V the Hot One (Cal Vista Classics) Review

Reviewed by T0MBOne  on  7/21/2014

V stands for Valerie in Robert Mc Callum's V THE HOT ONE (1977, Nu Tech Digital re-release) with the ever lovely Annette Haven as the lead heroine, who leads a double life as "the matinee girl" of a brothel by day and a distinguished housewife by night. V THE HOT ONE claims to be based on a true story but many will recognize plot elements from BELLE DE JOUR (a novel by Joseph Kessel, filmed a decade earlier by Luis Bunuel) within its 90 minute running time. No matter, V THE HOT ONE stands on its own a one of the top xxx films from the era plus Annette Haven shines in the lead role as the enigmatic Valerie and/or V. Standard frame.

Before the credits roll, a young Valerie is escorted to an auto yard where she's deflowered (off camera) by a local creep. Her mother looks for her and upon discovering the duo lets poor Valerie know she's "a little whore".

An adult Valerie makes her way among the movers bringing furniture into their new place. When she's alone, she plops into a chair, fantasizes about one of her past trysts and masturbates. Across the street, with an assist from a pair of binoculars, a guy catches her in the act then whips out his cock and masturbates. Valerie sees him and continues on.

Thus begins the wonderful opening third of V THE HOT ONE as Valerie displays increasingly risky sexual behavior unbeknownst to her hard working hubby Paul played by John Leslie. At a dinner in their home, Valerie gives brief head to one of the guests, Larry (Paul Thomas) while he makes a stock deal over the telephone. Later at night, she sneaks out to a San Francisco strip of xxx movie theaters where in one movie house, she has an incredible encounter in her seat as one patron (David Pinney) fucks her while she sucks the cock of another patron (Dashile Miguele) while performers in the movie (Jan Davis, Pete Dawson) have anal sex up on the screen. When the manager spoils their fun, alone Valerie hits the streets until she takes on the role as hooker for the benefit of a young sailor (Michael Orion) with only $25 in his pocket. Val leads him into the cab of a parked truck where for $5 he doggy fucks Val from behind and Val tells him to call her "V".

The middle third of V THE HOT ONE finds Valerie hearing about a friend of a friend moonlighting as a day-time prostitute. Curious, she meets the madame of the brothel, Jacinda (Kay Parker in her first film, which is also a non-sex role) and decides on a Monday through Friday 1100 to 300 schedule as Jacinda's "matinee girl". Her first encounter with a champagne guzzling guy (Joey Silvera) goes well but V's excused when she does not whip the ass of "The Principal" (Ray Wells) with enough force. (Other workers on the scene-Kristine Heller, Desiree West and Sandy Pinney-are happy to take her place in a wacky 4-way encounter) Meanwhile, V returns for a darkened encounter with a dude in a hard hat (John Seeman) that lights their darkened room (and their encounter) with a flood lamp in a terrific scene.

Things begin to unravel for Valerie/V as the final third of the film reveals. Feeling unloved and forgotten, Paul forces himself on Valerie, first on the stairway of their home then on a couch still covered from the move. This well-shot and staged straight sex encounter leads to the duo taking a vacation and attending an orgy where Valerie chooses not to engage in the carnal pleasures around her. Upon her return to work, Jacinda scolds V for skipping out on her that day then V must deal with Larry, who surprises her when he makes a visit to fuck the new classy girl at the brothel. Another solid bedroom encounter occurs as Larry threatens to tell Paul then fucks Valerie, who complains when she did not come after his cum shot. "Whores don't" replies Larry.

No longer in control of her sordid other life, V takes to the streets and meets an attractive street walker character, who has appeared at different intervals of Valerie's daytime wanderings throughout V THE HOT ONE. She takes him up to the room of a seedy hotel where the unexpected occurs and an unpredictable finale takes place.

Credit writer/director/producer Mc Callum for sticking to his incredible star Annette Haven for most of V THE HOT ONE's carnal pleasures. Even in her absence, note how Larry and his gal from the party (the lovely Laurien Dominique) suck and fuck on a couch as if Valerie is who he's fucking. It all makes V THE HOT ONE not only a great fuck flick but a surprisingly rich character study as Valerie wrestles with who she is and how she wants to live. Mc Callum's only real blunder here is the use of Vangelis's loud and intrusive music in that final third so let's give V THE HOT ONE a much deserved !!!! 1/2 outta !!!!! for nearly achieving porn film perfection.

Time for some QUICKIES

Few performers have ever appeared in such diverse titles as Annette Haven. In 1977 alone, she appeared in, often times starred in:

BARBARA BROADCAST---Annette plays the lead, a hooker character, in a terrific film that, at the time, had Constance Money bitching in the press about an unused scene from THE OPENING OF MISTY BEETHOVEN being used as the film's finale---!!!! 1/2,

COMING OF ANGELS---Annette plays the "angel" that saves the others lured into the creepy lair controlled by a creepy guy played by, who else but Jamie Gillis. Stark winter environs mixed with dark interior encounters make this a strange xxx concoction---!!! 1/2,

DESIRES WITHIN YOUNG GIRLS---Annette's shower scene with Paul Thomas is a highlight of this solid production that I might review at a later date,

FANTASTIC ORGY,

JUNGLE BLUE,

ANNA OBSESSED aka OBSESSED---Annette joins Constance Money for a terrific encounter plus a three-way that includes John Leslie as she plays a mysterious photographer named Maggie in this convoluted, edited version of OBSESSED---!!! 1/2,

REFLECTIONS,

SEX WORLD---Annette performs in one of the way too many scenes packed into this xxx take on the popular mainstream sci-fi films of the period, WESTWORLD and FUTUREWORLD---!!!!,

SOFT PLACES---In his audio taped will, a hubby leaves Annette all of his wealth and fortune as long as she performs in an array of sexual acts to be overseen by his lawyer played by Paul Thomas---!!! 1/2

TEENAGE SEX THERAPIST,

ULTIMATE PLEASURE,

V THE HOT ONE---!!!! 1/2,

VISIONS OF CLAIR---At the outset, Annette models for an artist then has a terrific sex scene in his studio but this flick gets weirder and weirder with the appearance of The Fornicators, plus strange dissolves between the gal with the dagger and Annette with another lovely female---!! 1/2