The Time Atari Funded a Porno and Other Things You Probably Didn’t Know

Few things shock me and even fewer things surprise me these days. Not that I’m all that perturbed by anything I see, anyway;  but since  we seem to be living in an age of outrage, where anything and everything pisses someone off, somewhere, what usually shocks me is how people respond to my sense of candor.

In fact, I know that no matter what I say or do these days, no matter how noble my intentions, or sincere my beliefs, odds are stacked against me that someone’s going to unfriend, block or mute me on a weekly basis because of something I said or wrote.  Well, that’s the price one pays for being open, I guess. I’ve never been one to follow “the pack”, anyway, and I don’t intend to start any time soon.

Having said that, I’m sure some people are going to get super-saucy over this one, here:

Last night, during one of my late night/early morning research sprees, while reading Atari Inc: Business Is Fun, and discovering that Atari partially funded and provided a location for a porno film, I became quite intrigued with that information. Where is this film and how do I get my hands on it?

*excerpt explaining how Atari partially funded a porno in 1978

A Cadillac Named Desire,  written by “Oliver Nalreh“, who I suspect is really Atari’s former business partner, Larry Bryan, was filmed in 1978, allegedly at Atari Headquarters and its environs and, according to legend and random statements from people who worked there, even had Atari employees in the cast, particularly in “orgy scenes”, where the “acting” seems awkward and the people, nervous. Correction: In a previous version of this article I had incorrectly stated that the book Atari Inc had information regarding orgies. It does not. The information it contained was who “chipped in a bit to help” fund a porno, who those people were, and speculation that some had “unofficially stated” it was filmed on Atari property.

Personally, I can’t even fathom the idea of wanting to have sex where I work, let alone have it knowing my boss knows about it and it’s being filmed. Ewww. But, hey, it was The 70s, one of the freakiest, most strangest cultural trips this country  has ever taken a ride on. People were quite literally unchained for the first time since the 1920s. The Pill had arrived, and with it a new-found sexual freedom, especially for women, who could now have as much sex as they wanted without fear of pregnancy or even stigma. That’s why I’m not shocked at all about this film, although I do find it rather strange that anyone would think it was a good idea regardless of the era it was made in.

Are these amateur actors Atari employees? Some think so.

As one would expect, the film is absolutely dreadful; lots of pasty-white skin, wood paneling and shag carpet…both kinds.  Stuff that even Rick James, at the height of his cocaine-fueled super freakiness, would pass on. Even worse, the script is filled with annoying, nonsensical conversations that go no where but to act as a tether linking one lurid, emotionless and unimpressive sex scene after another.

Honestly, if Atari is hiding their relation to this film, it’s not because they’re ashamed of having funded it. It’s because it’s so bad.

https://xhamster.com/videos/classic-us-a-cadillac-named-desire-8132328?t=0.1

 

 

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