Little Orphan Dusty

The innocent teenage country girl learning about life and love the hard way in the big bad city must surely rank as one of the most overworked stock characters in all types of pornographic expression, finding her roots in the Marquis De Sade's unfortunate Justine of literary (and subsequent cinematic) fame some two centuries ago. Ever since, the education or corruption (depending on one's personal view) of a virgin has remained a popular theme in erotica. Fitting this particular format right down to the ground, DUSTY (the less than accurate "Little Orphan" business was dropped for theatrical distribution in several of the more conservative states) tries to rise above the expected clichés by adding generous doses of rape and fist insertion, though both occur only once in the same scene. The film's two directors, Hispanic Jaacov Jaacovi and Asian American Bob Chinn (making this make the flick a truly international affair), were no strangers to some of the more exotic sexual variations even at this stage in their respective careers. Both had cut their teeth on some of the sicker soft X (or hard R) adult films of the early '70s before graduating to full color penetration. Chinn will always be best known for the popular JOHNNY WADD series running from 1973 to 1979 (BLONDE FIRE being the last official entry, with a few one-offs in the '80s) starring the legendary John C. Holmes as a very private detective. The admittedly rather less talented Jaacovi (who had something of a career renaissance when he resurfaced in the early '90s, shooting videos under the moniker "Jourdan Alexander") would very briefly hit his stride in 1979 as he delivered a two punch knockout consisting of his wildly popular TAXI GIRLS and HEAVENLY DESIRE, the latter "introducing" Seka, even though she had co-starred in Phil Marshak's LUST AT FIRST BITE aka Dracula SUCKS the year before. Syrupy theme song out of the way, viewers are introduced to the titular waif (Rhonda Jo Petty) who is submitted almost within seconds to an elaborate and very graphic group rape by a biker gang led by stalwart stud Turk Lyon (Abigail Clayton's loop partner in Alan B. Colberg's underrated NAKED AFTERNOON) with motorcycle mama Ming Jade (who was among the butch lesbians ganging up on Desirée Cousteau in Alex deRenzy's classic PRETTY PEACHES) throwing in the first of the film's three fist insertions for good measure. This would've been one mighty disturbing spectacle, if Petty had been enough of a thespian to plausibly project fear and vulnerability. Sturdily built (this country girl has not been missing out on too many hot meals) with a lovely yet inexpressive face topped with golden curls in a windswept CHARLIE'S ANGELS do, she was frequently billed as "the Farrah Fawcett of porn" until representatives of the real deal got wind of this and forced these tactics to cease. Though she made movies for nearly a decade, she would learn dispiritingly little beyond growing self-assurance as an actress. Suggesting submissive ennui rather than any actual victimization, her Dusty becomes a downtrodden wimp who's somewhat difficult to root for. Post-rape, she's taken in by artist Frank (John Holmes) whom she falls in love with even though he has sex with models April Grant (from A DIRTY WESTERN, now a hard looking platinum blonde) and Valerie Parker (from ALL THE SENATOR'S GIRLS) right in front of her. This turns her on so much that she promptly begins to masturbate by shoving her entire fist in ! The swinger's party Frank casually throws pushes the girl over the edge however. She throws a tantrum and Frank orders her out of the car, with the bikers showing up almost immediately. Don't these guys have anything better to do than trail this girl all day long ? Though she makes it to the house, the gang's leader manages to get in with her and rape her at knife-point in an unpleasant, anti-erotic scene. Frank shows up, wrestling Lyon to the floor while delivering the best line the script (by Jaacovi and future filmmaker Svetlana, a real woman though you'd never guess based on this particular piece of evidence) has to offer : "You may have come in here a Gentile, but you'll be going out a Jew !" Think about it… The rest of the movie consists of Dusty and Frank trying hard to stay out of the gang's clutches, planning their wedding (huh ?), sealing the deal with another "foreign insertion" (as you do) and fending off yet another gang rape (of the two models cum bridal maids) with a lethal bullet for the deranged Lyon. As a stabbed Frank lies bleeding beneath a sobbing Dusty, he gets to utter the second best line as he urges her to "Do me a favor, get your knee out of my nuts and call me an ambulance !" As run of the mill as they come, DUSTY does not represent the better work of anyone involved on either side of the camera, a restless and headache inducing camera it must be added. Jaacovi may have been a hack, but Chinn (perhaps embarrassed by the sordid predictability of the material) generally produced far superior results. Sadly, the film only sputters to life during its more extreme moments and even then more for their outrageousness than any credibility the acting (poor even by porno standards) or realism in plot development might've added. The oft-maligned Holmes actually delivers the best performance albeit by default. As other sources have noted, currently respected Hollywood character actor Spalding Gray (subject of Jonathan Demme's 1987 documentary SWIMMING TO CAMBODIA) turns up as an underwear-clad extra during the swing party sequence. Not much of a skeleton there, in my opinion, but some scandal mongers seem to thrive on such things…