Debbie Does Dallas | |
---|---|
![]() Theatrical poster | |
Directed by | Jim Clark |
Written by | Maria Minestra |
Produced by | Jim Clark |
Starring |
|
Cinematography | Billy Budd |
Edited by | Hals Liptus |
Music by | Gerald Sampler |
Production company | School Day Films |
Distributed by | VCX [1] |
Release date |
|
Running time | 84 minutes [1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Debbie Does Dallas is a 1978 American pornographic film produced and directed by Jim Clark, and starring Bambi Woods. [2] The plot focuses on a team of cheerleaders attempting to earn enough money to send the title character to Dallas, Texas to try out for the famous "Texas Cowgirls" cheerleading squad. [3] The fictional name "Texas Cowgirls" was seen as an allusion to the real-life Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. [2] [3] Woods had previously tried out for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders in real life, but was cut during auditions. [2]
The film was highly successful, selling 50,000 copies on videotape, making it the most successful pornographic video release in its time. [4] It is regarded as one of the most important releases during the so-called "Golden Age of Porn" (1969–1984), [5] and remains one of the best-known pornographic films. [6] The film is in the public domain following a US court ruling in 1987 that declared its copyright to be lost. [7]
The enormous success spawned a number of sequels and spin-offs, [8] and a 2002 off-Broadway musical of the same name.
Debbie Benton, captain of her high school cheerleading squad, has been accepted to try out for the Texas Cowgirls. [9] Her parents disapprove and refuse to pay her fare to Texas. In a bid to help Debbie, her squadmates Lisa, Roberta, Tammy, Pat and Annie decide to accompany her to Texas. With two weeks to raise the money, they swear off sexual activity with their boyfriends and form a company, called Teen Services.
Tammy takes a job in the local record store run by Nick. Debbie gets a job at a sports store run by Mr. Greenfeld. Roberta convinces Mr. Hardwick to give her a job at the candle store with Mrs. Hardwick. Rikki and Annie agree to wash Mr. Bradly's car.
The football team is annoyed by a lack of sex. Roberta's boyfriend Rick and his teammates join Roberta and Pat in the showers, where they have group sex. While working for Mr. Greenfeld at the sports store, Debbie is talked into allowing Mr. Greenfeld to see her breasts for $10 and fondle her breasts for another $10. Then, he sucks them for an additional $20.
Realizing they will not be able to raise enough money by legitimate means, Debbie convinces the other girls to engage in sexual activities for more money. They agree, but only if it is on their terms.
After Roberta is caught masturbating around Mrs. Hardwick, Roberta engages in sexual activity with Mr. and Mrs. Hardwick, earning extra money. Rikki and Annie go to see Mr. Bradly, to wash his car. Mr. Bradly is not home, but they wash his car anyway. When Mr. Bradly returns home, he asks them in to dry off their wet clothes. They undress for him for $10 each. He performs cunnilingus on them, they each fellate him and then he has anal sex with Annie.
At the library, Donna flirts with Mr. Biddle, the librarian. Visiting her at work, her boyfriend Tim tries to have sex with her. She fellates him but is caught by Mr. Biddle. Donna allows him to spank her to prevent him from telling her parents. Hamilton and his friend Ashly are in the tennis club sauna after a tennis game, and Hamilton convinces Lisa to fellate him while Ashly penetrates her.
At the record store, Tammy has been avoiding Tony's advances; she calls Lisa, who joins them at the record store. Lisa offers Tony "anything" and she begins to fellate him, and then Tammy joins in, and he ejaculates on Tammy's breasts.
In the final scene, Debbie arrives at Mr. Greenfeld's store after hours, in a Texas Cowgirls uniform as he requested. Greenfeld, dressed as Joe Namath, reveals his dream of being the quarterback who made love to the head cheerleader, and she obliges. She fellates him, and he penetrates her vagina with his finger and performs cunnilingus on her. Then they engage in vaginal sex, first in the missionary position, then doggy style, and then with Debbie on top. They finish in the missionary position with Mr. Greenfeld pulling out right before ejaculating.
The movie was produced and directed by Jim Clark. [1] Some scenes were shot at the Brooklyn College athletic field, and the Pratt Institute library in Brooklyn, New York, [1] without the administration's knowledge or approval. [10] There is an unfounded internet rumor that certain scenes were shot at the State University of New York, Stony Brook, including the library scene. [11] However, that was found to be unlikely after an investigation with alumni, and the president of the Debbie Does Dallas production company said such a claim "was purely inconclusive". [11]
New York's Pussycat Theater was enjoined in 1979 from showing the film by the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders under the Lanham Act, arguing that their uniforms were mimicked by the film's producers and used in advertising, infringing on their trademarks. [3] The theater argued that uniforms are strictly functional items, but in affirming the lower court's decision, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit found that "[i]t is well established that, if the design of an item is nonfunctional and has acquired secondary meaning, the design may become a trademark even if the item itself is functional." [3] The decision has been criticized on free speech grounds, but the Seventh Circuit has cited it for the proposition that "confusion about sponsorship or approval, even when the mark does not mislead consumers about the source of the goods," may be sufficient to state a claim under Lanham Act 43(a). [12]
When the film opened in October 1978, it was exhibited without a copyright notice. In 1979, rights-holder M & A Associates entered into an exclusive worldwide video distribution deal with VCX, whereby VCX agreed to pay M & A an advance and make royalty payments on each sale. Upon receiving a print of the film, VCX president Norman Arno contacted M & A president Arthur Weisberg to request copyright protection. Arno also retained the services of attorneys John Lappen and Peter Berger to combat unauthorized copying of the film. Before litigation could commence, VCX was required to add copyright notices to all copies of the film and file registration with the United States Copyright Office; however, VCX could not protect the rights by just adding a notice to the video cassette, since one also needed to be added to the theatrical prints. In 1981, Berger informed Weisberg of the need to add a copyright notice to the prints that had been sent to various theaters, but Weisberg refused. Both Lappen and Berger concluded the copyright had been lost, and in 1982, VCX terminated their contract with M & A and ceased making royalty payments, but continued to distribute the film. In 1987 M & A brought a case against VCX in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan for breach of contract. VCX argued that the contract was void due to M & A's failure to comply with the Copyright Act of 1976. The court found in favor of VCX, and the judge ruled that "Weisberg's actions had thrust the film irretrievably into the [United States] public domain." [13] [14]
In 1983, a court case in New York – United States v. Various Articles of Obscene Merchandise – found the film not to be obscene. [15]
The 1986 publication of the Meese Report contained graphic descriptions of the film's sex scenes and uncensored excerpts of dialogue, which may have contributed to the report becoming a best-seller. [16]
Debbie Does Dallas inspired numerous sequels, remakes and spin-offs in the decades since its release. The Internet Adult Film Database lists twelve further installments in the franchise from 1978 until 2007. [17] In the 2013 book Pornography and Seriality: The Culture of Producing Pleasure, journalist David Slayden was quoted as saying, "No other pornographic film has been remade more often than Debbie Does Dallas." [18] The filmography list includes:
Spin-offs include: [18]
In 2001, Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical was created by Susan L. Schwartz for the New York International Fringe Festival. [21] In 2002, it went off-Broadway. [22] Unlike the original film, the musical did not contain any actual sex or nudity, [22] sparking disappointment among audiences, as false hype had been made and the producers did nothing to dismiss it. Since, the show has been performed globally, often with racier direction and more explicit choreography. The story, dialogue and characters are fairly faithful, with musical numbers standing in for sex scenes or added for comic effect. As recent as 2015, it continues to be performed. [23]
In 2005, a documentary called Debbie Does Dallas Uncovered was produced and shown on British television.
In 2006, VCX employed Media Blasters to digitally re-master from the original 35mm film into a "Definitive Collectors Edition" 2-Disc set on DVD.
On April 11, 2007, Vivid Entertainment Group began including the original feature alongside a new release, Debbie Does Dallas ... Again in DVD, Blu-ray and HD DVD formats. It has also been remade with contemporary porn actors.
Annie M. Sprinkle is an American certified sexologist, performance artist, former sex worker, and advocate for sex work and health care.
Marie Louise Hartman, known professionally as Nina Hartley, is an American pornographic film actress and sex educator. By 2017 she had appeared in more than one thousand adult films. She has been described by Las Vegas Weekly as an "outspoken feminist" and "advocate for sexual freedom", and by CNBC as "a legend in the adult world".
The Devil in Miss Jones is a 1973 pornographic film, written, directed and produced by Gerard Damiano, inspired by the 1944 play No Exit by French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. Starring Georgina Spelvin and Harry Reems, it is widely regarded as a classic adult film, released during the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984). After his 1972 success with Deep Throat, Damiano shot the film in a converted apple-packing plant in Milanville, Pennsylvania.
Bambi Woods is an American former pornographic actress and exotic dancer best known for her appearance as the title character in the 1978 film Debbie Does Dallas. Her meteoric success in the Golden Age of Porn and later disappearance intrigued adult industry writers and caused interest in her whereabouts, and a myth about her having met a sordid fate several years after her heyday began to be accepted as fact.
Deep Throat is a 1972 landmark American pornographic film written and directed by Gerard Damiano, listed in the credits as "Jerry Gerard", and starring Linda Lovelace. It is considered the forefront of the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984).
Shelley Bob Graham, known professionally as Georgina Spelvin, is an American former actress and pornographic performer, best known as the star of the classic 1973 pornographic film The Devil in Miss Jones, released during the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984).
Vivid Entertainment Group is an American independent pornographic film production company, featuring internet content.
Janet Romano-Zicari, better known as Lizzy Borden, is an American former pornographic actress and professional wrestler.
The Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders are the National Football League cheerleading squad representing the Dallas Cowboys team.
Robin Byrd is an American former pornographic actress and the host of The Robin Byrd Show, which has appeared on leased access cable television in New York City since 1977.
Eric Edwards is an American pornographic actor, photographer, and director. Everett started in mainstream theater and transitioned into porn, starting in the late 1960s. Everett had a long career in the adult entertainment industry – over 40 years, making him the only actor in the world to appear in porn films in every decade through the 2000s since the porn industry started in the 1960s. Everett starred in and directed many films and photo shoots, including co-starring in the iconic film Debbie Does Dallas. He is a member of both the AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame. Bill Margold called Everett "one of the legends of the business" and "the Babe Ruth of porn."
Herschel Savage was an American pornographic actor, director, and stage actor who appeared in over 1,000 adult films. In 2002, AVN ranked him 46th on their list of The Top 50 Porn Stars of All Time. He was also inducted into the AVN and XRCO Halls of Fame.
Smart Alec, aka Smart Aleck, is a 1951 pornographic film. The silent short, which is no more than 20 minutes in length and was filmed in black-and-white, was one of the most famous and widely circulated of the early underground pornographic era. It has been called "iconographic", "the best known of all American stag films", and the "apogee of the American stag tradition". The leading actress, then known as Juanita Slusher, a buxom young woman of age 16 who appeared substantially older, later went on to fame as the stripper Candy Barr. Barr was working as a prostitute at the time, and was forced to feature in the film by one of her clients. At the time there was a rumour that the man was Gary Crosby, son of Bing Crosby. It was shot in a Dallas hotel, which was the setting for several other pornographic shorts of the period. Other sources, such as the Internet Movie Database, report that the stag film was shot in San Antonio and the young Juanita was inveigled into appearing in it by a patron of a Dallas strip club where she worked as a cigarette girl and had sex with generous tippers.
Uniform fetishism is a particular type of clothing fetishism in which an individual is sexually aroused by uniforms. It is a form of sexual fetishism. Uniform fetishism has been associated with a variety of different uniforms, including schoolgirl and cheerleader uniforms, French maid uniforms, and uniforms associated with police or military organisations.
Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical is an Off-Broadway musical with a book by Susan L. Schwartz, composed by Andrew Sherman, with Tom Kitt and Jonathan Callicutt providing additional music and lyrics. It is based on the 1978 pornographic film Debbie Does Dallas. The musical, like the movie, centers on high schooler Debbie and her friends' attempts to become "Texas" Cowboys cheerleaders; however, the musical contains far less sexual content than the movie. The original Off-Broadway choreography was by Jennifer Cody.
Jama Williamson is an American actress. She was active in New York City theater throughout the early 2000s, during which she appeared in such shows as Avery Crozier's Eat the Runt, Hunt Holman's Spanish Girl, A. R. Gurney's Sylvia and Simon Mendes da Costa's Losing Louis. She also appeared in Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical, an off-Broadway musical adaptation of the pornographic film Debbie Does Dallas, and she is featured in the show's original cast recording soundtrack.
Crissy Moran is a Christian public speaker who is a former American pornographic actress. She began working in adult entertainment in 1999, and between 2001 and 2006 had performed in over 50 adult films. In 2006, Moran became a devout Christian and quit working in the adult industry. After retirement, she began speaking about her experiences in porn and appearing in national media projects addressing what she considers "the harms of pornography," associating adult films with human sex trafficking and the exploitation of women and children.
The Jade Pussycat is a 1977 pornographic film starring John Holmes. The plot of the film focuses on the search for a priceless jade carving from 13th century China known as "The Jade Pussycat". The character of "Johnny Wadd" is sent to find the Jade Pussycat and find the thieves who stole the item from a museum in Japan. During the search, Mr. Wadd is met by many lustful women. The film is set mainly in San Francisco's Chinatown.
Memphis Cathouse Blues is a 1982 pornographic film that is a spoof of the Broadway musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, and the 1982 film it was made into, starring Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton. Annette Haven takes over the Parton role of the madam and Mike Horner the Reynolds role as the sheriff.
Pornhub is a Canadian-owned internet pornography video-sharing website, one of several owned by adult entertainment conglomerate Aylo. As of February 2024, Pornhub is the 13th-most-visited website in the world and the second-most-visited adult website, after XVideos.