Retro Raunch Revisit

This month marks the 40th anniversary of DEBBIE DOES DALLAS (1978) opening in XXX theaters. Bar none, xxx's most famous film about cheerleaders (and one of the industry's most famous titles) involving a group of high school girls who set up a unique fundraising method to make enough cash to send eager Debbie to Texas to try out for the famous Cowgirls squad. 19yr old star Bambi Woods in reality had tried out for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and was cut during auditions. In 1979, the actual NFL cheerleaders sued New York's Pussycat Cinema citing the movie's uniforms infringed on their trademark wardrobe along with their wholesome image being tarnished. The courts upheld the claim and barred the movie, which they called "gross and revolting" from being shown. Pro-advocates condemned the decision as a violation of free speech and when the theatre openly defied the injunction, they were quickly slapped with a $12,000 fine and told that further resumption would result in a stiffer penalty of $60,000 per day. Heavily mob-backed, the Brooklyn campus where it was shot has also been used in JACOB'S LADDER, THE GOOD SHEPHERD, several LAW & ORDER: SVU episodes, and Billy Joel's 'The Longest Time' video. DDD spawned 11 sequels (the last in 2007), 4 spinoffs (the last also in 2007), and a 2002 Off-Broadway musical. It would go on to sell 50,000 video copies making it one of the most successful adult releases for its time and reaching a total of 90,000 copies by 1997. And still to this day, the film's most enduring mystery became what happened to Bambi Woods once she was out of the limelight. Misinformation was deep & plenty: Did she die from a reputed 1986 drug overdose, or supposed mafia hit? Was the FBI chasing her? Is she at present an anonymous wife of over 20yrs & mother of 2 teen children in California? Or Iowa? Is she a widower? Was she born in South Dakota? Or just outside New York? Was her real name Debra DeSanto or was it Debbie Benton (also her character name), or Debbie Benson, or Barbara Woodson? Either way, the Woods enigma was explored in the 9-part, 2005/06 UK TV documentary series 'The Dark Side of Porn' -- specifically s1e3 entitled 'Debbie Does Dallas Uncovered'.