Title: The Other Hollywood: The Uncensored Oral History of the Porn Film Industry Author: Legs McNeil & Jennifer Osborne (with Peter Pravia) Publisher: Regan Books Publish Date: 2005 Pages: 620 Genres:: Interviews, Compilation, Gay, History, Non-Fiction, Pop culture, Straight Reviewer: J. Henry

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The adult film industry emerged through humble beginnings. This medium has since flourished into a multimillion dollar empire that has made many stars—both bright and fallen. Adult film may not be as taboo as it once was; it has been regulated for health as well as being continuously targeted by uber-conservatives for obscenity. In The Other Hollywood, Legs McNeil et al. transcribe and organize thousands of interviews with past and present members of the industry to detail how it began; persevered through many fluctuations of success and casualties; and, continue to be the most salacious and enticing part of the entertainment industry that is not considered mainstream.

Split into sections reflecting specific time periods during the adult film heyday of the 50s up to the 90s, Other Hollywood contains a large amount of input from adult film stars, their significant others, directors, photographers, mobster lackeys, FBI agents, etc. (Yes, the list does go on and on.) Adult film began as ‘nudie cuties,’ which may not seem artistic, and perhaps even blasé, since it was in relation to the burlesque dancing where adult film, or what we may consider softcore, got its start. Photographers like Bunny Yeager, femme icon Bettie Page and legendary filmmaker Russ Meyer round out the early stages of the adult film industry. As entrepreneurs began to delve into somewhat foreign territory, it seemed senseless to have certain barriers between the artist and the observer. Thus, hardcore adult film was developed and magazines like Hustler were more risqué than Playboy due to crotch shots.

The ‘nudie-cutie’ films began to give way in the late 1960s and early 1970s as, funny enough, starving artists thought making nudie-cuties/hardcore films could be a way to get into the more revered Tinseltown, or the original Hollywood. Actors such as Fred Lincoln, Harry Reems, Georgina Spelvin, and the legendary Linda Lovelace were part of what ‘killed’ the nudie-cutie as films like Deep Throatand various hardcore loops presented a more enticing alternative to viewers who may have been afraid to go even further in regards to their sexual curiosity. As the popularity of these films intensified, so did the market and of course one-up-manship came into play. As the stories transcend from the early to late 1970s to the 1980s when Studio 54 became part of the evening parties for celebrities and ‘free spirits,’ it also lead to the downfall of some popular adult film stars, like John Holmes, and to the fear of the AIDS outbreak during the ‘love fest’ that no one was paying much attention to, and which President Reagan was too afraid to acknowledge.

The interviews are interwoven to present as clear an idea of the beginnings and evolution of the adult film industry from when just a handful of people were involved to Vivid becoming a major staple in adult film production. The organization is completely chronological, which works best since this is an oral history. What at times becomes frustrating is waiting a few years (or a decade or so) to find out what happened to those you read about initially, in particularly when their demise is foreshadowed in the initial reference of their popularity in the industry. Actors such as John Holmes and Savannah are not heard about again until perhaps several years later when we arrive at the decade of their passing. What works best about this particular oral biography is that a majority of the stories gel into one cohesive unit. Not many people are telling stories that aren’t backed up by others in each chapter and that don’t reveal why and how the industry as a whole became the success it is now. Many of the actors who began with the nudie-cutie movement didn’t remain in the industry for various reasons due to rehabilitation, getting too old, or because they found religion.

The Other Hollywood isn’t only about the evolution of an industry, it reveals the fear of those involved in the legislative process of what open sexuality could mean to American society, it reveals how much ‘free love’ was a detriment to the industry and individuals because not many people were attempting to be smart or ‘conservative’ in their sexual inhibitions. Hollywood also reveals the improvements of making sure the actors were protected in addition to creating better, more erotic films for viewers and liberating many in regards to sexual exploration in a safer way. While the story is not complete leaving off in the late 1990s and touching on a bit of the 21 st century, we can hope that Legs McNeil and co. will continue documenting adult film as it continues to move forward. And as a nation, we can hope that open sexuality becomes even more acceptable that those involved in adult film will no longer have to consider themselves wholly ostracized from Hollywood.