Some time ago I had gotten some e-mail from a producer down in Washington DC who made a short film he wanted me to see. It was simply titled "King of Porn" and he thought I'd find it interesting.
Krulik also co-produced the underground film "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" (directed by John Heyn) a documentary of people hanging before a Judas Priest show in DC which has been making the underground festival circuit since it was produced in 1986.
I had forgotten I sent Jeff my address for a screener copy, and was pleasantly surprised that given the current dicsusions of "Fan of the Year" this should show up on my doorstep.
The film is very modest, taking place in and about the home of our subject. It is also on the short side, running about 7 minutes; it would be perfect for a low-key, adult version of Entertainment Tonight.
We first meet Ralph Whittington in a series of cards and standups in and about his house "outside Washington D.C." After a card that says "government worker" he explains that he has worked for the last 30 years as an archivist at the Library of Congress. He calls his Porsche "one of his many passions." His extensive library of R&B records "is another passion." He has a favorite chair where he likes to smoke his "fine, fine tobacco."
Finally, we get to THE card. There on the screen in big white letters reads his title: "King of Porn"
He calls his collection of "400 tapes, thousands of magazines and articles on the subject" a "work in progress."
He has stacks of books, slicks, tapes and magazines in his basement. Most of it is catalogued, but with the mail coming in at about 2 pounds a week, it's tough to keep up.
He has a series of personal pictures of himself with pornstars like Candy Samples, Ginger Lynn and Vanessa del Rio. It allows him to be more "hands on" :-)
His pantry is filled with credeal boxes and soda sharing shelf space with Taxi Girls and Rainwoman 2.
His favorite piece: the Beta I version of Deep Throat. With a Beta I machine to match.
In Ralph's bedroom, we geet to meet our hapless producer for a moment before he collapses on the bed.
Ralph takes an archivist's mind to his collection. He looks for the rare tapes that may have some value. He breaks his collection down into genres, like "bikers" and shows off some tapes made with "real bikers from upstate New York."
Fan clubs get their own box. As does Jim Holliday's "True Legends" series, which Ralph considers "reference material."
The film goes on to tell us that upon his death, Ralph's collection will be accepted into the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.
At the very end, The King of Porn meets "Fanboy" something I didn't quite understand, but liked nonetheless and the producer knighted this guy (with a big dildo) "Fanboy".
I found this to be a very interesting little film. Jeff also sent me some clips about this guy which appeared in the Washingtion City Paper (1/24/97) and some supporting info about himself.
If you should notice either of Jeff Krulick's films -- "Heavy Metal Parking Lot" or "King of Porn" -- at a film festival near you, I recommend you give them a look.