Chapter 4

Thursday arrived and I presented myself at the studio ten minutes early, hoping to make a good impression. I was let in without hesitation and walked down the corridor to the wardrobe mistress’s room. There I saw a very pretty young woman who smiled at me and said: “Hello, I’m Fiona. I’ll be your partner in tonight’s shoot.”

“Hello Fiona,” I replied. “I’m Marie; It’s nice to meet you.” It almost sounded as if we were going on a shopping trip together, not writhing around naked on a bed while our every move was captured on celluloid.

Mary, the wardrobe mistress handed us our clothing, underwear, stockings and shoes. She didn’t ask my sizes – I think she had a great memory. We walked to the dressing room and began to strip off. Fiona said to me, “Have you had sex with a woman before?”

“Yes, but only twice with the woman I share a flat with,” I replied, thinking I might as well be honest.

“It’s great with a woman, isn’t it?” she said and I had to agree with her.

“What about sex with a man?” I asked.

“Ugh!. I only did it once – it’s nothing like as good as with a woman. What about you?”

I wished I hadn’t brought up that line of conversation but I replied: “Yes, once for me too. It didn’t end well.”

“You poor darling,” said Fiona. She didn’t ask in what way it had ended badly, and I didn’t go into details.

We had been chatting as we undressed and now we were completely naked. Strangely, I didn’t feel at all embarrassed.

Fiona looked over my body admiringly. “You have such a hot body, I just know we are going to have fun,” she said. “The last girl I was with had said she was experienced but she wasn’t and I had to keep whispering instructions to her. It didn’t make for a good shoot and Mr Matthews was furious. We won’t be seeing her again.”

I said nothing but I was so relieved that Agnes had come to my bed when she did.

As we started to dress in our pretty lacy underwear, Fiona said “Make sure your knickers are over your suspenders so I can remove them easily. I might just use my teeth!” We both laughed. Fiona had been given black underwear and I had pink; I didn’t know whether there was any significance in that.

“It looks like I am going to be the dominant one and you the novice,” she said with a laugh. At least I was not a total novice, I just had to pretend I was.

We finished dressing, each in an elegant frock and Fiona in five-inch heels and me in three inches. As we walked to the studio, Fiona said “Remember not to look at the camera – in fact ignore them. They’ve got a job to do and they’ve seen it all before. They just have to capture the action and especially get closeups, so be aware they may move the cameras around on their dollies to get a better angle. This isn’t the sort of shoot where you can start and stop the action. O’Brien is basically there to make sure nothing goes wrong, but I’m sure it won’t.

When we arrived in the studio, Mr O’Brien was waiting for us. He gave a wolf-whistle.

“Very nice, ladies,” he said, and we acknowledged his compliment with a mocking curtsey.. “Here is today’s story outline: you, Fiona are the experienced one and you Marie will be the inexperienced girl, at least at the start. You walk into the first studio and sit on the chaise-longue. You look a little nervous, Marie as Fiona edges up to you and when she first attempts to kiss you, you back off, but she persuades you and finally you start to kiss, cautiously at first and then with increasing passion. Fiona caresses your breasts through your dress, and then persuades you to lie back and she runs her hand up under your skirt as you respond with increasing passion. Then she takes your hand and you both stand up. She leads you into the second room where the bed is. We cut as you go through the door and move the cameras to start up again in the next room, so you have to stand still for a few minutes so we don’t get a continuity error.” I was taking in all this technical information.

He continued: “After you enter the room which has a bed, Fiona begins to undress you, but leaves your knickers, suspender belt and stockings on. You sit on the bed watching her undress, except she takes her knickers off too. Then she lies on the bed with you and you start to kiss and make love. I’m sure you know how to take it from there.”

We both chorused “Yes Mr O’Brien.” I couldn’t help thinking that we sounded like a pair of schoolgirls speaking to the Headmaster.

The first scene began, when we sat on the chaise-longue and Fiona advanced her lips towards me, I backed away, but she ‘persuaded ‘ me and soon we were kissing. She was an extremely good kisser. She fondled my breasts through my dress, and I felt my nipples harden and become sensitive. Then as I lay back, I felt her hand under my skirt as we kissed. She reached as far as Agnes had. It felt delicious and I arched my thighs to give her more access. She smiled at me and I knew we were going to have a really good time. Fiona then took my hand and we both rose to our feet and walked towards the doorway to the bedroom.

As directed, we froze going through the doorway when Mr O’Brian called ‘Cut!”and carried on walking when the cameras were in their new position and Mr O’Brien called “Action!” Fiona undressed me down to my knickers and stockings and then I sat on the bed watching her undress. She was a great actress and very sensual. I could imagine the ‘gentlemen ‘ in the audience getting ‘stirrings’ as they watched the film.

We lay together on the bed. kissing and caressing, and finally Fiona slipped her hand inside my knickers and started stroking me. I felt myself getting aroused even though it was acting. When, as she said, she moved down to between my legs and removed my knickers with her teeth, I was more than ready for what was to follow. I started moaning, I couldn’t help it, and raising my thighs and spreading my legs to give her more access. When I finally orgasmed, it was quite genuine.

Fiona smiled at me, and said “Now it’s your turn.” The ‘novice’ had now shed her inhibitions and although I was aware of the cameras around me moving into position, I ignored them and set about using all the knowledge I had learned from Agnes. Fiona was soon moaning in response to me exploring her with my lips and tongue, and I felt sure she was really enjoying what I was doing. She was panting as her arousal grew and when she finally achieved an orgasm I was quite sure that hers was genuine too.

When we lay on the bed, breathing hard, and Mr O’Brien called ‘Cut’, I felt thoroughly satisfied. And to think that I was getting paid for enjoying myself! When we slipped off the bed, Fiona kissed me. “That was so hot, darling, I hope we can do it again. If you didn’t already have a girlfriend, I’d be inviting you to my flat for a second round.”

We picked up our dressing gowns and went back to the dressing room where we dressed. Fiona was heading off home, but I had not finished for the night. I had asked Mr Matthews if I could watch some of the man and woman films being shot to get an idea of what was required. The truth of course was that my only experience of sex with a man was when I was unconscious, so I had no idea what Seamus had done, apart from the obvious. I could almost feel sorry for him having the need to render his partner unconscious, since obviously two people enjoying themselves would be much better. When I say ‘almost’, of course I really couldn’t forgive him for what had happened to me.

After I had dressed, I went back to the studio, where a young, handsome and very virile-looking man, and a woman with the largest breasts I had ever seen, were both naked and ready to start their shoot. I took a seat at the back of the studio, out of everyone’s way.

There was no story and no foreplay for this video, it was just plain vigorous sex. When the cameras were rolling, Mr O’Brien called ‘Action’. The woman, I didn’t know her name, sat on the bed and beckoned the man towards her. He was already rampant and seemed to me very large, although I had no experience with other men to compare him against. She took him in hand and fondled him before taking him in her mouth. I must say I sat there transfixed. Was this what men and women normally did, or just in films? When she seemed to swallow the whole of his member, I suddenly felt nervous. Was this expected of every woman? I wasn’t at all sure I could do it.

After she released him, she lay back on the bed and spread her legs, and the man set to work. He soon had his head buried between her legs and while from where I was sitting, I couldn’t see, I imagined he was doing what I had been doing to Fiona and Agnes. Eventually he finished what he was doing, and taking a condom and lubricant, his partner expertly slipped it over his manhood. Then she lay back on the bed, spreading her legs and they came together. She arched her back to receive every inch of him and as his thrusts increased in speed and intensity, her large breasts were bouncing in response. Whether their ‘orgasms’ were genuine or not, I have no idea, but they looked genuine and I suppose that is all that mattered.

I thought to myself, that wouldn’t be too hard to do, apart from swallowing the man, and perhaps it would be quite enjoyable. After ‘Cut’ was called, I thanked Mr O’Brien and left the studio to go back to the flat and Agnes. I confess I was feeling quite aroused after all I had done and seen and could hardly wait to get into bed with her.

After I had finished exciting her and left her gasping, her breasts heaving after her orgasm, she gasped “My! You are quite amazing tonight!”

“I’ve discovered that I really enjoy sex,” I replied, laughing. “By the way, you are still by far the best I’ve ever had.”

She pulled a face. “You’ve only had three and the first one doesn’t count,” she said.

I laughed. “If I ever see Seamus in the street with his wife, I will say hello to him and keep walking. I’d love to be a fly on the wall to hear him try and explain how a strange woman had addressed him by a name that isn’t his, and how he knew me. I’m sure his wife wouldn’t believe whatever story he came up with and it would serve him right.”

Agnes smiled, ‘My, the little country girl is becoming more of a city girl every day.”

Most Saturdays, if we were not working, we would go to the centre of Dublin. In O’Connell Street is the Nelson Pillar, a tall circular stone monument with a statue of him on the top, which I’m told is similar to one in London. For a fee, it was possible to walk up numerous stone steps to an exterior walkway at the top which gave magnificent views of Dublin. Our more frequent destination in O’Connell Street was Clery’s Department Store, a magnificent building which Agnes told me had only recently been built as the original building has been totally destroyed in the 1916 Easter Rising. It made me realise that growing up in a country village had the advantage that the troubles which had taken place mainly in Dublin were barely a ripple on the calm pond of our lives.

Now that I was earning a reasonable income, I was gradually building up a wardrobe of pretty clothes. I still acted in the films for the gentlemen’s clubs, sometimes the same ones as Agnes. By wearing a variety of wigs and variations in my makeup, I was able to appear to be quite different in the various films, although I think the gentlemen liked to recognize the same actresses in various productions. We were almost becoming film stars!

It wasn’t long before I had an offer from Mr Matthews to take part in a film with a man. This one had a bit more of a story line, in that the man and I would have been on a date when we returned to his flat and the inevitable happened. Once again I was dressed in sexy lingerie – this time it was black, and so were my stockings – implying that I was very sexy. To my surprise, the man who I was to perform with was the same one I had seen in the movie I had watched being made. His name was Matt, and I already knew that he was very virile and well endowed. This would be very interesting. I did take the precaution of explaining to Mr O’Brien that I had no experience of swallowing a man whole, so it was agreed that this would not be part of the story line. Everything else was fine.

We commenced by walking fully clothed onto the set which basically consisted of a bed, with our arms around each other. Then we turned to each other and started to kiss as our thighs ground against each other. Matt started to unfasten my dress and it slid to the ground, He revealed my breasts and began to kiss and suck on them as I explored his groin where his erection was already growing. From there it wasn’t long before we were undressed – he was completely naked and I kept on my suspender belt and stockings. The action followed the same path as the film I had seen him making, apart from the agreed modification.

A condom was lying on the bedside table, together with a tub of lubricant. Having watched how it was done, I installed it and then lay back on the bed. What a feeling it was when he entered me – he was so big! I gripped him tightly and just let myself enjoy the sensations.

The climax must not come too fast in a film, so we stretched it out as long as we could until finally it ws obvious that neither of us could wait any longer and our orgasms were simultaneous. It seemed very different to my experiences with women but still extremely enjoyable.

We lay there for a moment; in real life it would have been longer, but there was more to come and viewers would want action.. When he slipped off me, I sat up, rolled the condom off him and began to clean him with my tongue which was an equally pleasurable experience for us both. When he finally started to become limp, Mr O’Brien called ‘Cut’

Mike said to me “Thank you Marie, that was fun.” I smiled and replied ‘Thank you Matt, I enjoyed it too.” Then we both took our dressing gowns and returned to our dressing rooms to wash and dress in our own clothes.

When I returned to the flat, Agnes asked how I found it. “It was different but very enjoyable,” I said.

“So now you’ve experienced the best of both worlds,” she said.

I was different to all the other ‘talent’ as the actors are described. As far as they were concerned, the actual process of shooting the films they appeared in was of no interest at all, but I found myself increasingly interested in how the films were made. It started with the cameras. As I was performing, I was sometimes aware out of the corner of my eye of a camera coming in for a close shot, and I had to force myself to keep my attention on the job in hand.

One day, at the conclusion of a shoot, I decided to see if I could learn more about how films are made. There are many advantages in being a pretty girl, as I was assured I was in those days. Men tend to react more positively to the requests of a good-looking female. After I had donned my dressing gown, I asked Mr O’Brien if I could learn how a camera worked and he was happy to accede to my request. It might seem strange that even though the cameramen had recently been viewing my most intimate parts, I felt no embarrassment in going up to see how they operated their cameras.

Paul was just about to change the reel of film which he had been shooting, so he opened the camera, removed the film, taped up the end and place it in a light-tight can, then showed me the interior of the camera and how the film was fed through a pathway including a ‘gate’, situated behind the lens, where it was momentarily stopped, a shutter opened and a picture taken, then it was moved on and another picture taken, actually sixteen times in a second. (This was the camera speed in the days of silent films).

“The film now goes to be developed,” he said and in my ignorance I asked if it was then shown through the projector.

Paul smiled. “The film is developed as a negative, and then a positive print is made from it, just like in still photographs. You will have seen that we use two cameras, so the two positive prints are given to Luke, the film editor, and he cuts out various shots and sticks them together, just like they do in Hollywood.”

“And that’s shown to the audience?” I asked.

“Not quite; the work print as it’s called is shown to Mr Matthews and if he approves, then the camera negatives are cut to match the work print, and spiced together. From the cut negative is made the prints which are shown to an audience.”

“It’s quite a complex process,” I remarked. “But very interesting.”

“We think so,” said Peter.

“Do you think Luke would let me watch him work at the editing?” I asked.

“We can ask him, but he’s always very busy. There’s just hm and he has to edit all the films that we shoot,” said Paul.

They did persuade Luke to give me ten minutes of his time, and when I went to see him, he was quite a young man. He was sitting at a bench with reels of film and a couple of strange instruments in front of him.

“Did Peter and Paul tell you what I do?” he asked.

“Briefly,” I replied. I gave him my hundred watt smile but it didn’t seem to impress him.

“This is a machine called a Moviola; it enables me to run film through it by hand and to see the images actually moving, so I can choose where to cut the film. This one is a splicer which I use to stick shots together. Here, let me show you.”

He took up a piece of film and put it into the Moviola. “Have a look here,” he said, pointing to a little lit up screen. I peered at it and to my surprise it was a still picture of me fellating one of the male actors. I’ve no idea if that was pure chance or if he had chosen it deliberately – I suspect the later.

“Now, pull the film through the machine and you will see the image move.

I did as he said, and he was right – there I was working on the man’s erection. As I sat upright, I knew I was blushing which seemed absurd.

Luke looked at me. “Now if the shot runs for too long, the viewers can get bored, but I have a solution to that. You know that there are two cameras working, and while that guy was being serviced, a shot was taken of his face, showing how much he was enjoying it. So now, I cut the original shot, then join the second shot to it with the splicer, so.” At this point he showed me how he operated the splicer.

“Now I attach the rest of the first shot at the end of the face shot.” He said, and after doing that he gave me the strip of film to view. I was amazed. The addition of the face shot actually made the sequence of fellating, the actor’s face and then more fellating, look more interesting. It also made the sequence seem to run longer than it did.

“So that’s the sort of thing I do, over and over again,” and for the first time he smiled.

“Thank you so much Luke, that was really interesting, but I won’t take up more of your time,” I said, and left him to it.

The next time I saw Peter and Paul, I told them about my visit to Luke.

“He’s brilliant,” I said ”I don’t know why he’s not working for a big studio.”

“Well he did, but he got the sack,” said Peter. “He was caught in a compromising position with a relative of one of the producers.

“And what happened to her?” I asked, and they both laughed.

“Actually, it was the producer’s son he was caught with,” said Paul. “They were in the editing room but doing something very different, when the boy’s father came in and caught them. I’m guessing the son got a slap on the wrist and told to be more careful in future, but Luke wasn’t treated so kindly; he was booted out of the door.”

As they both laughed I realized that they were a queer couple, and maybe that was why they were not working for a major studio. I even wondered if something similar had happened to them? In fact I began to wonder if just about everyone working in the studio had a skeleton or two in their closets. I was certainly no exception.

I haven’t mentioned it, but since I started to earn a reasonable amount of money, besides giving some money to Agnes for my keep, and buying more clothes, I had started to send small amounts of money to Mammy by enclosing a postal order with the letters I sent her every week. I didn’t send too much in case Daddy got to hear about it and suspected that his description of me as a whore was true. Mammy knew I was working but I never mentioned what I did and she probably assumed it was a menial job like cleaning, and that I was too ashamed to tell her. I certainly couldn’t tell her how I really earned my money.

To be continued