This week we travel back in time to 1982, the early part of the decade of the 80’s that would bring many changes to our lives forever. What do recall from that year? Let’s take a look back and see what that year was like and what it gave us.
First, as always, we’ll take a look back at the cost of living. The average income was just $22,000 a year. The average cost of buying a new 3 bedroom home was $88,000 and the average cost of a new car was $7,900. The cost of a gallon of gas was creeping up towards the $1.00 mark at 91 cents, and we thought that was ridiculous! You could buy a new outdoor gas grill for $250, a Sony 19” color TV for $500, a portable cassette tape recorder for $50. For the kids, a full set of 20 Matchbox cars for $25 (Imagine what they are worth today!). A postage stamp was just 20 cents. A loaf of bread was 50 cents and tomatoes were just 39 cents a pound. Among the many news headlines in 1982, the largest cash robbery in history occurs in New York when $9,800,000 is stolen from an armored car. Tylenol capsules laced with potassium cyanide kill 7 in Chicago. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington DC is dedicated. The first issue of a brand new newspaper, USA Today, is published and Disney’s futuristic EPCOT opens in Orlando, Florida. Graceland, the home of Elvis Presley is opened to the public as a tourist attraction. Boeing introduces the 747 jetliner. The Weather Channel makes its debut and music CD’s make their debut in Japan. Soon it will be the new way of music listening in the U.S. Surround Sound is the new technology for music listening. Cal Ripken Jr. is named the American League Rookie of the Year. It is also the year we are first introduced to the “Smiley” emoticon.
From the world of entertainment among the year’s hit Hollywood movies were Porky’s, E.T The Extra Terrestrial, On Golden Pond, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Annie and Chariots of Fire. The big music makers in 1982 included Michael Jackson and “Thriller”, Olivia Newton-John, Lionel Richie and Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. Thriller would go to sell 30 million copies. In TV land among the most popular shows were Knight Rider, Three’s Company, The Love Boat, Dynasty, Hill Street Blues and Magnum P.I. A number of celebrities passed away, but the world was most saddened by the death of former actress Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco. There was also actor Henry Fonda, Negro League and ML baseball star Satchel Paige, actor/director Jack Webb, jazz musician Thelonius Monk and actor/comedian John Belushi.
In the ever growing world of porn, more and more production was being done in California. The home video craze was on the horizon and would change porn forever. 1982 gave us some great adult films like The Mistress, Angels in Distress, Fascination and the one we take a look back at today, “Scoundrels”.
Scoundrels – Command Cinema –Director – Cecil Howard – Cast – Sharon Mitchell, Ariel Lee, Tiffany Clark, Marilyn Gee, Tigr, Anna Turner, Copper Penny, Lisa Be, Tammy Lamb, George Payne, R. Bolla, Ron Hudd and Ron Jeremy
When this film came out AVN called it a sexual masterpiece. It would go on to win Best Director and Best Editing after being nominated in all of the major film categories. The writing of the screenplay went to the acclaimed Anne Randall. Cecil Howard, who had a brilliant track record in porn was considered by Playboy magazine to be the “The Grandmaster of Erotic Film Making.” Unfortunately the adult industry lost one of its true pioneers when Cecil Howard dies just 10 days ago, Dec. 16, 2016 at the age of 85.
It is a story intelligently told about infidelity within the dysfunctional family of a psychiatrist. It was considered at the time to be a milestone in erotic film making because of its approach that would bring both sympathy and pity for the characters in the film. The sex scenes, and there are ten of them, are high intensity, all out, explosive that really hit the viewer hard.
In this film, Ron Jeremy will surprise a lot of viewers. Known for his humorous portrayals, he undertook the more serious role of the psychiatrist who falls victim to the sexual boredom of his suffering marriage. Lisa Be plays his wife and takes her role of the cheating wife to another level. That smile she greets him with when he gets home from a hard day masks every cock she has sampled, including that of his best friend. There is also the dirty, horny foul mouthed daughter Franci, played to the hilt by Tigr. Like her mother she will screw anything that has a dick. Needless to say Jeremy’s home life is not what it pretends to be. Fact is even he has his dalliances on the side as well.
While there is the cheating sex from husband and wife and their whore of a daughter, there is also a lot of story, a lot of inner soul searching and a lot of trying to fix what’s broke and get things back to some kind of normal. It is a difficult task for our three main characters that put on the good family front when needed. It all comes crashing down when Franci starts working at a local whore house. The big problem is it is the same place her father goes for his fun and pleasure away from home. There is a lot more that takes place as this family continues to fall further but the answers lie in a superior being, or do they? It’s a twist that Randall has added to this story to give it a little more to play with as far as this family unit is concerned. How they all work out their various problems and the way the film concludes is masterfully done.
The writing is brilliant, the characters are allowed to develop under Howard’s skillful direction and the entire cast really put everything they have into whatever role they are playing. In the forty years Ron Jeremy has been in the porn world, this role may go down as one of the best he has ever done in his lengthy career. The interiors and exteriors fill the screen in a very solid way, the cinematography is above par and gives us the full essence of who these characters are and what they have allowed themselves to become. The sex scenes are powerful, engaging, explosive and well done by the cast. Then you add in the opera and classical music that is used when needed and this becomes a complete film work you will watch and enjoy start to finish.
Without question I definitely recommend getting a hold of the re-released DVD of “Scoundrels” from 1982. Cecil Howard’s passing was a great loss to the adult industry R.I.P. sir. This was another of several often forgotten classics that provided some great adult entertainment during porn’s golden age.
Art Koch, National Features & DVD Editor, NightMoves Magazine and AAN
