The golden age of porn began back in the early 70’s with all time classics like Deep Throat, Devil in Miss Jones, Behind the Green Door, etc. This film was also one of those classics, but sometimes gets overlooked, and shouldn’t. Here is a my review of this 1975 classic as it appeared in NightMoves Magazine about 25 years ago.
3 a.m. Time of Sexuality – Westwood Films/Cal Vista Classics – Director – Robert McCallum – Cast – Georgina Spelvin, Judith Hamilton, Sharon Thorpe, Clair Dia, Rhonda Gallard, Robert Rose. Charles Hooper, Frank Mauro.
When early porn classics are discussed, for some reason this one is generally left out and shouldn’t be. It is an extremely well made film with the feel of an Ingmar Bergmann art film. It has the shadings, nuances and combination of story, plot and music. The characters are very well portrayed by the actors under McCallum’s well paced direction. It is truly a hidden gem among the classics from porn’s golden age. The story revolves around a middle class family and the beachfront house they live in on Long Island. It’s a family where Mark (Frank Mauro) and Elaine (Rhonda Gallard) are married with two teenage children, Stacy (Clair Dia) and Ronnie (Charles Hooper). Kate (Georgina Spelvin) is the spinster sister of Rhonda who has been carrying on an illicit affair with Mark for some time. He finally decides he wants to find himself and make things work with his wife and end the affair. When he tells Kate this, she accidentally kills him in a boating accident getting knocked overboard and drowning. The title of the film is derived from the time this accident occurred.
After his death, Elaine has a sexual tryst with Morgan (Rob Rose), who is a local tennis pro. Stacy and Ronnie are becoming sexually active and are attracted to each other but nothing really happens at this point. It seems Ronnie has been peeking in on a neighbor, Vicki (Sharon Thorpe), a widow who loves to masturbate. She finally spots him and gives him his first taste of real sex. In the meantime Kate has taken it upon herself to take the virginity away from Stacy in a steamy scene. There’s a lot more that takes place in this dramatic story that will keep your interest level high. As the story nears the end Kate confesses into a tape recorder what really happened to Mark. Then in true art film form, she walks out onto the beach and into the waters of Long Island Sound in a very chilling ending.
The cinematography, angles, shadings, lighting are all extraordinary and capture every essence of this story. The acting is far superior from what one might expect in a porn film. Ms. Spelvin’s Broadway background shows with her excellent acting chops that bring her character to life. The rest of the cast are also extremely convincing in their roles as they all obviously had some serious training as actors. As for the sex scenes, most of them are short, to the point and some score more heat than others, but overall, well done. This film, now almost 50 years later, still holds up as a true mainstream style production in just about every way and is available in DVD form. Give “3 a.m. The Time of Sexuality” a look, you will not be disappointed with this hidden gem enjoying another superb portrayal by AVN and XRCO Hall of Famer Georgina Spelvin.
Art Koch, National Features & DVD Editor, NightMoves Magazine and AAN
