I'm back with more wild XXX action from the smutty heyday of 42nd Street and this article is a small selection of movies from Avon Production's most enigmatic filmmaker, Joe Davian. There's no rhyme or reason to any of these and I'm kind of keeping the possibility open of a potential follow-up at some point, so stay tuned.

Assault of Innocence (1975)

Starring: Marc Stevens, Anna Liva Plurabella, Sandi Foxx, Rican Devel and Todd Davis.

I wasn't able to find a poster, or any advertising material for Assault of Innocence, but it's a very early effort from Joe Davian and the first he helmed for NYC's grungy porno-purveyors, Avon. It's as unique as it is amateurish, a super cheap one day wonder that is kinda-maybe in roughie territory - given the plot, but is utterly lacking when it comes to style or flair, or even a glimmer of any real sense of talent. On top of that, the movie appears badly edited, whether or not that's down to the cut I'm watching, which appears to be sourced from VHS, but having said that if I did watch this in 4K, it wouldn't improve the quality of the work one iota.

The plot is a mere sketch and a pretty devious concoction at that; Mr. 10½ himself, Marc Stevens, has taken to cross-dressing and posing as an elderly woman on the mean streets of NYC, and preying upon the younger women who come to his aid. The majority of the runtime is filled with a series of vignettes, strung together, in-part, by a narration from "Todd Davis" - a self-proclaimed friend of the rapist, via a phone call he's having with the police, all the while being on the receiving end of a blowjob. Nice.

Assault of Innocence is not only the weakest in this selection but in Davian's career too, and to be honest it's only worth checkin' out for the sheer absurdity factor, as well as the Davian & Avon related film history.

The Night of Submission (1976)

Starring: Carter Stevens, Vanessa del Rio, Annie Sprinkle, C.J. Laing and Red Baron.

Kickings things off with the occult themed The Night of Submission and I must admit this one I dig quite a bit. The exotic sounds of tribal drums accompanying occult sexual rites performed by an underground voodoo cult, it ticks so many boxes for fans of offbeat cinema.

Though originally cast in the leading role, C.J. Laing had a falling out with Davian during the production of The Night of Submission resulting in her being replaced by Carter Stevens. As a result of the gender-switching of the main character the plot seems a smidge ham-fisted and awkward, you can kind of tell that the leading role wasn't meant for a man, so the on-screen events don't always make a whole lot of sense. One can only imagine how the film might have played out with C.J. remaining in the role and being at the forefront of the action, and one could argue further that it would certainly make the story a whole lot more interesting.

In any event, the movie opens with Stevens and Sprinkle engaging in an almost romantic fire-side bonk session on the floor, artfully reaching a climax just as a phone rings. For those of you still paying attention, the person on the other end of the phone is none other than C.J. Laing, and she's got the scoop on a voodoo sex cult, she wants the go-ahead to continue to investigate, Stevens obliges and unfortunately that's the last we see of Laing and arguably where any semblance of story ends. Granted, there is a brief wrap-up when the film draws to a close, but narrative wise, it isn't much of a cohesive story.

The fuck scenes have an eerily claustrophobic feel to them, I guess the injection of occult horror/black magic juices into a hardcore fuck film just hit differently in The Night of Submission. All hyperbole aside, I really dig this one.

Domination Blue (1976)

Starring: Vanessa del Rio, Sharon Mitchell, John Bush, Red Baron and Roger Caine.

I'm finally scratching the itch of wanting write-up some thoughts about Domination Blue, although it's no standout gem, it's nothing short of a thoroughly grim, yet enjoyable outing from Joe Davian and Vanessa del Rio, though precisely what Vanessa's involvement behind the camera is/was remains a mystery to me.

No doubt inspired by the deluge of W.I.P. movies that were doing the rounds (not to mention raking in plenty of dough), Domination Blue is an entertaining roughie scuzzfest, so long as one accepts the complete lack of plot and can happily go-along with the rampant demented sexual shenanigans. The atrocious quality of the transfer, it looks as though it's sourced from a VHS (cheers Alpha Blue Archives!), actually helps to give the flick a filthier, uglier, more depressing, and even meaner aesthetic than if it was sourced from a camera negative. Shot almost entirely indoors and utilising what appears to be the same set/location, the film achieves and maintains an intense and claustrophobic atmosphere, Oz (1997 - 2003) eat your heart out!

It's rare that I'm affected by things I see in movies, but there's one scene in Domination Blue that for some bizarre reason came close to making my stomach flip. In it, a prison guard brings dinner for the inmates, arriving at Sharon Mitchell 's cell, instead of giving her a plate, he ladles what appears to be Heinz Baked Beans across the length of his member and forces Sharon to eat it, she resits at first, but then begins to devour the beans, and his member, with a starved fervour. Grub up!

There's almost no end to the depravity in Domination Blue, including such sights as an inmate masturbating with a Barbie doll, routine beatings & whippings, a golden shower. Mitch blows and fucks two dudes next to a row of urinals and then mainlines heroin. Even the supervisor of the joint fucks a blowup doll, then gets abused by one of his own employees. Roger Caine hams it up in a rather unpleasant incest vignette, as a drunk and belligerent father. This is one has to be seen to be believed, a downright nasty flick folks and it comes thoroughly recommended!

House of de Sade (1977)

Starring: Vanessa del Rio, David Williams, Peter Andrews, Iris St. Denis and Crystal Sync (credited as Cara Mogul).

Another one I couldn't find a poster or ad for, bummer. House of de Sade is a kinda goofy, have-a-go-horror one day wonder, brimming with kink and sleaze.

So the premise, I say premise because let's face it there's not enough proverbial meat on the proverbial bones to call it a plot, concerns Lucille McLain (Vanessa del Rio) and her cohorts attending a seance at a haunted house. Things go awry and a dizzying event of carnal madness ensues for the group when they willingly summon the sexually-malevolent spirit of Marquis de Sade. There's a minor twist in the final moments, though nothing of any real intrigue or much value.

Scenes are frequently punctuated by an utterly bizarro soundtrack, it's an unusual mix of Casio keyboard noodling, blown-out psych-rock-ish stuff and moments of eerie repetitive whispering with almost tribal wailing. Bonkers.

There's little time wasted on exposition and we're straight back into the fucking which honestly feels like it goes on forever, and that's kinda because it does. There's a mind-bending bondage and cucumber play session with Vanessa del Rio and a guy who looks like Peter Sutcliffe - the Yorkshire Ripper, which includes a hilarious and somewhat questionable creative choice to start peeling the cucumber while it's still poking out of Vanessa, then using a switchblade to slice off a piece and feed it to her. Nom-nom-nom.

When the folks finally arrive at the haunted house, they shown around by a creepy degenerate-looking butler, portrayed by Peter Andrews, who carries a lamp and lacks the ability to form coherent words, so instead grunts and drools. Vanessa and her mates are shown to their rooms, the couple begin to get fresh while Vanessa is apparently haunted by the ghost of a mad Scotsman, given the ethereal Scottish accent warbling away on the soundtrack. She starts seeing things in the mirror, but when she turns around there's no one there; inquisitive, she opens a closet door and gets a faceful of sticky ectoplasm (phantom jit) from a ghostly pud. I must profess my innocence and admit to never having witnessed a spectral money shot before, but boy am I glad I have now.

Once the cast have finally finished (literally) fucking about and get around to performing the seance, what they neglected to mention is that it must be some kind of 'swinging' seance as certain individuals show up to the candlelit table in bondage gear and/or are half-naked. Final 8 minutes devolve into acts of abject debauchery, though I don't think any of it, at least for me, outshines the earlier sequence of del Rio and the co-starring cucumber.

Yeah, this one is pretty decent, funny, and utterly absurd. Worthy of checkin' for the BDSM sleazoids and casual fans of phantasmal splooge.

Manhattan Mistress (1981)

Starring: Juliet Anderson (credited as Judy Carr), Erica Boyer, Dave Ruby (credited as David Ruby), Robert Kerman (credited as Richard Bollo) and George Payne (credited as John Lance).

I think this is the last movie made by Davian and it's easily one of his most accessible. See, it's all a tad classier in Manhattan Mistress, or at least it is until the enema scene that comes slap-bang out of nowhere during the final stretch of the runtime. Guess Mr. Davian couldn't help himself and just had add something a "aberrant" into the mix.
Kidding aside, most of the fuck scenes in Mistress are pretty hot and do have a classier slant when it comes to depicting the goods, and I gotta add that this might be the most relaxed performance from George Payne I've ever seen - the guy appears to be sleep-walking.

Angel (Boyer) finds out her mother Georgia (Anderson) is a prostitute, distraught she leaves town for the Big Apple, where she meets Cash (Kerman) and becomes a prostitute herself.

The cast is fucking great with the likes of Aunt Peg herself (Juliet Anderson), the stunning Erica Boyer, and Merle Michaels. On the boys team there's the Avon regulars: Dave Ruby, George Payne and Ron Jeremy, along Robert Kerman and a young, 22 year old, ;Jerry Butler.

I think the problem with Manhattan Mistress is that it's too refined, it's almost too much like a real attempt at making a good fuck film. Gone, is the nasty shit that's prevalent in, or even the draw with other movies from Joe Davian, and to a larger extent anything from Avon Productions, and that's kind of a bummer. But, on the other hand, this is a fairly well crafted and put together, almost glitzy, effort from a director who started out making some of the cheapest, grungiest, and roughest pornography from the so-called Golden Age. I guess what I'm trying to say is that Joe Davian finally made a movie that even folks who aren't into the rough (or weird) stuff can thoroughly enjoy.