Porno movie experiences pre-1980

In My Humble Opinion
1

It has come to my attention that back before 1980 porno movies had theatrical releases. Granted that was in adult cinemas but it was the major source of their revenue. Right?

It was just so weird to think about it that way since today it is such an ‘at home’ think to do that I wanted to know more about it.

So I want to know from some of our older dopers what it was like in the 70s and earlier to see porno movies. Was it more common to watch films in your own house on projectors or in theaters? How prevalent was it? Who knew you watched either? How many trailers did they run before the movie? What was it like to be in those theaters? Did they sell popcorn? Anything else you think was interesting about the experience?

2

Not only did they sell popcorn, the “popcorn surprise” was in great demand. :smiley:

3

I actually took a date of the opposite sex to a “Pussycat Theater” – no, really, it was a chain in Los Angeles with very gaudy marquees in pre-VCR days. It seemed like the audience was full of panting old men holding raincoats on their laps (except for us, of course!). A little embarrasing, but at least I knew my date well enough that we would fersure end up in bed afterwards. And there were a surprising number of date-couples in the packed house (“Deep Throat” was the feature).

But I digress. Osiris, if you had never broached the question, I would never have had an oportunity to tell this story, so I am eternally grateful. Here goes.

It was 1967, in Vietnam. I was in the 1st Division Army Band and we had a base adjacent to the Korean compound. Now, Army bands are more than just Marching Fools; they are expected to provide music for ALL occasions, from formal award ceremonies to strip shows (yes, we did, but that’s another story). In our band were some very good jazz musicians and we had a great “big band” or “stage band” with the 5 trumpet, 4 trombones, 5 sax plus rhythm configuration.

The Koreans were nuts about American music and jazz in particular. One day we were invited to play at their EM (Enlisted Men’s) Club. We gave them such a concert and were surprised to see men (there were no women on the compound) dancing jitterbug-style with other men while we played. We assumed it was a cultural difference.

After the performance, as we were packing up to leave and most of the audience had filtered out, a Korean sergeant told us to grab our favorite bottle(s) from the bar and join the rest at the big table so he could show us some “Training Films.”

Training Films, hunh. Guess that bottle might come in handy, so we followed instructions. Out came the projector and on the screen appeared some naked ladies and a German Shepherd dog who…but you get the idea.

None of us spoke Korean, and the Koreans spoke little English. But the music and stag films were a universal communication device and no other language was necessary.

Ah, memories. :slight_smile:

4

Cmon, Musicat, tell us the strip show story, puleeze?

5

Hmm, I assume they didn’t have a pimply 16 year old kid running concessions huh?

You know, it’s so different to today it’s almost unbelievable. Thank you for sharing.

Tell me, how often did you go? Just the one time or was it a monthly thing?

6

…and back then, the women had abundant pubic hair, AND WE LIKED IT THAT WAY!

7

Of course not. It was a pimply 49-year old kid.

We only went to the Pussycat Theater once. After that, it was “been there, done that.” I’m sure there were many regulars, but once we got it out of our system, the urge didn’t return.

However, the same girlfriend & I once checked into a local “specialty” motel that played continuous porn videos on the room TVs. Again, it was just to experience the “ambience,” and once was enough.

Remember, this was a time when porn was mostly poor-quality black & white film, not readily obtainable unless you knew somebody, and you had to rent a 16mm projector, etc. You would find it at bachelor parties, but I don’t think most people went to that trouble frequently. That may explain the popularity of the Pussycat Theaters in their heyday – it brought the whole idea out of the closet. Color! Widescreen! Giant tits!

Meanwhile, back at the motel, the TV played a 20-minute porn short, then went blank. When I called the office to complain, the manager said, “We pause between videos so you can do something else!” It was a little like Musak[sup]TM[/sup] – on for a while, then off for a while.

We thought of something. :smiley:

8

Now, now. You’re not trying to get me in trouble with the mods by wandering off the topic, are you? :wink:

Ask me again. I just love to be begged.

9

Well, now… let’s see. In Indianapolis during Christmas break back in good old 1973, a college chum and I decided we wanted to go see “Deep Throat” which was the hot-item XXX movie of the day. She and I slipped into a seedy little porn house a few miles from where her family lived in the middle of the afternoon. Because of the bright sun that day, we moved tenuously to find an empty row, then made ourselves comfortable. Once our eyes got adjusted to the dark, we saw that there were only about 12 people in the whole place, and that we were the only females. One guy caught our attention, because he kept getting up and moving to another row. He started on the other side of the theater from us, front and left, and slowly worked his way back… until he was seated right behind us! We sat there giggling, listening to his grunting and groaning while he serviced himself during the flick. He was obviously happy that he was the one in the theater who had located the females in the group to torment. Once he was “done,” he silently removed himself before the lights came back up, so we wouldn’t see his face. However, we couldn’t resist the impulse to glance over at the mess he had made on the floor and the backs of our seats!

Watching porn at home is obviously much more private, and you don’t run the risk of bumping into someone you know (unless you invite them over, of course). But the sense of danger and adventure is no longer there, and that probably ruins the experience for some people (like our “neighbor” mentioned above). I think that’s one of the reasons why so many of the adult bookstores still have small theaters in them. You should go check some of them out, Osiris!

10

Pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, please with sugar and whipped cream and butterscotch and caramel and hot fudge and crumbled up cookie things /Homer Simpson/ Mmmmm…crumbled up cookie things /Homer Simpson/ and sprinkles.:slight_smile: :slight_smile: :slight_smile: :slight_smile: :smiley: :smiley: :smiley: :smiley:

11

I never went to any of those theaters back in the day (really!) but I do remember looking at the movie ads in the style section of the Washington Post. I would laugh at the absurd titles of those movies as contrasted by the mainstream movies that advertised right alongside them.

12

Mighty fine begging, WSLer. Now I’m afraid the story will be an anticlimax!

Same Vietnam era, ca. 1967-8, things getting pretty boring in between random acts of terror and army bullshit, memories of American females fading, we’re counting down the days until the return home. Then the band gets a call to whip a combo together to play a private party. We took a Wurlitzer electric piano, a sax, drums, bass & trumpet with their respective players and went over to a nearby officer’s mess. There the General, some Colonels and Majors were fawning over a REAL, AMERICAN, FULL-BODIED GIRL! WITH LEGS! AND MORE!

We were told our purpose was to provide music for a strip act she would be putting on (off?) in the mess hall after dinner. It was obvious that this was Above And Beyond The Call Of Duty, and Not An Official Army Function, but did we object? We asked her what songs she wanted us to play. She said, “Do you know ‘Hang on, Sloopy’?”

Sure, we did. What else?

“Just keep playing it as long as I dance.”

That was pretty easy. We must have played 45,029,339 choruses of Hang On Sloopy. No key changes, tempo alterations, or other fancy stuff. Just Bump. Da-Dump. Da-Dump. Da-dum-dum Bump…

And we had the best seats in the house, right on the tiny stage surrounding the girl. Was she over the hill? Sure, but so what? T & A never looked so good, and we weren’t distracted by having to read music.

The hooch was packed with G.I.s and the windows bulged in with the latecomers pressing noses to screen. I imagine it was a “first time” in many ways for the younger guys. She took it all off, put it all on, and took it all off again. It got better each time. When she finally threw in the towel (into the audience, that is), guys fought for it.

We theorized she was the General’s personal prize after the show. If he is reading this and recognizes the story, I would like to personally salute and say, Thank you, Sir, for making my Vietnam Vacation all worthwhile.

To this day, I can’t listen to “Sloopy” without a Vietnam flashback.

Can I have my cookie thingies now?

13

Ahh Yes, the olden days of Porn. Back when I lived in Tulsa, Oklahoma in the early 80’s we would go to a porno drive in theatre! Yes you saw that right! It was a big theatre too. It didn’t have speakers like the old theatres, it was modern enough to allow you to tune your radio in to a certain frequency to hear the action.

The Capri Drive In.

Good Times

14

I was living in San Francisco in 1962 in the old Residence Inn, run by the Salvation Army, just off Market Street. Across the street was a movie theater that only showed adult films. And believe it or not, women were not allowed in. My girlfriend and I used to talk about dressing up like men just to get inside and see what all the fuss was about. We also used to grill our boyfriends about what went on in there. I remember one of them said there were nakid women jumping on a trampoline . God, what happened to those innocent days? Now you can see that in the park. I think the girls these days are really missing out; men used to know they weren’t getting any, so they had to use their charm and display some character, and some future plans, to even get a girl’s attention. Now all they have to do is show their butt-crack.

15

:stuck_out_tongue:

**

True, but who’s complaining? Not me! :smiley: (And how does showing ones butt-crack get female attention?)

Musicat, those are some great tales. I wonder if that chick was from Ohio? “Hang On Sloopy” is THE song at football games here, a tradition originated by Ohio State U. abot the same time as the Vietnam War.

16

You bet! Let’s go to the drive-in…quilt in the back seat w/ a case of (CountryClubQuickies) and some killer weed! Somebody’s gettin’ fucked one way or another.

Anybody ever been to the old Apache theatre in Tyler,Tx.
Hell, they were still in operation a few years ago. Nothing like a close-up shot at a drive-in …if you had the nerve to look around at the other cars it was even better. Everybody’s windows fogged up…the concession stand actually sold vibrators, dildos, condoms, and popcorn.

It was a trip…:cool:

17

Porn at drive-ins!?!?! utter shock What was there to keep all the kids from watching the movie from the road?

18

Nothing at all, as I recall.

19

The Capri Drive In was right next to the highway. The back of the movie screen was against the highway. I don’t know what was behind the theatre except a tall fence, although there were also flood lights pointing out.

E3

20

It seems that Jonathan Chance and I had a similar experience as kids. Mine initiation came (that somehow doesn’t sound exactly right given the context) at the Rose Bowl, which had a very nice hill opposite the drive in from which you could observe everything (sound? who needs sound?).

When I got to college, it was the Lee Art Theater (my first name being Lee, I thought the name was particularly appropriate). I only ventured in once. My shoes stuck to the floor as I recall.