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Most of the works showcased in the Good Vibrations Erotic Film Festival are trying to look at the future of eroticism. Alt and queer porn directors like Courtney Trouble are resolutely dedicated to exploring new ground in sexuality by challenging their audiences to redefine their erotic visions. On September 16 at the Lumiere Theater, however, the festival will encourage audiences to take a look back when it shows The Devil in Miss Jones, the 1972 porn classic starring Georgina Spelvin that Gerard Damiano directed immediately after he brought porn into the mainstream with Deep Throat. Spelvin herself will be attending for a Q&A conducted by Carol Queen.
To those used to the modern porn that’s easily available on the Internet, The Devil in Miss Jones will stand out in stark contrast. Like many of the adult films from the 1970s, it takes the dramatic and cinematic elements seriously. It’s a much darker film than almost any other porno you’ll ever see; in the very first scene, the title character gets into a bathtub and ceremoniously slits her wrists. From there, she goes to the afterlife, where it’s explained to her by an affable demon named Mr. Abaca, who regretfully informs her that although she’s lived a spotless life–even remaining a virgin–she’s damned herself to Hell by taking her own life. Obviously, the situation is unjust, and Jones says with frustration that if she had to do it all over again, she’d at least earn her damnation by living a life consumed in lust. Abaca is charmed by the idea, and gives her a few days to indulge herself. Harry Reems plays The Teacher who guides her through a string of passionate and increasingly imaginative encounters until Abaca finally sends Jones to a torment worse than any lake of fire.
Whatever you think about the sex, which starts with the virginal Justine Jones giving her first blowjob to The Teacher and works its way up to her molesting a snake, The Devil in Miss Jones is a very smart film. Camilla Lombard, Good Vibes’ Events and Promotions Coordinator,says that its importance and continued appeal is in part because “It was one of the first porn films to take on some heavy existential issues and Georgina was a real actor performing in a porn millieu.It explores some very dark themes, which is unusual for porn, which tended to be pretty light and superficial.”
The themes of sin and damnation cast a disturbing shadow over the whole film, but that doesn’t stop it from being hot. It’s a whole 18 minutes before anyone starts fucking, but once Miss Jones starts exploring the virtues of vice, she does it with the gusto that only a nice Catholic girl who’s suddenly discovered sex can deliver.
As Lombard notes, Spelvin herself was no ordinary porn star. When she made The Devil in Miss Jones, she was well into her thirties and had modest breasts, almost flat-chested. Her original role in the movie wasn’t even in front of the camera; she was originally hired as the cook, and only got the lead as a fluke when Harry Reems asked her to read the female lines from the script for some of the male actors who were rehearsing. Like a triple-X version of a Busby Berkeley movie, the lead role was rewritten from a 19-year-old to a 37-year-old spinster when the original actress became unavailable due to illness. The most powerful thing that she brings to the movie is the ease with which she plays both sides of the role. Spelvin is equally believable as a demure spinster and as a libertine. Her delivery of her lines is relaxed and natural; during her sex scenes, her face never once glazes over with the “I’m making my grocery list” expression that you’ve certainly seen if you’ve watched more than a few pornos.
Despite being made 37 years ago, The Devil in Miss Jones is perfectly suited to a film festival that is devoted to the future of sexuality. For a few minutes in the 70s, it really looked like porn was going to burst out of its closet into full-fledged cinematic respectability because of films like this; now, artists like Courtney Trouble and April Flores who put their brains into their work as fearlessly as they do their bodies are doing the same thing. Come to the show on September 16th and get a taste of where we’ve been along with where we’re going.
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