Candida Royalle's Three Daughters

Adam & Eve/Femme Productions

Genre: Couples

Director: Candida Royalle

Cast: Siobhan Hunter, Gloria Leonard, Ashley Moore, Carol Cross, Nina Preta, Annette Heinz, Robert Bullock, Clark Sharpe, Johnny Nineteen

Length: 78 minutes

Date of Production: 1986

Extra's: The best extra from my point of view was the 27 minute long scrap book with a director's commentary. Candida always has a lot of personal memories for her projects and this one was no different, touching on a number of aspects from the technical (although rarely) to the friendships she developed (frequent) and how things progressed as the movie was made. There was also a commentary for the last scene, where Candida pointed out a myriad of details of how the movie ended. There were also some trailers, a message from Candida, a biography for Candida Royalle, and a commercial for her Natural Contours products.

Condoms: None

Audio/Video Quality: The picture was presented in the original 1.33:1 ratio full frame color that it was shot in. At nearly twenty years old and shot on a minimal budget, the movie has its share of visual flaws. Most of the flaws were related to the grain and lighting, with some video noise appearing during sex scenes. My personal preference in porn is to have even lighting that allows me to see everything going on but I've been told that the softer focus and colors are appreciated more by the main audience of the Femme Productions line so keep that in mind when watching it. The audio was presented in stereo English and the vocals sounded clear with some decent music (it won an award for it's score).

Body of Review: Candida Royalle's Femme Productions celebrates its twentieth anniversary this year, a fact that seemed to surprise Ms. Royalle when I congratulated her on it earlier this year. The company was set up to provide an alternative to the mass-marketed adult material that was, and remains, the primary style available in this country. As the so called mainstream porn market continues to promote rougher and more outlandish forms of sex (commonly referred to as "circus act sex"), Femme Productions slowly releases material that isn't quite the porn I'm used to but it's certainly more hardcore than anything you've seen on pay cable. In a distribution deal with Adam & Eve, Ms. Royalle has released such hits as Stud Hunters, A Taste Of Ambrosia, and One Size Fits All to a receptive, often female, audience. The latest of her re-releases is a little film she made in 1986, Candida Royalle's Three Daughters.

The movie centered on the Clayton family, a husband, wife and three daughters. Each of the daughters has their own interests, and the youngest, eighteen year old Heather (played by Siobhan Hunter-the gal on the front DVD cover), is coming of age. As young Heather explores her virginal body and observes her sisters getting lucky, she has the same desires and seeks to experience life. At the same time, the sisters grow with their partners and the mother and father look forward to the empty nest (they'll have the freedom they had before the children were born) that they're about to have once more.

Okay, the sex was more natural than virtually all porn on the market today. That's a double-edged sword since many of us men enjoy the hardcore fantasy of the beautiful gal who'll do anything, and has the experience to back it up while many women feel more comfortable watching regular couples have sex (apparently it puts them at ease) in a manner that is natural (as Candida's movies display). The sex wasn't forced and didn't rely on the situation silliness that most porn movies are known for (pizza delivery man providing extra sausage, female cashier giving extra change, and the like), preferring to have settings that have the couples do what they'd do in real life (albeit in a supportive setting).

The plot was minimal and not really important to the scenes. To sum it up; it was a slice of life movie with sexual encounters as the focal point. The technical direction seemed competent but the style of using red lights for night scenes has always bugged me-I know it's more of a nod to being less explicit than the harshly lit porno's we're used to. The sexual themes had some lesbian, some light bondage, but mostly oral and straight sex between couples. There were no orgies, no circus acts, and none of the porn conventions that you could see all too often elsewhere.

The movie was not for everyone but if you've enjoyed Ms. Royalle's previous releases, you'll certainly like this one too. I liked the two commentaries, although I'd prefer an audio commentary for the whole movie (my fingers are crossed for future projects), and acknowledge that even a jaded old reviewer like me derived some pleasure from this one (and it was a lot easier to watch with a girlfriend). I think it earned a rating of Recommended for its intended audience and it will be nice to see more of the Femme Productions as they are released in the future.

Note: You can see recent candid shots of several current performers by visiting: My Photo's and read about their antics at 2004 AEE Show.