Deep Throat (film)

Deep Throat
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Jerry Gerard
Produced by	Louis "Butchie" Peraino
Written by	Jerry Gerard
Starring	Harry Reems Linda Lovelace Dolly Sharp Carol Connors
Cinematography	Harry Flecks
Edited by	Jerry Gerard
Distributed by	Bryanston Pictures
Release date	June 12, 1972 (1972-06-12)
Running time	61 minutes
Country	United States
Language	English
Budget	$47,500
Box office	Claimed $600 million, confirmed est. $30 to $50 million

Deep Throat is a 1972 American pornographic film that was at the forefront of the Golden Age of Porn. The film was written and directed by Gerard Damiano, who was listed in the credits as "Jerry Gerard"; produced by Louis Peraino, credited as "Lou Perry"; and starring Linda Lovelace, the pseudonym given to Linda Susan Boreman.

One of the first pornographic films to feature a plot, character development and relatively high production values, Deep Throat earned mainstream attention and launched the "porno chic" trend, even though the film was banned in some jurisdictions and was the subject of obscenity trials.

A sexually frustrated woman, Linda Lovelace (Linda Boreman), asks her friend Helen (Dolly Sharp) for advice on how to achieve an orgasm. After a sex party provides no help, Helen recommends that Linda visit a doctor (Harry Reems). The doctor discovers that Linda's clitoris is located in her throat, and after he helps her to develop her oral sex skills, the infatuated Linda asks him to marry her. He informs her that she can settle for a job as his therapist, performing her particular oral technique—thereafter known as "deep throat"—on various men, until she finds the one to marry. Meanwhile, the doctor documents her exploits while repeatedly having sex with his nurse (Carol Connors). The movie ends with the line "The End. And Deep Throat to you all."

In a March 1973 column, critic Roger Ebert wrote of the film, "It is all very well and good for Linda Lovelace, the star of the movie, to advocate sexual freedom; but the energy she brings to her role is less awesome than discouraging. If you have to work this hard at sexual freedom, maybe it isn't worth the effort."

Al Goldstein wrote a rave review in his SCREW magazine, saying "I was never so moved by any theatrical performance since stuttering through my own bar mitzvah."