By Jack Hafferkamp

When Juliet Anderson plunged into the adult film business in 1979, she was 39 years old, making her something of a phenomenon -- a very sexy, assertive, "older" woman. As this tape demonstrates amply, she clearly enjoyed playing the role of an instigator who often led a younger woman into an encounter with a horny male.

In those pre-video days, there were some high-profile, feature-length sex films being made. But most sex films were 12-minute loops made for viewing in arcade booths, and it was in this environment that Aunt Peg, as Anderson’s character came to be known, thrived in her work for the company known as Swedish Erotica.

In her short "career" (1979-84), Anderson made "dozens" of Aunt Peg loops. These un-rehearsed, nearly spontaneous events featured Anderson as Peggy Norton, a "Hollywood producer/director" who always made time to play with the talent personally. Her co-stars are a virtual who’s who of "the golden age" of American porn: John C. Holmes, John Leslie, Jaime Gillis, Sharon Kane, Serena and the queen of cool sex, Seka.

Anderson claims that for her the orgasms were always real, which was as unusual then as it is in sex films now. What is clear in the six sex scenes comprising this compilation, is that Anderson brought an unabashed zest to her couplings and that is something that stands the test of time -- even if the quality of the original film, never exactly Hollywood level, has deteriorated in the meanwhile.

At bottom what’s best about The Best of Aunt Peg is that is depicts both a woman in control, and one who is having a great deal of fun while taking advantage of everyone.

Kudos go to San Francisco’s Exodus Trust for taking the time to locate Aunt Peg’s pioneering work in its voluminous collection and to editor Rand McIlvenna for pulling it altogether.