Thursday, August 1, 2019

AMANDA BY NIGHT (1981) ** ½


Veronica Hart stars as a madam named Amanda who is trying to make enough money to leave her life of sex work behind.  She’s shocked and appalled when one of her girls (Lisa De Leeuw) is murdered by a twisted john.  Pretty soon, more hookers wind up dead, and the cop on the case (Robert Kerman from Cannibal Holocaust and Spider-Man) fears Amanda just might be the next victim.

Directed by Gary Graver, Amanda by Night features a routine plot and so-so sex scenes, and yet it somehow came to be regarded as a classic of its type.  Its best asset is Veronica Hart’s sterling performance as the vulnerable but sexy Amanda.  She does a terrific job and is really the only reason worth checking it out.    

The all-star porn cast helps too.  Hart and Kerman have a lot of chemistry together, and it’s fun seeing Ron Jeremy playing another sleazeball character.  Unfortunately, the usually electric Jamie Gillis is stuck playing a rather dull (for his standards anyway) pimp character.

The sex scenes kind of run hot-to-cold, but I did like the one sequence where Graver contrasts the extremes of the life of a sex worker.  By intercutting a guy’s first time with Amanda with the kinky S & M scene of two dominatrixes whipping a masked, bound john, it nicely shows the range of what these ladies of the night are asked to do. The rest of the scenes are a bit of a mixed bag, with the potentially steamy scene of Kerman and Hart banging on a boat hampered by the lack of a money shot.  

Even if it leaves something to be desired, Amanda by Night will remain required viewing for fans of the beautiful Hart.

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