Starting out as "skin flicks" and ultimately becoming part of the pervasive porn culture of today, adult movies have generally revolved around the lure of seeing a beautiful woman strut her stuff. That is the be-all and end-all of SPECIAL ORDER, an otherwise horrible junker, redeemed by its heroine's charms.
I suspect adult performer Juliet Jay/Lana Joyce never received another showcase like this one during her brief career, though she did graduate to an acting role in Joe Sarno's excellent, and softcore, "Confessions of a Young American Housewife". She's a delight here, kind of a "Little Annie Fanny" character (to recall the fun old Playboy Magazine cartoon), naive and eminently f**kable.
Joyce plays Karla, a dim-witted waitress whose sexual odyssey begins when big tipper Marc Stevens gives her $50 at the diner to visit his office for a "special order". The fact that she's only 15 years old doesn't faze Stevens, as in this period of porn history films dwelling on underage girls were all the rage, not to be confused with kiddie porn where actually underage girls are employed. It's fantasy time.
After Marc shows her the ropes, so to speak, Karla seems to be fair game for all comers. She's next hit upon as she walks down the street by biker Don Allen, who obviously never viewed the rushes of this quickie -his rear-end is featured in closeups of the ughh!! variety.
Two creeps, Sonny Landham and Jack Webb (the porn version folks) rape her, but pretending to resist and act like she is being raped is beyond Joyce's acting abilities.
In a directorial coup not likely to be imitated, Karla is stuck on an elevator with a janitor bearing a Bowery Boys-styled thick accent. It's Marc Stevens again, in a dual role for no good reason except perhaps the designated actor didn't show up for work.
Movie's finale is equally sloppy, as Karla is again on an elevator, nude and masturbating. Through sloppy editing and set design she magically becomes the voyeur watching Eric Edwards make love to one of my all-time faves (I actually got to meet her at a movie premiere in the '70s) Leslie Murray. As she has throughout the film, Joyce delivers her tag line "special order", hands the duo their coffee, and has a threesome with Eric & Leslie. Eric delivers a money shot, even though earlier in the film these have been faked.
Since this movie is simply about watching Joyce do what she does best, its other elements are sloppy and of little merit. The musical score is all over the map, beginning with cool jazz, segueing to "Let Your Love Flow", Bronislau Kaper's amazing standard "Invitation" (!), and a final reel heavy on classical material including a pointless use of Ravel's "Bolero" as well as Frederick Delius's "Song of Summer". Whew!
To create unneeded confusion, Eric Edwards' character is named Mr. Stevens, while Marc is not a Stevens in either role. Leslie Murray is not credited at all, but IMDb identifies her as Lynn Stevens. She was named Leslie Murray when I met her in 1979, and so she shall remain.
