The Devil Made Me Do It

Georgina Spelvin

Little Red Hen Books,California (2006)

Available from www.lulu.com

Reviewer: Bob Estreich

It was the 1970s and the anti-Vietnam War movement was in full swing. Much of it was fuelled by small communes of intensely civic-minded people who all fell under the generic name of “hippies”. One such was Georgina Spelvin (that’s not her real name, but it’s the one she went under for her later films). . The commune needed money to pay their rent.

Georgina had left her second husband and was working with the commune. She already had some editing and film production skills from working on commercials for corporate America so it seemed logical to find work in that area. The only jobs available seemed to be for young women willing to show their tits, so she decided to give in and look for work in that area although she was neither particularly young nor overly endowed. She got lucky and found a producer who was looking for some extras, a boat on which they could film, and a more mature lady lead. The film was High Priestess of Sexual Witchcraft. Through the people she knew at the commune she was able to satisfy the director’s other needs and she was offered the role of the high priestess. It was a bit of an education, but from her comments in the book Georgina managed to take it in her stride. She learned some of the basics of the industry on the pointy end of the camera.

The porn industry at this time was really working the cheap exploitation end of the market. Films were shot in days, preferably with only one take per scene. They were turned out as rapidly as possible and the “money shot” was king. There were a few well known names in the industry but most of the actors and actresses were unsure when or if they would ever get any more work. Georgina was lucky enough to meet producer Gerard Damiano, who had already had a success with the slightly better-than-average Deep Throat, a film Georgina had never heard of.

“”Deep Throat”? You don’t know Deep Throat?” he asks in mock horror.

“I’ve never heard of it. What’s it about, a giraffe?”

Damiano was casting for a new film and Georgina thought there might be some production work available. Her contact for Damiano was Harry Reims, a well known male lead in the industry at the time. He had also starred in Deep Throat.Harry directed her to Damiano, who did indeed have a job open – catering for the film crew. Georgina took it. While waiting for Damiano she helped one of the lead characters in the new film to practice his lines by reading the other parts to him. At the end of this Damiano offered her the lead in the new film, The Devil In Miss Jones.

Georgina treats us to a wonderful set of anecdotes about the joys and hassles of filmmaking. The group, crew, production and actors, soon get to know each other and that camaraderie begins to form – even though it’s only for a few days. Those who know her are quite non-judgmental about the film. To them, in this time of relatively free love, it’s just a job.

There is a magic moment when she meets Herman, who on their first meeting starts “exploring the warmer parts of my anatomy”. Herman is a boa constrictor, and he and Georgina get on so well a snake scene was hurriedly written into the film. Herman is a natural porn actor. For more detail, buy the book. Herman shared her bed that night, and many cold nights thereafter.

We are treated to many inside secrets of the trade, probably far more than we need to know. .In Georgina’s slightly humorous, slightly caustic style it comes across as funny, not smutty.

“I even figured out why they call it a blowjob. Before you stick it down your throat its better to blow away any loose hairs”.

Georgina was somewhat surprised to find that Harry could actually act, and it appeared that she must have had some talent too, as the film was a huge success. It was one of the first porn films to actually make a profit and a lot of that glory rubbed off on Georgina. The exploration of many taboo areas stunned a lot of filmgoers but its quality and intelligent plot were obvious. It went a long way towards lifting the image of porn films.

It didn’t, however, do much for Georgina’s career. Apart from some followup work like premiers and so on there were few more films. She was able to play on her fame for some years as a stripper, but she was also fighting an alcohol addiction. Her mother took her in hand and helped her control it, and she even managed to get an office job and hang onto it. During this she found some time to appear in Desires In Young Girls. Then her mother (and shortly afterwards her father) died.

With her share of the estate she bought a house in Hollywood, her longtime dream. While there she met John, her future husband. Although she was over fifty, she was inducted into the Legends of Erotica and seems surprised that after all those years she was still remembered.

The book is interesting for its total shamelessness, Georgina doesn’t fill pages trying to justify her career. She was a product of her times and did what she could to make a living, and I can respect her for her total lack of embarrassment about it. She is quite open about the industry and her role in it, and its effects of her. The book is actually moderately funny, especially where she discusses the industry itself and its attempts to produce what it thinks the public wants. The success of The Devil in Miss Jones over the standard quickie skin flick suggests that the industry may have underestimated the public.

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This review will appear in Volume 3 No.2 of the digital and print edition of Synergy Magazine.

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