The Passions of Carol

My name is Shaun Costello and I wrote and directed this movie. This was the very first hard core XXX adult film to open in a straight theater. It opened at the Quad Cinemas in 1975 to empty seats. My first flop. It was big, it was noisy, it was colorful, it was funny, but there was one thing it wasn't; it wasn't sexy. It was shot in 16MM film with a budget of $14,000. which wound up at about $18,000. after overages. I had never worked on a sound stage before, and had to keep the production going 24 hours a day to complete it anywhere near it's original budget. It was shot at what became Mother's Sound Stage in New York's East Village. My wonderful neighbors, who lived in my rent controlled apartment building on East 21st Street, built the sets, sewed the costumes, and in general just made it all happen. My friend David Wool created the skyline of Manhattan that is seen from Carol Scrooge's window, and built it out of corrugated cardboard. To David, and Harriett, and Shelly, and the rest; I could never have done this without you. This is an odd movie that does have some hilarious moments.

I saw this on bigscreen back in 1975 with no idea what it was about; it was just that week's feature at a porno house I occasionally visited, so I bought a ticket and went in. What it *is* is a story about Carol Scrooge, heartless editor of a PLAYGIRL-like male nudie mag, who is abusive to her employee Bob Cratchit and who receives a visit on Xmas Eve from the ghost of... You get the picture.

"Ring Christmas Bells" music will put a seasonal twinkle in your heart, but why do all of Ms Scrooge's holiday memories seem to involve hardcore sex? Does she ever get the Xmas spirit?

Cheaply made, and much in need of a script polish and a few extra days' production time, this is still an imaginative porn effort. Sonny Landham guests as prospective male model auditioned by Scrooge and her secretary; cult actress Susan Sloane appears in a kinky flashback of Xmas Past; Bob Cratchit (Jamie Gillis) and wife Tiny Kim (Pope) celebrate in their own sweet way. And you've never seen the reunion of Scrooge with Marley's ghost visualized quite as it is here.

One-of-a-kind pic is a must-see for anyone interested in the porn genre and should not be overlooked by dedicated Dickens scholars, either. My copy of this tape is on the Video-X-Pix label, which folded years ago. I don't know of a currently available version but it is certainly worth looking for and rates a 5 for its chutzpah. The concept is a bit better than the porn content. Play this and the Alistair Sim version back to back.