The previous library of 42nd Street Forever” collections were DVDs and Blu-Rays that focused on compiling some of the more interesting and famous grindhouse movie trailers, where as “The Peep Show Collection” is an entirely different animal. Rather than collect porn trailers, this is instead a compilation of short porn and stag films from the seventies. These were often seen in peep shows and most likely dime booths that allowed limited viewing time for customers, and the like. All of the shorts here are comprised of 8mm video shoots with no sound, but are perfect for collectors of this kind of entertainment.
Most of the short films are remastered and given a better quality, and only really run about fifteen minutes or so at a time. They’re a constant loop, all silent, of various short porn films with only a few varieties of porn. There’s the requisite man on woman, girl on girl, and the threesome videos. There are also the occasional orgy videos, but they’re few and far between. Since all of these shorts were fodder for dime booths, the short films waste no time in set up and gratification.
A half naked maid is dusting a bad around a sleeping naked man, he begins fondling her, she bats him away slightly, and eventually they’re having hardcore sex. Most of it is based around performers with little to no body grooming, and most of them seem like they just filmed this entertainment on the fly. The women are pretty good looking all things considered, but the male performers are the usual seventies props. The films also have very titillating titles, which I’m sure was a tactic implemented to sell potential buyers on their time. Titles include “Jailhouse Fuck,” “Nurse’s Aid,” “Come on My Eggs.” Ah, the classics.
Whether for the porn aficionado, or for the film buff, it’s an interesting and often amusing look at a time where porn was very taboo, and lingered in seedy downtown dives. Much like actual sex, it was all about the pursuit and putting in some leg work. It takes an odd magnitude too, when you consider many of these performers later tragically died from AIDS, due to much unprotected sex. Including John Holmes, who appears in a short. “The Peep Show Collection Vol. 1” garners some of the most vintage smut ever collected, with a slew of shot titles that will appeal to consumers that enjoy gathering this material. Extras include a book of liner notes from Robin Bougie of CinemaSewer.