Debbie Does Dallas Uncovered

Following in Deep's footsteps comes Debbie Does Dallas Uncovered, another celebrated early porn movie that's shrouded in mystery and controversy.

Director Francis Hanly pulls a Nick Broomfield by trying to track down the people in front of and behind the camera of this adult feature. At first this seems promising: He speaks at length with an FBI agent charged with busting up the production. He interviews a few of the male stars of the film, some of which are still in the business. And then the film stalls.

Much of the mystery of the film surrounds Bambi Woods, who famously vanished after the completion of the movie and is now either dead or hiding out in the midwest somewhere. Hanly doesn't know, and he can't track her down, even with the help of a private investigator. And in fact, none of the female stars of the film will talk save for one, Robin Byrd, who's skittish about talking despite the fact that she hosts a porn-focused cable access TV show. Much of the film is just a general look at what happens to porn stars when they get old (use your imagination), and has relatively little to do with Debbie Does Dallas.

And so this slim feature (a mere 47 minutes long) comes to a close. Sadly there's not much of a sense that anything about Debbie has really been "uncovered," in stark contrast to the intimate details and rich history exposed in Inside Deep Throat. Still, I expect we're going to see a flood of knockoffs in the film's wake. Can The Story of the Story of O and Behind Behind the Green Door be far behind?

The DVD includes the bonus film Diary of a Porn Virgin, tracking two women who want to become porn stars.

Aka The Curse of Debbie Does Dallas.