The Devil in Miss Jones
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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The Devil in Miss Jones is a 1973 pornographic film, written, directed and produced by Gerard Damiano and starring Georgina Spelvin and Harry Reems. It is widely regarded as a classic adult film, released during the Golden Age of Porn (1969–1984). After his 1972 success with Deep Throat, Damiano shot the film in a converted apple-packing plant in Milanville, Pennsylvania. Along with Deep Throat and Behind the Green Door, the film is associated with a time in American culture known as "porno chic", and taken seriously by film critics (like Roger Ebert). The film's plot was inspired by the 1944 play No Exit by French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. The Devil in Miss Jones went on to spawn numerous remakes and sequels.
As with many films of the Golden Age of Porn, the copyright status of The Devil in Miss Jones is unresolved. VCX claims a copyright; rival distributor Arrow Productions distributed unauthorized copies of the film for a time before 2009, when (as part of a mutual truce between the companies) Arrow agreed to accept VCX's copyright claim in exchange for not challenging Arrow's copyright claim on Deep Throat.
Plot
Justine Jones, a lonely and depressed spinster, decides that suicide is the only way out of her routinely dull existence.
The angel Abaca (John Clemens) informs Jones that although she has lived a "pure" life, her suicide has disqualified her from entering Heaven, and she must spend eternity in Limbo. Angered that her sole indiscretion has left her with only the options of Limbo or Hell, Jones begs Abaca to let her "earn" her place in Hell by being allowed to return to Earth and become the embodiment of Lust. After an intense session of pain and pleasure with a menacing man who goes only by the title of "The Teacher" (Harry Reems), Justine has several bizarre and sexually deviant encounters, the last of which is a graphic threesome.
Just as Jones is enjoying her new life of lust, the time she was given to fulfill herself runs out, and she is faced with eternity in Hell. Though she is at first horrified at the pain she will be forced to endure, Abaca dispels the common human myth of Hell, and promises Jones that she will be "quite comfortable." Now a sex addict, Jones finds herself confined to a small room with an impotent man who is more interested in catching flies than her. She desperately begs the man for sex, but he merely asks her to be quiet while he listens for the buzzing of the insects.
Cast
- Georgina Spelvin as Justine Jones
- John Clemens as Abaca
- Harry Reems as The Teacher (as Harry Reams)
- Marc Stevens as Second Guy with Justine (as Mark Stevens)
- Levi Richards as Third Guy with Justine (as Rick Livermore)
- Judith Hamilton as First Girl with Justine (as Claire Lumiere)
- Sue Flaken as Second Girl with Justine
- Gerard Damiano as Man in Cell (as Albert Gork)
