The true question to determine the underlying quality of any sex thriller is: would anyone watch it without the sex?

Countless bad 80s and 90s movies — hardcore or otherwise — haven’t been able to pass that little test. They survive because there are naked hot girls fucking on camera, and there’s always going to be an audience for that, but let’s face it, no one would sit through most sex thrillers without all the sex parts.

Amanda by Night is one of those rare exceptions. It was directed by legendary cinematographer Gary Graver, known primarily for his extensive collaborative work with the even more legendary Orson Welles, but who was also an avid porn fan and director under the pseudonym Robert McCallum.

From the first shot you realize this was done by someone who knew what he was doing. All characters are grounded and believable, the pace of the movie feels perfect and there’s enough tension and suspense to carry you through any non-sexual moment. Not to say the sexual moments weren’t good, of course. Most sex scenes are fairly hot, well photographed (especially considering the time’s standard) and feel a bit more real and passionate than on your average smut film.

Veronica Hart, one of the genre’s best actresses, plays Amanda Heather, a high priced prostitute/Madame that seems very much in control of her business, until two of her girls and fellow hookers are found dead under mysterious circumstances, and suddenly she finds herself to be in danger, too.

Exploitation’s own character actor John Alderman plays Councilman Blakely, our bad guy. He had a body double for his threesome BDSM scene with the soon-to-be-dead prostitutes (he was not a porn actor), but he held his own playing the unscrupulous villain.

Robert Kerman (then still going by Richard Bolla), and known for much more pervy roles, did perhaps the best acting I’ve seen him do as the Lt. Ambrose Hart, a good-natured homicide detective on the quest of finding the killer and protecting Amanda, even rejecting her advances while the investigation is in process (there was no gratuitous sex in this film; all sex scenes happened for a reason).

And of course, no all star porn cast would be complete without my favorite adult industry thespian Jamie Gillis, playing a slick pimp named Friday, who poses a threat to Amanda and is fantastic at disappearing unwanted dead hooker bodies.

The rest of the cast is also solid, and offer a window to L.A.’s decadent lifestyle in the early 80s: lovable junkies, newly-arrived trailer park girls with big dreams, corrupt vice cops and douchey swingers.

You get a little bit of everything in Graver’s movies. Some light S&M, sweet virginal sex, hot threesomes with strangers, awkward threesomes with cops, and even a romantic yacht fuck for the road. I usually describe the plot a little further on these Retro Porn Reviews, but this is a pretty good one for you to discover on your own. A great film for porn beginners, and perhaps a refreshing change for experienced viewers.