I løvens tegn/In the sign of Leo - a unique look behind the scenes, part 1.

Mulholand · July 3rd, 2007, 02:41 AM

This one is a true curiosity.

The following text appeared in the Swedish magazine Se #26/1977. Se was one of several weekly gents’ magazines in Sweden at the time, offering a mix of naked girls, sports and motor reports, crime stories, dirty cartoons and more naked girls.
The film in this piece is not named, and no illustrations appear, but it’s clear that it’s I løvens tegn (In the Sign of Leo/The Lion) from the Danish zodiac series. The anonymous writer is Ann-Marie Berglund, who plays the part of Rosa in the film. Berglund, a Finnish-born Swede (not Danish as stated elsewhere in this forum), did a handful of porn films in the 70s, but soon had success as a writer, mainly of poetry and short stories. These days, she is respected and picks up literary awards from time to time. This will partly explain the style of the writing, which some might find a bit arty, a bit contemplative (and a bit long) - I can only wonder what the editors of Se said when they got it... But also quite funny.
I post it here “uncut”, as it is a rare and intimate report on what happened behind the scenes of a 70s pornographic film - a well-known and popular one at that. Here, you will find none of the usual raunchy porn jargon. Instead, it’s pretty honest, pretty unique for this genre and offers some interesting info on some of the co-stars of the film.
I have put some additional info in brackets as to who is mentioned, plus some illustrations at the end of the text (some courtesy of egafd). Because of the length, I have divided the text in two posts.
So, the year is 1976…

I acted in a porno movie
We prepare to display ourselves to the producer [Anders Sandberg] and the director [Werner Hedmann]. I [Ann-Marie Berglund] have flown all the way from Stockholm to Copenhagen to show them a body that I actually don’t have - no wonder I’m nervous. It doesn’t really help that I put on lots of make-up, I don’t have the beauty it takes and I dread hearing them saying the inevitable ”We can’t use her!”
I pretend to smile when they pick me up at the airport. I pretend to be a little girl who’s hungry for money, sexually numb, a little stupid, things like that.
We’re a bunch, all waiting to get scrutinized. First, we are to be made up properly by the make-up assistant, then undressed, then dressed up in sexy outfits, then displayed in front of whisky-drinking gentlemen. We are supposed to be turn-of-the-century ladies, but we really look like little girls who are up in the attic, trying on some of grandmother’s old stuff. “You have a strange body”, says the dresser. I try to laugh and tell him that my breasts look like those on Red Indian women and that they really don’t work well in corsets. “Well, if we’d only known”, he mutters…
In we go, into a large room, in front of three gentlemen, cheerful, perhaps kind to their children, perhaps handy in the kitchen, what do I know. I’m no success. “Well… she’ll do”, they mutter. And I feel like turning my bottom towards them like a monkey and just stroll out of the room. All the other girls are prettier than me, that is, more shaped according to the expectations of the men. They have ample bosoms, long, slim legs, slender waistlines, long hair and almond eyes. My stocky legs don’t really fit into the picture, but maybe they need a kitchen maid or something… Anyway, it is decided that I am to be in the movie.

After the audition, I lunch with one of the beauties. We are at the airport, she’s going to Hamburg, I’m going back to Stockholm. She tells me she’s Puerto Rican and performs in a Hamburg club. She shows pictures of herself, dressed only in feathers and plumes. A star, in other words. As she is very daringly dressed, all the businessmen stare. It's like we're already in some kind of movie. She remains etched into my memory, this rare bird of the night, and when I'm later informed that She really is a He, I am very amused. Unfortunately, I never get to see “her” again. “She” was given a very small part, as “her” hermaphrodite features posed some serious problems [This is the second "woman" together with Louise Frevert in the “Apache” dance scene.]

First day of shooting. I haven’t been able to sleep very well. I’ve had half a bottle of whisky in the hotel room, though, and in the morning I report for work a bit puffy-faced, a little like Simone Signoret.
I look myself in the mirror a thousand times maybe, front, back, between the legs, I put on deodorant everywhere, I apply lotion like mad. I’m pretty beside myself. This all really seems like a stupid joke I’ve gotten myself into. What am I doing here?!
We are driven to the set. Cows peacefully stand in the fields, honest workers are going to their jobs and I long for an ordinary life. The set is cold, the actors are the only ones who’ve arrived, plus a make-up artist and a dresser. No one really pays any attention to me. I am aware of the fact that I got this job because I have a female sex organ between my legs and because I am prepared to display it. And I know well what I have gotten myself into. I have already done some posing in “gents’ magazines”, have already been “exploited” by the camera lens…
At the same time all this is unreal. I watch my face being made-up and unrecognizable in the mirror. But my eyes glow, like two stubborn pieces of evidence of the fact that there’s something else beside the sex, a person, a will, a passion… I look down and try to continue to pretend to be just breasts, thighs, ankles and a well-shaped behind.

I still know nothing about who my partners are, or what we are supposed to be doing. The synopsis did not bring up any specific details, especially not regarding any of the sex scenes. I knew I didn’t really know what I got myself into. Or: I was up for “anything”. And that’s why I'm doing it...
The scene contains a room full of mirrors with a big bed in the middle in which three persons, a man and two women, are to make love. I’m one of the women. We crawl into bed like obedient school children, the guy looks nice and kind, no more and no less, the woman who is a little girl [Anne Magle], looks like a doll. “Start caressing each other”, the director shouts. There are about ten people in the room, camera operators, lightning assistants, the make-up assistant, the producer, and some others.

Here, in bed, with all these strangers around me, I reach the high of my ill ease. I break into a sweat, little red spots break out on my body, my mouth gets dry, my sex gets dry. Strong lights do their best to drive me insane. They are persistent, they glow until the skin burns and you feel like an insect under a magnifying glass. Hands feel me, they tickle, they hurt, I usually enjoy being felt and to touched, I suddenly don’t know what do to or where to do it. During all this, I never ever forget to pant and moan. The girl is more used to it than I am and performs the whole pleasure-scale of the classic erotic cinema. I imitate her as well as I can. Sometime I even get a real, private erotic memory in there, but then I feel even more ashamed and I quickly go back and hide behind a classic “face”. “Lick her!” demands the director. I do as I’m told and she tastes like perfumed soap, her sex is like a little girl’s, light pink and slightly withdrawn, like a flower. Despite this un-romantic situation, I am overcome by tenderness and can't help smiling at her pussy. The room is quiet.

The guy works like mad to keep his member erect, for it has a tendency to go down. Such is his fixation that he hardly notices us. When any of us suck him, I get the feeling that he thinks we’re a sucking machine. He radiates certain vulnerability and his eyes gleam from desperation from time to time. “Damm it”, he mumbles. “What if this doesn’t work out.” We girls do our best; we can’t just remain aloof and indifferent when it really comes to cooperation. We really need to get into the game with all possible feeling. Otherwise, his sensitive member might never rise at all.
I’m ashamed, I don’t want to relax, I don’t want to give myself in front of all these demanding eyes, but I also really would like the whole spectacle to end one of these days… So, finally, it stands. Back and forth it flutters in front of our mouths. We silently draw a breath of relief and think that now it’s just to continue doing what comes naturally. I’m the first receiver. It sniffs at the entrance, probes a bit, and then it shrinks into nothingness. The whole lick n’ suck procedure starts again. Then it’s her try. Same result. The director is beside himself but tries not to show it, as the situation would only get worse. “Just take your time and try again”, he says between clenched teeth. Whispers and small talk is heard in the room again, we lie there, sweaty, struggling, and of all things we are not sexually aroused. We even see all our strained efforts in all these mirrors; they are even in the ceiling. The horror! The guy excuses himself and says that he doesn’t know what has gotten into him, he who always can get it up… She tries again, softer… it rises again; seemingly it does not fear lips as it fears vaginas.

The director sneaks around close to us, just in case, ‘cause you never know when it decides to rise… Time passes, a lot remains to be shot, if we’re going to stick to the schedule. Finally, we’re ready for a new try. Team members who aren’t indispensable are sent out. Nothing must affect our “concentration”. Poor guy, he’s getting redder and sweatier and doubting his abilities more and more by the minute. The whole thing ends with us having to fake it all by sucking and caressing the whole scene. Then we just lie down and on with the fake faces of fake sexual ecstasy. [The guy is possibly Rutger of Rutger & Ramona, a popular live show couple at the time. Ramona isn’t in “Leo”, but the two can be seen in "I tvillingernes tegn"/"The Sign of Gemini", as the chauffeur and the chambermaid.]

End of part 1. Next: cocks sticking out of holes, outdoor sex with an acrobat who can suck himself and some thoughts on the sexual revolution. Go here: http://vintage-erotica-forum.com/sho...72&postcount=1

**ringtoad** · July 3rd, 2007, 08:27 AM

Fascinating! Thanks for posting.

cabrunco · November 6th, 2015, 11:18 AM

Really nice. One of the most interesting descriptions of a movie sex scene in a more psychological approach.

azzthom · November 8th, 2015, 10:15 AM

Thanks for this. A genuinely interesting insight into a bygone era. I'm sure I'm note alone in hoping for more articles like this one.

July 3rd, 2007, 02:41 AM	#1
Mulholand Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Posts: 167 Thanks: 547 Thanked 2,666 Times in 163 Posts	I løvens tegn/In the sign of Leo - a unique look behind the scenes, part 1. This one is a true curiosity. The following text appeared in the Swedish magazine Se #26/1977. Se was one of several weekly gents’ magazines in Sweden at the time, offering a mix of naked girls, sports and motor reports, crime stories, dirty cartoons and more naked girls. The film in this piece is not named, and no illustrations appear, but it’s clear that it’s I løvens tegn (In the Sign of Leo/The Lion) from the Danish zodiac series. The anonymous writer is Ann-Marie Berglund, who plays the part of Rosa in the film. Berglund, a Finnish-born Swede (not Danish as stated elsewhere in this forum), did a handful of porn films in the 70s, but soon had success as a writer, mainly of poetry and short stories. These days, she is respected and picks up literary awards from time to time. This will partly explain the style of the writing, which some might find a bit arty, a bit contemplative (and a bit long) - I can only wonder what the editors of Se said when they got it... But also quite funny. I post it here “uncut”, as it is a rare and intimate report on what happened behind the scenes of a 70s pornographic film - a well-known and popular one at that. Here, you will find none of the usual raunchy porn jargon. Instead, it’s pretty honest, pretty unique for this genre and offers some interesting info on some of the co-stars of the film. I have put some additional info in brackets as to who is mentioned, plus some illustrations at the end of the text (some courtesy of egafd). Because of the length, I have divided the text in two posts. So, the year is 1976… I acted in a porno movie We prepare to display ourselves to the producer [Anders Sandberg] and the director [Werner Hedmann]. I [Ann-Marie Berglund] have flown all the way from Stockholm to Copenhagen to show them a body that I actually don’t have - no wonder I’m nervous. It doesn’t really help that I put on lots of make-up, I don’t have the beauty it takes and I dread hearing them saying the inevitable ”We can’t use her!” I pretend to smile when they pick me up at the airport. I pretend to be a little girl who’s hungry for money, sexually numb, a little stupid, things like that. We’re a bunch, all waiting to get scrutinized. First, we are to be made up properly by the make-up assistant, then undressed, then dressed up in sexy outfits, then displayed in front of whisky-drinking gentlemen. We are supposed to be turn-of-the-century ladies, but we really look like little girls who are up in the attic, trying on some of grandmother’s old stuff. “You have a strange body”, says the dresser. I try to laugh and tell him that my breasts look like those on Red Indian women and that they really don’t work well in corsets. “Well, if we’d only known”, he mutters… In we go, into a large room, in front of three gentlemen, cheerful, perhaps kind to their children, perhaps handy in the kitchen, what do I know. I’m no success. “Well… she’ll do”, they mutter. And I feel like turning my bottom towards them like a monkey and just stroll out of the room. All the other girls are prettier than me, that is, more shaped according to the expectations of the men. They have ample bosoms, long, slim legs, slender waistlines, long hair and almond eyes. My stocky legs don’t really fit into the picture, but maybe they need a kitchen maid or something… Anyway, it is decided that I am to be in the movie. After the audition, I lunch with one of the beauties. We are at the airport, she’s going to Hamburg, I’m going back to Stockholm. She tells me she’s Puerto Rican and performs in a Hamburg club. She shows pictures of herself, dressed only in feathers and plumes. A star, in other words. As she is very daringly dressed, all the businessmen stare. It's like we're already in some kind of movie. She remains etched into my memory, this rare bird of the night, and when I'm later informed that She really is a He, I am very amused. Unfortunately, I never get to see “her” again. “She” was given a very small part, as “her” hermaphrodite features posed some serious problems [This is the second "woman" together with Louise Frevert in the “Apache” dance scene.] First day of shooting. I haven’t been able to sleep very well. I’ve had half a bottle of whisky in the hotel room, though, and in the morning I report for work a bit puffy-faced, a little like Simone Signoret. I look myself in the mirror a thousand times maybe, front, back, between the legs, I put on deodorant everywhere, I apply lotion like mad. I’m pretty beside myself. This all really seems like a stupid joke I’ve gotten myself into. What am I doing here?! We are driven to the set. Cows peacefully stand in the fields, honest workers are going to their jobs and I long for an ordinary life. The set is cold, the actors are the only ones who’ve arrived, plus a make-up artist and a dresser. No one really pays any attention to me. I am aware of the fact that I got this job because I have a female sex organ between my legs and because I am prepared to display it. And I know well what I have gotten myself into. I have already done some posing in “gents’ magazines”, have already been “exploited” by the camera lens… At the same time all this is unreal. I watch my face being made-up and unrecognizable in the mirror. But my eyes glow, like two stubborn pieces of evidence of the fact that there’s something else beside the sex, a person, a will, a passion… I look down and try to continue to pretend to be just breasts, thighs, ankles and a well-shaped behind. I still know nothing about who my partners are, or what we are supposed to be doing. The synopsis did not bring up any specific details, especially not regarding any of the sex scenes. I knew I didn’t really know what I got myself into. Or: I was up for “anything”. And that’s why I'm doing it... The scene contains a room full of mirrors with a big bed in the middle in which three persons, a man and two women, are to make love. I’m one of the women. We crawl into bed like obedient school children, the guy looks nice and kind, no more and no less, the woman who is a little girl [Anne Magle], looks like a doll. “Start caressing each other”, the director shouts. There are about ten people in the room, camera operators, lightning assistants, the make-up assistant, the producer, and some others. Here, in bed, with all these strangers around me, I reach the high of my ill ease. I break into a sweat, little red spots break out on my body, my mouth gets dry, my sex gets dry. Strong lights do their best to drive me insane. They are persistent, they glow until the skin burns and you feel like an insect under a magnifying glass. Hands feel me, they tickle, they hurt, I usually enjoy being felt and to touched, I suddenly don’t know what do to or where to do it. During all this, I never ever forget to pant and moan. The girl is more used to it than I am and performs the whole pleasure-scale of the classic erotic cinema. I imitate her as well as I can. Sometime I even get a real, private erotic memory in there, but then I feel even more ashamed and I quickly go back and hide behind a classic “face”. “Lick her!” demands the director. I do as I’m told and she tastes like perfumed soap, her sex is like a little girl’s, light pink and slightly withdrawn, like a flower. Despite this un-romantic situation, I am overcome by tenderness and can't help smiling at her pussy. The room is quiet. The guy works like mad to keep his member erect, for it has a tendency to go down. Such is his fixation that he hardly notices us. When any of us suck him, I get the feeling that he thinks we’re a sucking machine. He radiates certain vulnerability and his eyes gleam from desperation from time to time. “Damm it”, he mumbles. “What if this doesn’t work out.” We girls do our best; we can’t just remain aloof and indifferent when it really comes to cooperation. We really need to get into the game with all possible feeling. Otherwise, his sensitive member might never rise at all. I’m ashamed, I don’t want to relax, I don’t want to give myself in front of all these demanding eyes, but I also really would like the whole spectacle to end one of these days… So, finally, it stands. Back and forth it flutters in front of our mouths. We silently draw a breath of relief and think that now it’s just to continue doing what comes naturally. I’m the first receiver. It sniffs at the entrance, probes a bit, and then it shrinks into nothingness. The whole lick n’ suck procedure starts again. Then it’s her try. Same result. The director is beside himself but tries not to show it, as the situation would only get worse. “Just take your time and try again”, he says between clenched teeth. Whispers and small talk is heard in the room again, we lie there, sweaty, struggling, and of all things we are not sexually aroused. We even see all our strained efforts in all these mirrors; they are even in the ceiling. The horror! The guy excuses himself and says that he doesn’t know what has gotten into him, he who always can get it up… She tries again, softer… it rises again; seemingly it does not fear lips as it fears vaginas. The director sneaks around close to us, just in case, ‘cause you never know when it decides to rise… Time passes, a lot remains to be shot, if we’re going to stick to the schedule. Finally, we’re ready for a new try. Team members who aren’t indispensable are sent out. Nothing must affect our “concentration”. Poor guy, he’s getting redder and sweatier and doubting his abilities more and more by the minute. The whole thing ends with us having to fake it all by sucking and caressing the whole scene. Then we just lie down and on with the fake faces of fake sexual ecstasy. [The guy is possibly Rutger of Rutger & Ramona, a popular live show couple at the time. Ramona isn’t in “Leo”, but the two can be seen in "I tvillingernes tegn"/"The Sign of Gemini", as the chauffeur and the chambermaid.] End of part 1. Next: cocks sticking out of holes, outdoor sex with an acrobat who can suck himself and some thoughts on the sexual revolution. Go here: http://vintage-erotica-forum.com/sho...72&postcount=1 Last edited by Mulholand; November 7th, 2015 at 12:34 PM..

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July 3rd, 2007, 08:27 AM	#2
ringtoad Veteran Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Posts: 295 Thanks: 1,631 Thanked 3,540 Times in 244 Posts	Re: I løvens tegn/In the sign of Leo - a unique look behind the scenes, part 1. Fascinating! Thanks for posting. __________________ To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 0 or greater. You currently have 0 posts. My avatar is Danish actress Vivi Rau.

November 6th, 2015, 11:18 AM	#3
cabrunco Junior Member Join Date: May 2008 Posts: 1 Thanks: 3 Thanked 5 Times in 1 Post	Really nice. One of the most interesting descriptions of a movie sex scene in a more psychological approach.

November 8th, 2015, 10:15 AM	#4
azzthom Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 6 Thanks: 202 Thanked 63 Times in 6 Posts	Thanks for this. A genuinely interesting insight into a bygone era. I'm sure I'm note alone in hoping for more articles like this one.