For the Love of Pleasure (1979)

Boy, you get a little older and you find yourself saying, “They just don’t make ’em like they used to,” even about adult movies. Back in the late ’70’s/early ’80’s the films did actually resemble what most people would call an honest-to-gosh movie. One even went to a theater to see them!

‘For the Love of Pleasure’ actually has a (gasp) plot, with serious themes, although it’s pure entertainment. Jamie Gillis stars as a housebreaking burglar. One night he’s plying his trade when the lady of the house, Suzanne Nero, gets the drop on him. She doesn’t want to call the police or make him leave; instead, at gunpoint, she tells him to make love to her. Jamie decides that this is a pretty good option; the gun doesn’t seem to be necessary. The scene that follows is memorable. I saw it almost 20 years ago and I can recall it well, as Gillis makes good use of some of Sue’s natural assets. As they finish, hubby arrives home. Ms. Nero then cooly plugs Jamie with her pistol and he departs this mortal coil.

And finds himself…in heaven? To his surprise, that’s where this unrepentant sinner appears to be. Ruled over by a goddess figure (Annette Haven), Gillis now lives in a garden of carnal delights the likes of which he’d never known on earth. But be careful what you wish for…

Haven was one of porn’s first regal beauties, and there are lots of other good female stars of the time, including Lysa Thatcher as a young innocent, the role she seemed born to play. A morality tale with lots of good sex, what more can you ask for?