Rene Bond: Chic '69, 34 min

As the exploitation industry moved from soft-core sexploitation to hardcore pornography on the cusp of the 1970s, a good number of the girls who frequented these cheap sexploitation wonders would retire. It was one thing to simulate sex in front of the camera, but quite another to actually give a blowjob and all-out FUCK for the benefit of the silver screen. Some lovely lasses continued moving back and forth between soft and hard, throwing their inhibitions to the wind, including Sandy Dempsey, Sandy Carey, Jane Tsentas, Orita de Chadwick, and Marie Arnold. But one girl would emerge to become the #1 princess of porn of the West Coast: the late great Rene Bond. This cheerful, sunny-faced beauty dominated the low-budget hardcore film scene of California through the mid-70s before retiring and moving to Las Vegas to live out the remainder of her days. She was also a rare instance of an actress using her real name throughout most of her career. Rene entered the film world in 1970, and apparently did so hand-in-hand with her long-time boyfriend Ric Lutze. The pair would appear together in most of her films, indicating a comfort level that Rene needed as she began performing hardcore. Her most familiar films from her debut year are softcore wonders from distributor Harry Novak, including the Three C's: Country Cuzzins, Country Hooker, and Convict's Women. Word got around the filmmaking community that Rene was a hard worker, a dedicated sex performer, and best of all, she could actually remember dialogue and ACT. Contrary to popular belief, Rene did not wait until she received her softball-sized breast implants (bestowed upon her by Harry Novak) to make the transition from soft to hard. She was cast in a large number of hardcore films pre-surgery, though those remain the hardest of her films to find. It's interesting that Rene Bond had gained a major cult following, and that she became so popular at the time, because the number of genuinely good films she appeared in was quite small. High School Fantasies, Beach Blanket Bango, Do You Wanna Be Loved?, and Cheri remain the finest hardcore films of her career, thanks to above-average production values and Rene giving her usual fine acting performances. Most of her hardcore work consists of weekend wonders, like the one unearthed by After Hours Retro. If loyal Rene Bond fans remember After Hours Retro's recent release of the fine Nick Philips film Les Chic, they will also recall Ric Lutze's outrageously garish 70s pimp outfits throughout that flick. It looks like those costumes were a permanent part of Lutze's real-life wardrobe, as he wears them in full regalia in this low-budget opus, too. Even more shocking, this one was shot two years before Philips resurrected the colorful clothes in his film! Apparently shot over two days in a handful of apartments, the sparse plot finds Lenny, a gigolo played by our Mr. Lutze, receiving a phone call from Sissy, a buxom bombshell complaining about her boyfriend Link cheating on her with a girl named Sherry. After boinking his brat-faced girlfriend, Lenny heads over to Sissy to comfort her with some lovin'. In an affectionate touch, he grabs a towel and wipes his seed off her ass when they're done. Awww! Next stop for Lenny, after driving by Grauman's Chinese: Sissy's place, where he finally meets the "other woman". And yep, it's our leading lady, Rene Bond, in one of her earliest performances, indulging in a hardcore scene with Link and demonstrating her celebrated oral technique already well-developed in her early years. Strangely, Rene's penetration scene with Link is softcore. Maybe she wanted to remain true to Ric? As Lenny arrives, he tells off Link before getting down with Sherry. Yes, this time Rene's scene is all hardcore. This is the type of cheap film that permeated storefront theaters across the West Coast, badly dubbed and awkwardly photographed, but still delivering the goods for those loyal perverts aching for some fucking and sucking. It's no lost gem, but it is a valuable historical artifact for fans of Rene Bond and her cinematic legacy. An interesting observation: Rene and Ric wear matching bikini chains around their waists, a cute indicator of their real-life relationship.