1980, 78 minutes

Genre: Feature film

Director: Chuck Vincent

With: Samantha Fox, Gloria Leonard, R. Bolla, Merle Michaels, Veri Knotty, Ron Jeremy, Bobby Astyr, Ron Hudd, Frank Adams, others

New York filmmaker Chuck Vincent created some of the more ambitious porn of the late 1970s and early '80s, well-produced shot-on-film efforts with an emphasis on plot and character. "Tramp" -- that's the actual onscreen title, not "This Lady Is a Tramp," as the DVD box and the posters of the time bill it -- is a representative effort. Vincent did dramas, like "Games Women Play" and "Roommates," as well as comedies, and "Tramp" falls campily into the latter category.

Petite brunette Samantha Fox, a Vincent regular in such favorites as "Bad Penny," "Jack and Jill" and "Bon Appetit," stars as golddigger Dana Dewars, who recounts her sexual adventures to her lawyer so that he can prepare a divorce suit against her wealthy husband (R. Bolla). Dana lies to the lawyer about her background, describing a privileged upbringing as the daughter of Boston brahmins when in fact we see evidence of a decidely white-trash girlhood (she sucks off her stepdaddy while also licking a big red lollipop).

Moving to New York to conquer Broadway, Dana quickly falls in with porn director Vera (Gloria Leonard, the original MILF) and shoots a dominatrix scene for her with little chipmunk-cheeked Bobby Astyr (the Michael J. Pollard of classic smut). Dana and Vera share a soapy Sapphic bathtub scene, and later take home two sailors for some four-play. After marrying for money, Dana blows a bellboy while on her honeymoon; seduces the help at her Long Island mansion; and brazenly fucks a handsome older guy (Frank Adams) while her drunk hubby nods off at the dining room table.

Fox (not the same-named buxom British blonde pop singer of the '80s) possessed good diction and clearly fancied herself an ak-tress; she hams it up big-time in most of her scenes here, rarely dropping character even when she's sucking or fucking. An exception is the film's hottest scene, the fourway with Leonard and the sailors, in which the talking stops and the sex gets heated. Fox even gives a lengthy rim job to one of the guys and licks up some cum. Well-hung Ron Hudd, playing one of the sailors, pops a load following a Leonard fellating, then immediately sticks his still-hard dick in the old gal and fucks until a second ejaculation. You just don't see that in porn these days.

You also don't get in current video porn the kind of seamless, professional look and sound Vincent and cinematographer Larry Revene create. The audio (including smart use of music) is consistent; the edits match both visually and aurally. Shocking, right? The writing isn't exactly Oscar Wilde, but the actors given the bulk of the dialogue deliver it with a certain strenuous conviction, especially R. Bolla, always one of the best male thesps in hardcore. 

                                                     THE DVD

VCX has brought out another worthwhile vintage Cal Vista release from the glorious early 1980s, when porn was still shot on celluloid and was shown in actual movie theaters. The 4:3 standard-frame shot-on-16mm picture shows some age after nearly 30 years, but fading is minimal and there are only a few fleeting scratches on the print used. The sound is standard for the period, which is to say, good.

The full-motion menu is simple and functional, and there is negligible delay from the moment you slide the disc in until the menu pops up. Bonus material is similar to other VCX reissues. There are bonus scenes from the '80s titles "Eruption" (with John Holmes), "Suzie Superstar" (Shauna Grant), "Sex the Hard Way" (Peter North) and "Please Don't Stop" (Amber Lynn). The trailers are for "Eruption," "Extreme Facials," "Suzie Superstar" and a true treat, the 1970 "Bacchanale," with Uta Erickson. There is also a slideshow and "Tramp" video box and poster art.

                                               THE LAST WORD

"Tramp," originally released in theaters in 1980, will be best appreciated by porn nostalgists -- or youngsters interested in their uncle's smut era. Cute, hammy Samantha Fox is a talented cock-hardener, especially in the hands of skilled director Chuck Vincent. The sex scenes are plentiful, but they're leisurely spread out over a highly scripted and aggressively acted feature film with aspirations beyond its station.