Retro Porn Review - The Legend of Lady Blue

Love stories are not particularly common in porn. It’s not hard to see why, since the adult industry’s demographics tend to aim to less sentimental matters. Still, every once in a while, a “couples film” gets released with a storyline centered around a torrid romance.

This is not the only Hollywood-esque turn that makes The Legend of Lady Blue such a singular movie. It also happened to be the first and only filmmaking credit as a writer and director for “A. Fabritzi”, who was later revealed to be mainstream character actor Jesse Pearson, better known for playing the title role of rock and roll star Conrad Birdie in the 1963 classic Bye Bye Birdie.

The story starts in the small town of Kingsville, South Dakota, where a young couple is having a romantic afternoon by the lake, after Sunday Church. Casey (John Smith, a solid guy who inexplicably was never in another movie) and Iris (played beautifully by the seldom used Maureen Spring) both have plans after high school. Iris wants to go to Hollywood and become a movie star, while Casey plans to join his friend Shelby (Billy Dee in his debut role in the industry) enlisting in the Marine Corps. An expected (and surprisingly connected) lakeside sex scene ensues before the newly engaged couple has to part ways.

A year later, on Valentine’s Day, we see Casey shooting heroin in a Vietnam whorehouse, as he reads a letter from Iris. This is a bit dark and unexpected, but clearly not a habit for Casey, since we don’t see any dependence later on. What we do see are some heavy gangbang scenes in that brothel that feature John Leslie and a lot of dudes masturbating around the action. I wonder if auditing the sex is just a little cheaper for the soldiers.

Another year has passed by, and we see Iris having a meeting with a ruthless Hollywood agent (Gloria Leonard). Sweet Iris hasn’t had the success she expected, and this new opportunity could make or break her career. Unfortunately for Iris, the sex-crazed agent is not beating around the bush — although, to be fair, she does brush said bush gently with a rose — and explains to her naïve new client that in order to get parts in show business, putting out is a must. While not having explicit sex, this is easily one the most beautifully shot porn scenes of its time; alternating extreme close-ups of her clit and her eyes, while a rose softly touches all of her body. A genuinely scared Iris stares at her cougar-y new agent’s pussy while she masturbates.

Of course, her agent has plans for her, and those don’t include Casey, whose time in post-service medical school is cut by a letter from Iris informing him she needs to focus on her career now. Both of their lives take seriously dark turns after that, and the puppy love that started everything seems pretty far by now. Whether they can recover it or not is the question that keeps us alert.

The Legend of Lady Blue is a very nicely shot film, and the lighting is significantly better than a number of its contemporaries. It’s a shame Pearson didn’t make any other films (he died of cancer a year later, after writing his second adult flick.) The acting — especially considering both lead performers were fairly unknown — was solid, and they were handed a very decent script with a storyline that keeps your interest throughout the whole thing.

Don’t let the “romance” tag discourage you. It’s a pretty good adult movie, with passionate sex scenes and a plot arc that holds everything together nicely. Reasonably above average in every aspect.

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