''The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann'' is a 1974 American

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

adult film Pornographic films (pornos), erotic films, sex films, and 18+ films are films that present sexually explicit subject matter in order to arouse and satisfy the viewer. Pornographic films present sexual fantasies and usually include erotic ...

starring Barbara Bourbon and directed by

Radley Metzger Radley Metzger (also known as Radley Henry Metzger, Radley H. Metzger and by the pseudonyms, "Jake Barnes", "Erich Farina" and "Henry Paris") (January 21, 1929 – March 31, 2017) was an American pioneering filmmaker and film distributor, most n ...

(as "Henry Paris") that is considered one of the classics of the

Golden Age of Porn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MediaWiki_talk:Spam-whitelist/Archives/2018/01#Another_Worthy_Journal_Article_on_Wordpress ---> The term "Golden Age of Porn", or "porno chic", refers to a 15-year period (1969–1984) in commercial American porno ...

(1969–1984). It was a step forward in the development of the genre, as it had a plot and good acting. The movie can be seen as a meditation on

voyeurism Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of watching other people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions of a private nature. The term comes from the French ''voir'' which means "to see". ...

, due to the trope of Mann being spied on by a

private detective A private investigator (often abbreviated to PI and informally called a private eye), a private detective, or inquiry agent is a person who can be hired by individuals or groups to undertake investigatory law services. Private investigators of ...

hired by her husband, and the production of pornography itself, as the detective films her sexual encounters. Porn film star Bill Margold, who went on to be the director of the

Free Speech Coalition The Free Speech Coalition (FSC) is a non-profit trade association of the pornography and adult entertainment industry in the United States. Founded in 1991, it opposes the passage and enforcement of obscenity laws and many censorship laws (with ...

, has written that "''The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann'' signals an end to the all-balling, no purpose, disposable mastur-movies that go into one orifice and out another.” Filmed in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, the movie was released in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on December 26, 1974 and was nationally distributed in 1975. The film has been inducted into the

XRCO Hall of Fame The XRCO Hall of Fame lists well-known adult entertainment The sex industry (also called the sex trade) consists of businesses that either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The industry in ...

Plot

Bourbon plays Pamela Mann, a married

psychotherapist Psychotherapy (also psychological therapy, talk therapy, or talking therapy) is the use of psychological methods, particularly when based on regular personal interaction, to help a person change behavior, increase happiness, and overcome prob ...

living and working in Manhattan who has several sexual encounters that are filmed by a private detective hired by her husband. Mann has sex with one of her patients, a

prostitute Prostitution is the business or practice of engaging in sexual activity in exchange for payment. The definition of "sexual activity" varies, and is often defined as an activity requiring physical contact (e.g., sexual intercourse, non-penet ...

, and also is kidnapped by a couple of radicals. While the male radical orally

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or a ...

s Mann, the female radical reads the text of a Supreme Court decision on pornography. She also fellates a man she meets on a park bench. At the climax of the film, Mann is revealed to be watching the detective's films in bed with her husband. They have staged the encounters and the snooping for their own private enjoyment. They then have sex.

Cast

* Barbara Bourbon as Pamela Mann * Sonny Landham as Political Candidate * Darby Lloyd Rains as Rapist * Marc Stevens as First Man with Pamela * Eric Edwards as Frank * Kevin Andre as Frank's First Client * Day Jason (as Naomi Jason) as Receptionist * Alan Marlow as Pamela's Husband *

Jamie Gillis Jamie Gillis (born Jamey Ira Gurman; April 20, 1943 – February 19, 2010) was an American pornographic actor, director and member of the AVN Hall of Fame. He was married to the porn actress Serena. Early life Gillis was born Jamey Ira Gurman ...

(as Jamey Gills) as Rapist * Doris Toumarkine (as Lola LaGarce) as Poll Taker * Levi Richards (as John Ashton) as Hiram Wood * Georgina Spelvin as Hooker

Notes

''The Private Afternoons of Pamela Manns'' was released during the

(inaugurated by the 1969 release of

Andy Warhol Andy Warhol (; born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director, and producer who was a leading figure in the Art movement, visual art movement known as pop art. His works explore th ...

Blue Movie ''Blue Movie'' (also known as ''Fuck'') is a 1969 American erotic film written, produced and directed by Andy Warhol. It is the first adult erotic film depicting explicit sex to receive wide theatrical release in the United States, and is ...

'') in the United States, at a time of " porno chic",Porno Chic (Jahsonic.com)
/ref> in which adult erotic films were just beginning to be widely released, publicly discussed by celebrities (like

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of '' The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six P ...

and

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in Bob Hope filmography, more than 70 short and ...

) and taken seriously by film critics (like

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

). According to one film reviewer, Radley Metzger's films, including those made during the

(1969–1984), are noted for their "lavish design, witty

screenplay ''ScreenPlay'' is a television drama anthology series broadcast on BBC2 between 9 July 1986 and 27 October 1993. Background After single-play anthology series went off the air, the BBC introduced several showcases for made-for-television, f ...

s, and a penchant for the unusual

camera angle The camera angle marks the specific location at which the movie camera or video camera is placed to take a shot. A scene may be shot from several camera angles simultaneously. This will give a different experience and sometimes emotion. The diffe ...

". Another reviewer noted that his films were "highly artistic — and often cerebral ... and often featured gorgeous

cinematography Cinematography (from ancient Greek κίνημα, ''kìnema'' "movement" and γράφειν, ''gràphein'' "to write") is the art of motion picture (and more recently, electronic video camera) photography. Cinematographers use a lens to fo ...

". Film and audio works by Metzger have been added to the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.

Remastered version

In 2011, DistribPix released a complete remastering of the film, with the full cooperation of the director. The result had a limited exhibition in theaters, but the main outcome of the project was the first-ever official remastered DVD version. A listing of the music on the film soundtrack was released earlier.

References

External links

''The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann''
at

MUBI Mubi (; stylized as MUBI; The Auteurs before 2010) is a global curated film streaming platform, production company and film distributor. Mubi produces and theatrically distributes films by emerging and established filmmakers, which are exclusivel ...

(related to

The Criterion Collection The Criterion Collection, Inc. (or simply Criterion) is an American home-video distribution company that focuses on licensing, restoring and distributing "important classic and contemporary films." Criterion serves film and media scholars, cinep ...

) * *
''The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann''
on the

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek mythology * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology c ...

WebSite.
''The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann'' – review/RockShockPop

''The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann'' – review/10kBullets

''The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann'' – 2011 remastering at DistribPix

''The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann'' - Trailer (02:55)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann American pornographic films 1970s English-language films Films about psychiatry Films directed by Radley Metzger 1974 films 1970s pornographic films 1970s American films