Joseph W. Sarno
Encyclopedia
Joseph W. Sarno was an American film director
and screenwriter
.
One of the most prolific and distinctive auteurs to emerge from the proto-pornographic sexploitation
film genre of the 1960s, Joe Sarno had written and directed approximately 75 theatrically released feature films in the sexploitation
, softcore
and hardcore
genres as well as a number of shot-on-video features for the '80s hardcore video market.
film genre, completed his first adult-oriented feature in 1961. Among his best-known films in the genre are Sin in the Suburbs (1964), Flesh and Lace, The Bed and How to Make It, and Moonlighting Wives (1966). Sarno's work of the sexploitation period is typified by stark chiaroscuro
lighting, long takes and rigorous staging. He was also well known for scenarios centering around issues of psycho-sexual anxiety and sexual identity development.
During his sexploitation period, Sarno worked with such actors as Uta Erickson
, Dyanne Thorne
(star of the Ilsa series), Audrey Campbell (Olga's House of Shame series), Michael Alaimo, Patricia McNair, Tod Moore, and his cousin, Joe Santos
, who would become a regular on television's The Rockford Files
.
Beginning in 1968, Sarno's work became somewhat more explicit, predicting the emergence of soft-core. His breakthrough feature Inga (1968), was one of the first X-rated
films released in the United States. Other noteworthy soft-core features include Vibrations (1968), Passion in Hot Hollows (1969), Daddy, Darling (1970), Young Playthings (1972), Confessions of a Young American Housewife (1974) and Misty (1975). Sarno was also the director of Deep Throat Part 2 (1974), the R-rated sequel to the hardcore classic Deep Throat
.
After 1968, Sarno's soft-core work was divided between films produced in the United States and films produced in Europe, principally Sweden, Germany and Denmark. Many of Sarno's European features were made with American backing. In Europe, he was known for having worked with actresses Marie Liljedahl
, Christina Lindberg
, Helli Louise
, and Marie Forså
.
and Tina Russell
. Reluctant to be associated with the hardcore genre, Sarno began directing explicit films under various pseudonyms. He also acknowledges being the uncredited director of such adult features as Inside Jennifer Welles (1977) starring Jennifer Welles
and Deep Inside Annie Sprinkle (1981) starring Annie Sprinkle
. Over the course of his hardcore career, Sarno also worked with such adult film stars as Harry Reems
, Eric Edwards, Jamie Gillis
, Marc Stevens, Marlene Willoughby, Gloria Leonard
, Sonny Landham
, Seka
, and Ron Jeremy
.
during the 1970s, Sarno's work has been acknowledged in recent years by tributes at the New York Underground Film Festival
, the Torino Film Festival
in Turin, Italy, the Cinémathèque Française
in Paris and the Andy Warhol Museum.
His career is being researched for a comprehensive biography by film historian Michael Bowen.
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
.
One of the most prolific and distinctive auteurs to emerge from the proto-pornographic sexploitation
Sexploitation
Sexploitation, or "sex-exploitation", describes a class of independently produced, low-budget feature films generally associated with the 1960s and serving largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit sexual situations and gratuitous nudity. The genre is a subgenre of exploitation films...
film genre of the 1960s, Joe Sarno had written and directed approximately 75 theatrically released feature films in the sexploitation
Sexploitation
Sexploitation, or "sex-exploitation", describes a class of independently produced, low-budget feature films generally associated with the 1960s and serving largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit sexual situations and gratuitous nudity. The genre is a subgenre of exploitation films...
, softcore
Softcore
Softcore pornography is a form of filmic or photographic pornography or erotica that is less sexually explicit than hardcore pornography. It is intended to tickle and arouse men and women. Softcore pornography depicts nude and semi-nude performers engaging in casual social nudity or non-graphic...
and hardcore
Hardcore pornography
Hardcore pornography is a form of pornography that features explicit sexual acts. The term was coined in the second half of the 20th century to distinguish it from softcore pornography. It usually takes the form of photographs, often displayed in magazines or on the Internet, or films. It can also...
genres as well as a number of shot-on-video features for the '80s hardcore video market.
Sexploitation and soft-core
Sarno, a pioneer of the sexploitationSexploitation
Sexploitation, or "sex-exploitation", describes a class of independently produced, low-budget feature films generally associated with the 1960s and serving largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit sexual situations and gratuitous nudity. The genre is a subgenre of exploitation films...
film genre, completed his first adult-oriented feature in 1961. Among his best-known films in the genre are Sin in the Suburbs (1964), Flesh and Lace, The Bed and How to Make It, and Moonlighting Wives (1966). Sarno's work of the sexploitation period is typified by stark chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro in art is "an Italian term which literally means 'light-dark'. In paintings the description refers to clear tonal contrasts which are often used to suggest the volume and modelling of the subjects depicted"....
lighting, long takes and rigorous staging. He was also well known for scenarios centering around issues of psycho-sexual anxiety and sexual identity development.
During his sexploitation period, Sarno worked with such actors as Uta Erickson
Uta Erickson
Uta Erickson was a Norwegian actress who was in many sexploitation films of the late 1960s. She starred in several provocatively titled films directed by Michael and Roberta Findlay, including The Kiss Of Her Flesh, A Thousand Pleasures, The Curse Of Her Flesh, and The Ultimate Degenerate...
, Dyanne Thorne
Dyanne Thorne
Dyanne Thorne is an American actress, nude model for pin-up magazines, and former Las Vegas showgirl...
(star of the Ilsa series), Audrey Campbell (Olga's House of Shame series), Michael Alaimo, Patricia McNair, Tod Moore, and his cousin, Joe Santos
Joe Santos
Joe Santos is an American film and television actor.-Biography:Santos was born Joseph Minieri in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Rose and Joseph Minieri. He began his film acting career in the mid-1960s, appearing in films directed by his cousin, Joseph W...
, who would become a regular on television's The Rockford Files
The Rockford Files
The Rockford Files is an American television drama series which aired on the NBC network between September 13, 1974 and January 10, 1980. It has remained in regular syndication to the present day. The show stars James Garner as Los Angeles-based private investigator Jim Rockford and features Noah...
.
Beginning in 1968, Sarno's work became somewhat more explicit, predicting the emergence of soft-core. His breakthrough feature Inga (1968), was one of the first X-rated
X-rated
In some countries, X is or has been a motion picture rating reserved for the most explicit films. Films rated X are intended only for viewing by adults, usually legally defined as people over the age of 17.-United Kingdom:...
films released in the United States. Other noteworthy soft-core features include Vibrations (1968), Passion in Hot Hollows (1969), Daddy, Darling (1970), Young Playthings (1972), Confessions of a Young American Housewife (1974) and Misty (1975). Sarno was also the director of Deep Throat Part 2 (1974), the R-rated sequel to the hardcore classic Deep Throat
Deep Throat (film)
Deep Throat is a 1972 American pornographic film written and directed by Gerard Damiano and produced by Louis Peraino and starring Linda Lovelace ....
.
After 1968, Sarno's soft-core work was divided between films produced in the United States and films produced in Europe, principally Sweden, Germany and Denmark. Many of Sarno's European features were made with American backing. In Europe, he was known for having worked with actresses Marie Liljedahl
Marie Liljedahl
Marie Liljedahl is a Swedish actress who had a short-lived film career in the late-1960s and early-1970s, in the films of Joseph W. Sarno and Jesus Franco.-Biography:...
, Christina Lindberg
Christina Lindberg
Britt Christina Marinette Lindberg is a Swedish journalist known internationally for her work as an actress and glamour model in the late 1960s and early 1970s.-Biography:...
, Helli Louise
Helli Louise
Helli Louise Brunchmann Jacobson, often billed merely as Helli Louise, is a former actress who appeared in films and television, including The Benny Hill Show, during the 1970s.-Career:Jacobson was born 2 August 1949 in Copenhagen...
, and Marie Forså
Marie Forså
Marie Forså is a Swedish actress active in Europe the mid-1970s.-Partial filmography:* 47:an Löken blåser på * Der Fluch der Schwarzen Schwestern...
.
Hardcore
Sarno's first hardcore feature was Sleepy Head (1973) featuring Georgina SpelvinGeorgina Spelvin
Georgina Spelvin is the stage name of Michelle Graham, a former American pornographic actress who is best known for her appearance in the classic film The Devil in Miss Jones.-Early life:...
and Tina Russell
Tina Russell
Tina Russell , was the stage name of a pioneering adult film actress active in New York between about 1970 and 1975. She also performed in some of the earliest "live sex shows" to appear in New York in the early-1970s .Tina Russell was born Linda Marie Mintzer in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, to...
. Reluctant to be associated with the hardcore genre, Sarno began directing explicit films under various pseudonyms. He also acknowledges being the uncredited director of such adult features as Inside Jennifer Welles (1977) starring Jennifer Welles
Jennifer Welles
Jennifer Welles was an American porn star chiefly active in the soft- and hardcore genres of the 1970s, although she began her acting career in the late 1960s in the sexploitation genre....
and Deep Inside Annie Sprinkle (1981) starring Annie Sprinkle
Annie Sprinkle
Annie M. Sprinkle is an American former prostitute, stripper, pornographic actress, cable television host, porn magazine editor, writer and sex film producer...
. Over the course of his hardcore career, Sarno also worked with such adult film stars as Harry Reems
Harry Reems
Harry Reems is the nom de film of one of the most notorious pornographic actors of the 1970s and star of the 1972 cult classic Deep Throat.-Early life and career:Reems was born Herbert Streicher...
, Eric Edwards, Jamie Gillis
Jamie Gillis
Jamie Gillis was an American pornographic actor, director and member of the AVN Hall of Fame....
, Marc Stevens, Marlene Willoughby, Gloria Leonard
Gloria Leonard
Gloria Leonard is an American former pornographic actress who later became the publisher of High Society magazine.-Early life and career:...
, Sonny Landham
Sonny Landham
William M. "Sonny" Landham is an American movie actor and political candidate.-Acting career:At the beginning of his acting career, Landham was an actor in pornographic films...
, Seka
Seka
Seka is an American pornographic actress who appeared in many pornographic films during the late 1970s and the 1980s.-Career:...
, and Ron Jeremy
Ron Jeremy
Ronald Jeremy Hyatt , usually called Ron Jeremy, is an American pornographic actor. Nicknamed "The Hedgehog", he was ranked by AVN at number one in their "The 50 Top Porn Stars of All Time" list...
.
Critical reputation
Singled out for praise by critic Andrew SarrisAndrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris is an American film critic and a leading proponent of the auteur theory of criticism.-Career:Sarris is generally credited with popularizing the auteur theory in the U.S...
during the 1970s, Sarno's work has been acknowledged in recent years by tributes at the New York Underground Film Festival
New York Underground Film Festival
Founded in 1994 by filmmakers Todd Phillips and Andrew Gurland, the New York Underground Film Festival was an annual event that occurred each March at Anthology Film Archives in New York City from 1994 through 2008...
, the Torino Film Festival
Torino Film Festival
The Torino Film Festival is an international film festival held annually in Turin, Italy. Held every November, it is the second largest film festival in Italy, following the Venice Film Festival...
in Turin, Italy, the Cinémathèque Française
Cinémathèque Française
The Cinémathèque Française holds one of the largest archives of films, movie documents and film-related objects in the world. Located in Paris, the Cinémathèque holds daily screenings of films from around the world.-History:...
in Paris and the Andy Warhol Museum.
His career is being researched for a comprehensive biography by film historian Michael Bowen.