The sex media was enthralled; Playboy described it as “premium quality porn… with visual and verbal sophistication”, and Screw proclaimed it the best film of the year. Even mainstream Variety said “Hard-core features of the caliber of this film are rare”. This was reflected in the box office takings, which ensured it was a big success. For a time, the formula was remarkably successful; the films were suggestive and the audiences were titillated. But then in the early 1970s, everything changed. The release also benefitted from serendipitous timing; the New York Times had written about ‘porno chic’ the previous year in reference to the wider popularity of the emerging breed of hard-core features. The film was shot in six days in the summer of 1974; interiors were mainly filmed in a couple of apartments, whilst externals were nearly all shot in the Grand Army Plaza on the south east edge of Central Park. The striking General Motors building which dominates the east side of the square is used as Mr. Mann’s office, and the Plaza Hotel which faces it is used as the location for the politician’s speech where Pamela Mann appears at the window and sees the private investigator hired to follow her. Barbara Bourbon insists that she has no regrets about ‘The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann’ though she admits that the occasional internet search annoys her; ‘I made 2 or 3 films over 40 years ago and yet I see my name still being thrown around like a major porn star’, she complains. Barbara made a couple of other adult films before concentrating on business ventures. She still found time to appear on stage from time to time and says she still misses acting.

Gallagher, Steve (August 7, 2014). " "This is Softcore": The History of Radley Metzger". Filmmaker Magazine . Retrieved May 23, 2015. a b Bentley, Toni (June 2014). "The Legend of Henry Paris" (PDF). ToniBentley.com . Retrieved January 26, 2016.

Porn film star Bill Margold, who went on to be the director of the Free Speech Coalition, 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.” [5] Filmed in Manhattan, the movie was released in New York City on December 26, 1974 and was nationally distributed in 1975. [6] The film has been inducted into the XRCO Hall of Fame. [7] Plot [ edit ] The smart script was written by Radley himself – though he remained carefully hidden from view behind the credit ‘Jake Barnes’, the name borrowed from the impotent protagonist of Ernest Hemingway’s ‘The Sun Also Rises’. Despite all of its cleverness, it never takes itself too seriously and its many one-liners would become a staple of the Henry Paris catalogue and an element of their enduring success. a b Staff (2011). "The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann - 2 Disc Set (1974)". Distribpix.com . Retrieved February 24, 2016. Why ‘Henry Paris’? “I’d always say that the reason for changing my name was too esoteric for anyone to understand,” he’d say. “The truth is that I was terrified of going to jail.” After starting his career working as a film editor cutting trailers for European art films, Radley founded Audubon Films in the early 1960s with his partner Ava Leighton. It was a smart business idea; Audubon would import and distribute European features to exploit the growing sexploitation film market, and Radley would use his editing skills to insert more suggestive sequences where necessary.

Definitely ‘ Gilda’” he replied. “The lead characters never even kiss. The eroticism is just within the fabric of the film itself. That always impressed me”. But there was a more personal reason for becoming ‘Henry Paris’. Radley felt that his real name had become identified with a certain kind of picture: “It was a kind of brand name that we weren’t creating anymore. I didn’t want people to get confused”. Simpson, Claire (October 2, 2013). "Adults Only: 5 Films By Radley Metzger". WhatCulture.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015 . Retrieved May 23, 2015. The film is a romantic comedy whose plot revolves around the sexual escapades of Pamela Mann, and the efforts of her husband to keep tabs on her by employing a private detective. In reality the Manns are playing games with everyone they meet – but so is everyone else. Paradoxically it was also a time in which the legality of such films was being tested in a series of court battles. Radley admits that this was part of the reason for changing his name. “It was a worrying time and we were scared. I learned that (film critic) Addison Verrill intended revealing that I was the director of ‘The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann’, and so I spoke to him and had to beg him not to”. Radley convinced Verrill that he would be taking away the livelihood of many employees and so the secret was preserved. It wasn’t just Radley who was nervous; all crew members also hid behind anonymous pseudonyms too.

See also

In a satirical touch, the film pokes fun at the legal climate in which adult films were being released; in a frequent and surreal touch, an opinion poll taker appears frequently asking Pamela Mann for her views on contemporary and social issues. At the end of the film, the pollster mentions that she is merely a device to provide the film with socially redeeming values. Staff (April 3, 2017). " 'The Private Afternoons of Pamela Mann' (1974): The Birth of 'Henry Paris' ". The Rialto Report . Retrieved April 3, 2017. Williams, Linda, Hard core: power, pleasure, and the "frenzy of the visible", University of California Press, 1999, ISBN 0-520-21943-0. Lehman, Peter, Pornography: film and culture, Rutgers depth of field series, Rutgers University Press, 2006, ISBN 0-8135-3871-8.

According to one film reviewer, Radley Metzger's films, including those made during the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984), are noted for their "lavish design, witty screenplays, and a penchant for the unusual camera angle". [16] Another reviewer noted that his films were "highly artistic— and often cerebral... and often featured gorgeous cinematography". [17] Film and audio works by Metzger have been added to the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City. [18] [19] [20] [21] Remastered version [ edit ] He gave the impression of being slightly reluctant to over-analyze it or talk about it in depth. When asked about it, his reply focused more on the business decision than making the film. It was funded by a single investor, through a specifically-formed production company, Hudson Valley Films, which was named after an old social club formed by Radley’s brother. Ebert, Roger (June 13, 1973). "The Devil In Miss Jones - Film Review". RogerEbert.com . Retrieved February 7, 2015. Heffernan, Kevin, "A social poetics of pornography", Quarterly Review of Film and Video, Volume 15, Issue 3, December 1994, pp.77–83. doi: 10.1080/10509209409361441.It was instantly recognized as being a breakthrough in adult films. Here for the first time was a work that almost felt like a mainstream Hollywood production; it had glossy production values, a smart script, excellent camera work and art direction, and a plot with a final reel twist that actually justified the sexual shenanigans that preceded it. So Barbara agreed to think about it. She spoke to film industry friends about Radley and the idea of acting in his first hard-core film; opinions were almost unanimously favorable. So in the spirit of the times she signed up for a new experience. And as Georgina would also be hired to play Pamela’s friend, Linda, why not? Their particular scene included a protracted slow motion ejaculation sequence. It was shot with a special camera used by NASA that shot at 400 frames per second – and generated a huge noise as a result of its fast speed. No matter, the actors looked undeterred. The opinion pollster was played by ‘Lola LaGarce’; in reality this was Doris Toumarkine, a member of Radley’s production team, who was also the film’s editor and had edited Radley’s previous film ‘Score’. After her apprenticeship with Henry Paris, Toumarkine went on to be a film critic.