Dave heads down Wilshire Boulevard for a peek inside the lives of some fat-cat fornicators.

If you broadly assess the first thirty or so XXX films that Gary Graver directed, it’s easy to pick out the quirks and correlations woven throughout his adult movie legacy – the ‘Graverisms’ if you will.

The cityscape opening.

The Hitchcock-style cameo.

And, of course, the Orson Welles nods.

Indeed, it’s no secret that Graver was obsessed with his mentor, and he’d regularly find ways to slot in a wink to ‘The Great One’. Just look at BEVERLY HILLS EXPOSED, with its lingering shot of their first meeting place – the Beverly Hills Hotel – and an obvious tribute to Citizen Kane (1941). The breakfast montage that tracks Charles Foster Kane and his wife is a pivotal moment in Welles’ classic, illustrating the evolution and breakdown of their marriage.

For Graver, then, what better way to underline the shaky state of Harry Reems and Colleen Brennan’s union than by recycling the final few moments of that sequence with them both hidden behind the daily newspaper? Not that it bothers Reems’ character, Gregory Towns, all that much; he’s got more important matters on his plate. An ambitious businessman by trade, a fallow period has left him needing a big money deal – so when another entrepreneur, Jonathan Stinson (Billy Dee), passes through the 90210, Towns elects to do anything to get his signature on the dotted line…

The last of twelve credits for producer Jay Fineberg [1], Beverly Hills Exposed is a nicely crafted porno with a good narrative that would fit quite snugly alongside Graver’s higher profile Golden Age work. A perfect combination of storyline and sex, for the most part it’s the Harry Reems show: the hirsute horndog happily rekindles the affections of his wife and manages to make out with Sandra the maid (Gabriella) and his secretary, Miss Taylor (Tamara Longley), as well. Between this, Graver makes time for Mrs. Towns to indulge in a threesome with her PT (Jerry Butler) and a fellow workout nut (Mindy Rae) before climaxing with the morally twisted sight of Towns offering his daughter (Bunny Bleu) to Stinson in order to get his deal over the line, while he stands outside the bedroom door pumping his fist at their potentially lucrative lasciviousness.

Boasting more exteriors than most of his hardcore gigs, Graver goes all out to inject the flavour of Beverly Hills into the picture. A trip past Saks on Wilshire Boulevard and a stop at Gucci (to bemused passers-by) add to the film’s fabric and justify the use of the city’s name in its title. It feels authentic, which earns a level of credibility that’s so often absent among its peers.

Distributor Essex certainly felt that this should translate into ticket sales, and they opened Beverly Hills Exposed simultaneously at four Pussycat locations on the West Coast: Fresno, Oakland, San Jose, and San Francisco, on a double bill with Sex Play (1984). Sadly, for one picture house in North Carolina, Graver’s film would be the last skin flick they screened. A statute was passed in April 1985 (and in law from 1st October) that toughened the state’s already archaic obscenity laws. For The Royal Cine Theatre, the Greensboro area’s last remaining adult cinema, it proved a step too far. “I don’t feel we can gamble by staying open,” sighed owner Jim Sharp to The News & Record.

His final glimpse at the screen being that of an unshorn six footer from The Bronx proved small comfort.

USA ● 1985 ● Adult ● 84mins

Colleen Brennan, Harry Reems, Bunny Bleu, Tamara Longley, Jerry Butler, Billy Dee ● Dir. Gary Graver (as ‘Robert McCallum’) ● Wri. Uncredited

[1] Fineberg’s working relationship with Graver goes back to his second credit as producer, The Fabulous Bastard From Chicago (1969). Graver served as cinematographer.
[2] Adult Bookstores Clear Off Shelves as N.C. Law Makes Debut by Jim Schlosser, News and Record, 2nd October 1985.