Maraschino Cherry (film)

Maraschino Cherry
DVD cover
Directed by	Radley Metzger (as "Henry Paris")
Written by	Radley Metzger (as "Jake Barnes")
Produced by	Morton Berman
Starring	Annette Haven C. J. Laing Constance Money Eric Edwards Gloria Leonard Lesllie Bovee Michael Gaunt Susan McBain Wade Nichols
Cinematography	Chico Carter Larry Revene (uncredited)
Edited by	Harvey Katz
Music by	Music Sound Track Service
Distributed by	Mature Pictures Corporation (as Maturpix) Video-X-Pix (USA)
Release date	October 20, 1978 (1978-10-20) (USA)
Running time	85 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English

Maraschino Cherry is an American hardcore pornographic film and comedy released in 1978. The film was directed by Radley Metzger (as "Henry Paris")[1][2] and filmed in several locations in New York City;[3][4][5][6] it was his fifth and final hardcore film.[4]

Plot

Maraschino Cherry (Gloria Leonard), the owner of a high-class escort service in New York City, teaches her younger sister, Penny Cherry (Jenny Baxter), about the business.[3][4] The two sisters reflect on a series of erotic episodes related to the service and its clients,[4] replete with humorous puns and innuendos.

Cast

• Gloria Leonard as Maraschino "Mara" Cherry
• Jenny Baxter as Penny Cherry, Maraschino Cherry's younger sister
• Lesllie Bovee as Maraschino's personal assistant
• Annette Haven as the Piano Bar Girl
• C. J. Laing as a Slave
• Constance Money as an Escort
• Eric Edwards as a Client
• Michael Gaunt as a Client
• Susan McBain as an Escort
• Wade Nichols as a Boyfriend

Background

Maraschino Cherry was released during the Golden Age of Porn (inaugurated by the 1969 release of Andy Warhol's Blue Movie) in the United States, at a time of "porno chic",[7][8] in which adult erotic films were just beginning to be widely released, publicly discussed by celebrities (like Johnny Carson and Bob Hope)[9] and taken seriously by film critics (like Roger Ebert).[10][11]

Reception

One film reviewer notes that "[Maraschino Cherry] may not be [Metzger's] finest moment", but that it is "... still a beautifully shot film ... the dialogue is well written, the humor genuinely funny ...".[4] Another reviewer writes, "Most of Metzger’s films are known for their offbeat humor and witty dialog. Maraschino Cherry is filled [with] many amusing comedy set pieces ...".[3]

Notes

According to one film reviewer, Radley Metzger's films, including those made during the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984), are noted for their "lavish design, witty screenplays, and a penchant for the unusual camera angle".[12] Another reviewer noted that his films were "highly artistic — and often cerebral ... and often featured gorgeous cinematography".[13] Film and audio works by Metzger have been added to the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.[14][15][16][17]

Remastered version

In 2009, DistribPix released a complete remastering of the film, with the full cooperation of the director.[18] The result had a limited exhibition in theaters, but the main outcome of the project was the first-ever official remastered DVD version.[18] A listing of the music on the film soundtrack was released earlier.[19][20]

Music soundtrack

No.	Title	Artist	Length
1.	"A Man Alone[19][20]"	Alan Hawkshaw	4:23
2.	"Disco King"	Keith Mansfield	3:01
3.	"Get Ready, Get Set, Fly!"	Alan Hawkshaw	1:58
4.	"Hombre Solo"	Simon Munting	2:08
5.	"Man Of Means"	Alan Hawkshaw	3:16

No.	Title	Artist	Length
6.	"Midnight Blue"	Simon Benson	3:17
7.	"Night Drive"	Simon Benson	3:00
8.	"Private Thoughts"	Steve Gray	2:16
9.	"Take It Steady"	Brian Bennett	2:18
10.	"Theme Maraschino Cherry"	Nick Ingman	1:59

See also

• Andy Warhol filmography
• Erotic art
• Erotic films in the United States
• Erotic photography
• Golden Age of Porn
• List of American films of 1978
• Sex in film
• Unsimulated sex

References

1. Bentley, Toni (June 2014). "The Legend of Henry Paris". Playboy. Archived from the original on February 4, 2016. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
2. Bentley, Toni (June 2014). "The Legend of Henry Paris" (PDF). ToniBentley.com. Retrieved January 26, 2016.
3. Wood, Cliff (February 7, 2010). "Maraschino Cherry (Platinum Elite Collection)". 10kBullets. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
4. The Mooninite (February 25, 2016). "Maraschino Cherry (Platinum Elite Collection 2-Disc Set)". XCritic. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
5. Houston, Don (November 24, 2010). "Maraschino Cherry (Platinum Elite Collection 2-Disc Set)". XCritic. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
6. Staff (2016). "Maraschino Cherry (1978)". IMDb. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
7. Blumenthal, Ralph (January 21, 1973). "Porno chic; 'Hard-core' grows fashionable-and very profitable". The New York Times Magazine. Retrieved January 20, 2016.
8. Porno Chic (Jahsonic.com)
9. Corliss, Richard (March 29, 2005). "That Old Feeling: When Porno Was Chic". Time. Retrieved January 27, 2016.
10. Ebert, Roger (June 13, 1973). "The Devil In Miss Jones - Film Review". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved February 7, 2015.
11. Ebert, Roger (November 24, 1976). "Alice in Wonderland:An X-Rated Musical Fantasy". RogerEbert.com. Retrieved February 26, 2016.
12. Gallagher, Steve (August 7, 2014). ""This is Softcore": The History of Radley Metzger". Filmmaker Magazine. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
13. Simpson, Claire (October 2, 2013). "Adults Only: 5 Films By Radley Metzger". WhatCulture.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved May 23, 2015.
14. Rist, Ray C. (January 4, 1974). Book - The Pornography Controversy: Changing Moral Standards in American Life. Transaction Publishers. p. 124. ISBN 9781412838467. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
15. Lehman, Peter (2006). Book - Pornography: Film and Culture. Rutgers University Press. p. 9. ISBN 9780813538716. Retrieved February 29, 2016.
16. Staff (2016). "Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) - DadaBase Search Results - Radley Metzger". Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). Retrieved February 29, 2016.
17. Staff (March 4, 2017). "Obituary Of The Righteous - The Porn Of The Fabulous 60s And 70s Loses One Of Its Pioneers And Masters: Radley Metzger - Photographer Of War, The MOMA Presents A Retrospective: His Erotic Films Made History - Video: 'Score', On The Relationships Of Couples Of The 70s, In An Uncensored Version". DagoSpia.com. Retrieved November 12, 2019.
18. Staff (2009). "Maraschino Cherry: Platinum Elite Collection 2 Disc Set (2009)". Distribpix.com. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
19. Staff (2016). "Maraschino Cherry - Original Soundtrack Music listing". IMDb. Retrieved February 23, 2016.
20. Staff (1978). "Maraschino Cherry (1978) - OST Music Soundtrack". Ringostrack.com. Retrieved February 23, 2016.

Further reading

• Cook, David A. (2002). History of the American cinema. Vol. 9. University of California Press. pp. 274–275. ISBN 0-520-23265-8.
• Heffernan, Kevin, "A social poetics of pornography", Quarterly Review of Film and Video, Volume 15, Issue 3, December 1994, pp. 77–83. doi:10.1080/10509209409361441.
• Lehman, Peter, Pornography: film and culture, Rutgers depth of field series, Rutgers University Press, 2006, ISBN 0-8135-3871-8.
• Williams, Linda, Hard core: power, pleasure, and the "frenzy of the visible", University of California Press, 1999, ISBN 0-520-21943-0.

External links

• Marascino Cherry at MUBI (related to The Criterion Collection)
• Maraschino Cherry at IMDb
• Maraschino Cherry at the Adult Film Database
• Maraschino Cherry – 2009 remastering at DistribPix