The Movies:

Compiling a trio of mid-eighties era Penguin Productions releases, Adam & Eve's The John Holmes Three Disc Collection might not feature top-tier classic Holmes films, but it's a welcome addition to the classic smut fans library regardless. Each of the three films, which were all shot on video, moves along at a good pace and features a nice array of the decade's best performers in addition to nice camera work and solid production values. Here's a look:

TREASURE BOX:

This 1985 effort from Penguin Productions stars Shone Taylor and Jesse Adams as a pair of fishermen who go out fishing and wind up pulling up a nice assortment of rare, gold coins. Believing themselves to be set for new lives on easy street, they head out on the town for cold beers and hot women. The two meet up with Tamara Longley and engage in a decent three-way session on the couch of their living room after she shows up with the scuba gear that they ordered.

From there the movie cuts to Gina Carrera and Kimberly Carson who are having some steamy girl on girl quality time. Once they're done with one another, the girls head to the lake to watch the guys look for more gold. They split up into pairs and Gina fucks Shone while Kimberly and Jesse go at it. Once they've relieved some tension, the four head back to the lake again. Meanwhile, John Holmes and Karen Summer are driving around in a boat of a Cadillac eventually arriving at Holmes' lovely summer home. He watches her eat some left over salad out of the fridge (sexy!) and decides that he's in the mood for a good boner jam while in the other room of the house, their friends, Tyler Reynolds and Melanie Scott, fuck one another silly on the couch. Super-stud Holmes leaves his aviator shades on for the entire scene and he and Karen actually generate a fair amount of heat together.

When the fishermen decide to eventually enlist the aid of financial expert Reynolds to help them figure out just how much the gold that they've found is really worth, everyone arrives at the house at the same time. They yap about the treasure for a bit and then the six of them all decide to have sex in the same room at he same time - Gina Carerra fucks Tyler Reynolds, Melanie Scott fucks Shone Taylor, Jesse Adams gives it to Karen Summers and Holmes crams thirteen inches into poor Kimberly Carson. The end.

Directed by Patti Rhodes, this is a fairly minor entry in Holmes' filmography though his scene with Karen Summers is a good one. The male performers are pretty rough looking, though the pretty female cast makes up for that. The plot is goofy and the acting is pretty bad but the movie is fairly well shot for an early video effort and Rhodes keeps things moving at a decent pace. While this isn't a classic, it's watchable enough.

MARINA VICE:

Another 1985 Penguin Productions picture directed by Patti Rhodes, Marina Vice follows a pair of tough guy vice detectives played by Buck Adams and Billy Dee. When the film starts, Buck is getting blown by Tess Ferre while Billy Dee is giving it good to girlfriend Leslie Winston who is looking good in her black nightie.

These super cops are out to put a stop to a drug lord named Mr. Costa (played by Holmes - who is about as white as you can get, making him an odd choice for a character with a Hispanic last name!) and once they're done getting laid, they hop into a mini-van and drive around the marina looking for him. They come across Melissa Melendez and Kimberly Carson sunning themselves on the top deck of a boat. Figuring that this boat could help them get to Costas, they seduce the ladies and Billy Dee fucks Melissa while Kimberly gives Buck a blowjob. All of this happens while the boat is cruising around the bay which kind of makes you wonder who is steering it but hey, it's unlikely that Rhodes was going for realism with this film.

Once Buck and Billy are done, the girls leave the guys on the boat and head off to pay Costas a visit. He's only too happy to see these two fine foxes arrive in his horribly decorated apartment and he shows his appreciation by getting naked. They respond in kind and give him a massage which of course turns into a three-way. Meanwhile, Buck and Billy have pulled their guns on a poor woman played by Summer Rose. They interrogate her with their cocks and another three-way breaks out, culminating in a double penetration scene for Summer. Once Holmes has had his way with Melissa and Kimberly he realizes what they're up to and pulls a machine gun on them, but luckily for them the boys have finished up with Summer and are back on the case, arriving just in time to save the day and end the film.

Obviously inspired by Miami Vice, this low budget knock off is a good time at the movies. The sex is steamy and there's plenty of it and the camera work does a nice job of showing off the eighties era locations in all their tacky glory. The plot, not surprisingly, is wafer thin but it does a fine job of stringing the sex scenes together and Marina Vice winds up being an entertaining porno with a plot.

LOTTERY LUST:

Once again directed by Patti Rhodes for Penguin Productions, this 1986 shot on video quickie stars Buck Adams as a man named Eddie who leads a pretty mild life. We also meet his friend, Jason Fox, who is busy boning Tracey Adams and drinking some champagne. At the same time, Gina Carerra is trying to cheer Buck up by stripping for him and taking care of his stress relief issues.

Eventually, Buck wins the lottery when he gets lucky with a scratch ticket. To celebrate, he takes some comfort in the arms of his maid, Renne Summers, who he gives it to right on the counter top of his wood paneled kitchen. With a million dollars to call his own, Buck figures he's set, but soon becomes bored with life and decides to change his life. He no longer trusts his friends and figures they only want a slice of his cash. Meanwhile, in a weird green bathroom, Melissa Melendez and Nikki Charm are enjoying some quality time in the shower, loving it up as only lipstick lesbians can. They finish up and head into the living room where Jason and Buck are waiting for them. Jason pairs up with Melissa while Buck and Nikki hit it off in a weird, incredibly pink bedroom.

After the two pairs fuck one another silly, Buck heads home where he meets up with this old pal, Mark (played by a haggard looking John Holmes). Mark convinces Buck's character that more sex is in order but he's not all that interested so Holmes fucks Bunny Bleu in the bedroom all on his own while Buck decides to return to the arms of his maid where he finds true happiness.

On par with the other two films in this collection in terms of eighties camp value and reasonably solid production values, Lottery Lust features more decent sex scenes that are nicely photographed and well performed by the cast of veteran performers. Again, the plot is neither here nor there but it gets the job done and the film mananges to hold our attention and tighten our pants.

The Video:

Each of the three films in this collection were shot on video and are presented in their original 1.33.1 fullframe aspect ratio. The transfers look about as good as you'd expect some twenty year old low budget smut videos to look, meaning there's some softness throughout and plenty of funky color fading but they're all at least watchable enough when you consider the limitations of the source material.

The Audio:

The English language Dolby Digital Mono audio is pretty unremarkable but it gets the job done. You won't have any problems understanding the dialogue or following the plot even if there is a bit of hiss in the mix from time to time.

The Extras:

Extras on the Treasure Box DVD include a still gallery of screen caps taken from the film's weak DVD transfer, trailers for some other, unrelated Adam & Eve DVD releases, and a bonus scene. The bonus scene is the only extra of any substance and it's taken from Lust Tango In Paris and it stars Keisha and Randy Paul. They start by smooching and then she sits on his face before riding him reverse cowgirl style, cowgirl style, and then getting down on all fours so he can fuck her doggy style and drop his load on the top of her nice, bouncy ass. It's a pretty solid scene if you can get past Keisha's bad eighties hair. The Marina Vice DVD also contains some trailers and a still gallery as well as a bonus scene also taken from Lust Tango In Paris. This scene stars Jeanna Fine and Buddy Love, a horny couple of get it on near a water fountain. He eats her out and then she gives him head before he fucks her missionary style and shoots his load onto her pelvis. Jeanna Fine's eighties new wave hair is terrible. The Lottery Lust DVD follows the same format with the trailers and the lame still gallery. The requisite Lust Tango In Paris bonus scene on this disc stars Honey Wilder and Jerry Butler. She blows him and he fucks her on the bed missionary style and then doggy style before pulling out and coming on the top of her ass cheeks.

The extras in this set are pretty disappointing...

Overall:

These are not the best films that the late, great John Curtis Holmes ever had the good fortune to appear in - in fact, like many of the Penguin Productions films that he had a hand in, he's really nothing more than a bit player in any of them - but they're fun and sexy little pictures. Classics fans will appreciate this more than the crowd looking for plain and simple spank material but the sex is steamy and well shot in each picture and the female cast is all attractive enough. The quality of the release is pretty average but this is recommended for Holmes fans who need to collect some of his lesser known pictures.