smut during the 80's. The filth historians at After Hours Cinema have been taking full advantage of the Big Apple's sleaze havens by releasing numerous film compilations highlighting 42nd Street's best. Here the famous (and infamous) Avon 7 Theater is given center stage along with porn pioneer Shaun Costello (Forced Entry, More Than Sisters, Pandora's Mirror). This particular smut palace was widely known for showing some of the nastier, cheaper, S&M themed adult cinema on the Deuce. The Avon Theater managed to become popular among many perverts - even for showing this niche brand of BDSM porn . Three films are featured here, all directed by Shaun Costello : Slave of Pleasure, My Mistress Electra and Prisoner of Pleasure. Slave of Pleasure features Costello in the starring role as a man who has his wife abducted by drug dealing/slave-trading Frenchman, Jamie Gillis (Waterpower). He's determined to do whatever it takes to get her back, but in the meantime, he eats a lot of ass and fucks his mistress (C.J Laing). Costello gets kudos for his directing, as he should; he's one of the greats. Rarely is he given attention as a performer, an area he's just as sound in. The man attacks ass in this film much like I do a pint of Ben and Jerry's. A few other New York based performers are featured in Slave of Pleasure, Herschel Savage and Dave Ruby. Both give the film an extra slimy charm as Gillis' goons. The S&M isn't completely rampant until towards the end but it has it's fair share – usually complete with leather-masked performers and even some double-penetration.
My Mistress Elektra might be my favorite of the three. It's much more playful than "Slave" and "Prisoner" but still packs in plenty of the old "slap and tickle". Imagine this: You're invited to a party hosted by one of your best pals. Your buddy decides to play a stag film and low and behold your wife is in it, fucking and sucking off Dave Ruby with another gal. Get used to Dave Ruby on this set, you're going to see him in action, plenty. This release could have been called "The Dave Ruby Collection".
After a little group fun with Long Jeanne Silver and Carter Stevens (Rollerbabies, Pleasure Palace) it's time to investigate further. One thing these three films have a lot in common is that there's always somebody investigating something, be it a private eye, a husband, boyfriend etc. Narrative isn't a strong point for any of these three features, but who gives a fuck. Fans of humiliation will get a kick out of My Mistress Elektra's take on canine obedience training. Imagine an episode of "The Dog Whisperer" directed by Costello. I don't want to give to much more away but let's just say that your dog may move quicker if the leash is up his arse.
Finally, Prisoner of Pleasure, is the story of a young woman abducted by some scumbags (including roughie regular and Avon staple, George Payne) who repeatedly rape her. Long Jeanne Silver and Dave Ruby are here again. This is the most I've seen Silver in a film outside of the notorious Long Jeanne Silver film. The very informative liners point out the facts about George Payne and his homosexuality and how Costello would only put him in scenes with a lady and another fella so he had a "point of reference" when he was railing away. Of the three films, Prisoner of Pleasure seemed to have the most S&M and bondage content so if bloody butt-cheeks get your fancy this may be up for a repeat viewing. All I know is that I felt a little extra dirty after watching this particular feature.
All three features have been transferred and remastered from 16MM film materials. They do exhibit some ware like emulsion and faded color but generally hold up just fine for older porn films. Slave of Pleasure has a little choppiness - it's missing some frames - but it didn't effect any enjoyment I had.
There aren't too many extras here, but it's also a triple feature, so that's easily forgiven. Some trailers of Avon classics are included and are pretty damn entertaining. Particularly, Phil Prince's Dr. Bizarro, which is an absolute hoot. The liners mentioned earlier in the review contributed by writer John Nilson are very well done and include information on all three features. There's even a welcome bit about Phil Prince and the brief "Princian" era.
The photo above says it all. If you have a hankering for some premium vintage sleaze - look no further than After Hours' New York Grindhouse Avon 7 Triple Feature for your filth fix! Recommended.
(Screencaps provided by http://www.rockshockpop.com/ )
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