This week we take you back forty four long years ago to 1975. It was a decade of change. There was the disco rage for one and one other change that would have a major impact on the U.S., the world and how the entire world would communicate in the future. So let’s look back and see what 1975 was like and what took place in our world back then.
As always lets first look at the cost of living. The average income in the U.S. was a whopping $14,000. a year, the average rent was just $200 a month for an apartment. You could buy a brand new 3 bedroom home for an average price of just $40,000. When came to automobiles, the average price was around $4,200, but you could go expensive and buy a new Oldsmobile Delta 88 Royale for $5,625. A gallon of gas was only 44 cents. You could get a Hershey chocolate bar for 15 cents and a Big Mac for only 70 cents. Men’s leisure suits were popular and cost only $39.00.As for news headlines and what was taking place here and around the world……..The Vietnam War ends as Communist forces take Saigon and South Vietnam surrenders unconditionally……..The US carries out the Vietnam “Operation Babylift” that brings Vietnamese orphans to the US…….Jimmy Hoffa ex teamsters boss disappears never to be seen again……..Patti Hearst becomes Most Wanted and then arrested for armed robbery………It is also in 1975 that two young men, Bill Gates and Paul Allen would create a new company called Microsoft……..New computers are starting to appear including the Altair 8800 and the battle for video recorder standards of VHS and Betamax begin.
In the world of entertainment among the year’s big films were “Jaws”, “Young Frankenstein”, “One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest” and “The Godfather II”. In the music world LaBelle, the Eagles, Black Sabbath, Elton John, Paul McCartney and Wings and Chicago are the big record sellers. On TV among the big shows were The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Waltons, All in the Family, M*A*S*H and Happy Days. We lost a number of celebrities in 1975 including blues performer T-Bone Walker, actress Susan Hayward, baseball manager Casey Stengel, TV writer and host Rod Serling and comedienne Moms Mabley.
In the world of porn, films are still being shot, for the most part, in New York, but some productions pop up on the west coast. New stars, new camera techniques all play into the growing popularity of porn. Despite protests from morality groups, government threats and new laws, the porn industry is creating a whole new entertainment niche for consenting adults. One of the films to come out in 1975, was a great film based on a best selling book, the film is titled, Naked Came The Stranger”.
Naked Came The Stranger – 1975 – VCA Pictures – Director – Radley Metzger – Cast – Darby Lloyd Rains, Mary Stuart, Helen Madigan, Levi Richards, Alan Marlow, others.
This truly a work of art from porn’s golden age. It is actually based on a best seller on the N.Y. Times list back in the day. How the best selling book came about is a story in itself. But the film adaptation immediately became a major porn hit.
Starring Darby Lloyd Rains in one of her best ever performances she not only was sexually appealing, but she also possessed fantastic acting chops and it made this exceptionally produced film even better. With Metzger (aka Henry Paris) at the helm his films always had somewhat of way of using the imagination as you watched the film unfold and that is what you have here, and brilliantly done.
In the film Darby and her husband play radio talk show hosts who discuss sex on the air with their listeners and callers. But away from the mic, hubby is having an affair. When Darby finds out, well what’s good for the goose is good for the gander, so she decides to have one of her own. This turns their lives both on and off the air into one frenetic round of sexual pleasure and excitement as they try to keep their own lives together. The sex scenes offer more than you might expect for the time. There is humor, there is pathos, there is wonderment that all blends together extremely well. The sex scenes are explosive, nothing held back and offer plenty of good stroke time for the viewer. Ms. Rains really gets into her sex scenes and her penchant for real sexual connections and feelings made her performances even better. Great performances all around, sexually and non sexually in this true classic from the golden age. In addition to all this the music track that accompanies this film is excellent and lends to the overall feel of the film
You can find it today completely remastered in HD and with a ton of great extras added such as how the restoration was done, the soft and hard cuts, deleted scenes, director’s commentary, trailers of other Metzger porn classics, a 40 page booklet that tells of the entire history and process of the film and a lot more. If you are looking for a great porn classic, this 5 star gem “Naked Came A Stranger” is a great place to start.
Art Koch, National Features & DVD Editor, NightMoves Magazine and AAN
