Candy Barr: America's First Porn Princess

There wasn't much of a plot to Smart Alec, even by porn-film standards.

A traveling salesman (the actor's identity has never been determined) meets Juanita's character at a motel pool. He entices her back to his room, where vigorous fornication ensues. When the man seeks oral sex, she demurs and calls upon a female friend to help out.

Movie Poster: Deep Throat

Happy endings all around. Fade to black.

In that era, porn was bought under the counter in 8mm or 16mm reels, and then played on private projectors at poker nights, boxing smokers, stag parties and frat houses.

Smart Alec became one of the most popular early porn films, the Deep Throat of its day. One film critic, Phil Hall, calls it the Citizen Kane of stag films.

In their book Dirty Movies, which traces the history of stag films, authors Al Di Lauro and Gerald Rabkin called Smart Alec "the single most popular film of the genre."

Book Cover: Dirty Movies

At the time, many blue films were homemade productions that featured pimps and the prostitutes who worked for them. With few exceptions, the stars were haggard and saggy, if not downright nasty.

The appeal of Smart Alec was due entirely to Juanita, the leading lady. She was uncommonly attractive for porn, and she seemed to be enjoying herself.

"Viewing 'Smart Alec' today," wrote critic Hall, "one can see...why this film was so popular. The first reason was Candy Barr, who was clearly the most gorgeous woman to appear in pornography. Let's face it — most porno stars do not look like movies stars. Barr looked like she belonged in Hollywood — she was very pretty, had a great body (38-22-36), and clearly had a vibrant personality that connected with the camera. It was difficult to imagine that she was 16 when she made the film."