The Prefect’s Lesson

‘The Prefect’s Lesson’ is available for download from Janus Worldwide at http://www.janusworldwide.com/store/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=869

‘The Prefect’s Lesson’ is a 7:30 video released by Janus in 1981.  This movie was made at a time of upheaval at Janus; the death of editor A.G. Van Okker set off a round of legal battles and a defection of some writers who founded a rival magazine called ‘Phoenix’.  George Harrison Marks, who had been working for Janus as a photographer and movie director, was hired as editor of a successor magazine called ‘Derriere’ which produced 6 issues while the ownership of the Janus name was being resolved.  ‘The Prefect’s Lesson’ was produced during this period it brought two innovations to the Janus movies.  The first was the switch from 8 mm film to VHS videotape which brought Janus into the age of ‘talkies’.  The second was the practice of featuring new movies in a photostory in the magazine and this was something that GHM would continue both as editor of the ‘New Janus’ and after his departure to found his own magazine called ‘Kane’.

All of the sources I can find agree that this movie was directed by George Harrison Marks but the title card is unusually simple.  Normally GHM wasn’t shy about having his name on a movie (and you can look back at the title card for ‘The Gym Lesson’ for an example) but that isn’t the case here.  Of course, this might be a 'CalStar' version of the movie, since they usually cut the original credits, but I can't find any mention of CalStar distributing a copy of 'The Prefect's Lesson'.  As mentioned, the movie has a soundtrack and some dialogue is audible but the story is told in a voice over by one of the characters.

‘The Prefect’s Lesson’ is set in the Arnold House school for girls.  It begins with two girls waiting outside the school for a third who has cost them a victory in a field hockey game and they plan to get even.  The two knock the miscreant down on the ground just as a teacher walks by and all three are marched into the Headmasters office. 

According to the voice over, the two have a checkered disciplinary history and the headmaster decides that firm action is required.  The Narrator will be spanked and her friend will be caned.

The Narrator is order to raise her skirt and lower her panties and the Headmaster takes her over his knee for a spanking that is very restrained compared to what would come in movies that would be made in coming years.  Also, even though the movie has sound, the silent movie over-acting remains.

When the spanking is finished her friend is also ordered to raise her skirt, lower her panties and bend over the desk for her caning.  The caning isn’t severe even though the actor playing the Headmaster overdoes the action of delivering the strokes. All this is accompanied of Wagner’s ‘’Ride of the Valkyries’ and more exaggerated expressions from the recipient of the caning.  The ending is a little abrupt and it is possible that a few seconds may have been lost when this movie was digitized.

Despite the advent of sound, this movie has more in common with the silent 8 mm films that preceded it, like ‘The Gym Lesson’, ‘The Riding Lesson’, ‘The School Lesson’ and ‘The Nurse’s Lesson’, than it does with the other videos that would very soon follow.  This movie could be ‘PG’. The punishments are quite mild and large parts look like they are being simulated, and not very well.  It is worth watching for its historical value but the Janus movies that would follow within little more than a year, like the ‘St. Winnifred’s Trilogy’, ‘The Dressing Lesson’ and ‘The Disciplinarian’, would be very different.

The Silent Lessons of George Harrison-Marks

According to the information that I have been able to collect, Janus produced a total of 15 movies between 1977 and 1980.  Many of these were directed by George Harrison-Marks and several of his movies, including 'The Gym Lesson', have the word ‘Lesson’ in the title.  The full list includes:

1.       The Gym Lesson (1977, GHM);

2.       Bottoms Up (1977, GHM);

3.       Hot Ass (or maybe Hot Arse, 1977);

4.       Flagellation (1977);

5.       Late for School (1977);

6.       Whiplash (1977);

7.       The Riding Lesson (1978, GHM);

8.       Victorian Derriere (1978);

9.       Spanking for Two (1978);

10.   The School Lesson (1979, GHM);

11.   The Nurse’s Lesson (1980, GHM);

12.   The Art of Caning, Part 1 (1980);

13.   The Art of Caning, Part 2 (1980);

14.   Home Late from School (date unknown); and

15.   The Perils of Penny (date unknown).

Over the years I have managed to track down 7 of these 15 silent movies and I recently received a tip on an eighth.  All of them were filmed in Kodak Super-8 format which allows for a soundtrack recorded on a magnetic strip but (to the best of my knowledge) all of the Janus films were silent movies.  These movies are all short.  A 5-inch reel of Soper-8 film (100 feet) would run 13 minutes while a 6-inch reel (200 feet) would run 20 minutes and none of the Janus silent movies are more than 20 minutes long.

The Riding Lesson

‘The Riding Lesson’ is 6 and ½ minutes long.  It opens with a young blonde woman returning to the stable after her rising lesson where she finds a brunette having a cigarette and a beer.  She starts to admonish the brunette but the brunette makes move on her and some girl-on-girl action ensues (this is a George Harrison-Marks movie after all). 

The stable owner comes in and catches them in the act and he starts to give the brunette an OTK spanking with the blonde gleefully watching.  Eventually he realizes what is happening and both girls bend over a hay bale for a vigorous thrashing with his riding crop.  Afterward he departs leaving the two girls alone in the barn.

The School Lesson

‘The School Lesson’ is 5 and ½ minutes long.  The Headmaster is siting in his office when two schoolgirls arrive.  They give him their lesson books and then they leave.  He starts reading through the lesson books while the girls wait outside, looking at some photographs which leads to some very naughty activity between them (again, this is a GHM film). 

The Headmaster leaves his office to return their corrected lessons and catches them in the act.  Of course, he is outraged.  He picks up his trusty cane and has the first girl bend over a nearby table for a sound caning.

Eventually the second girl takes her place and she is also caned but her caning lasts longer.  Throughout it all the Headmaster has an exaggerated maniacal grin on his face so he is obviously enjoying his work.  The move ends abruptly with the second girl still bent over the table.

The Nurse’s Lesson

‘The Nurse’s Lesson’ is 8 and ½ minutes long.  It begins with a pock-marked patient examining something under the covers on his bed.  The object proves to be a bottle of wine and a nurse comes in and catches him drinking.  She takes the bottle away and gives the patient a stern warning.  She starts to straighten the covers on his bend and he tries to grab her when she leans over him.

The scene cuts to another nurse studying an anatomy text.  The first nurse comes in and tells her about the patient’s drinking and other behavior.  The decide to substitute a flower for an anal thermometer and you can guess what follows.  Obviously, the patient is not amused and he pulls when he finds out what the nurse has done and he pulls her across his knee for a spanking.

Her friend hears the commotion and comes to help.  The second nurse restores order and sends the first nurse out of the room but she soon finds herself in the same position as her friend only her spanking lasts much longer.  Eventually, both the patient and the nurse are exhausted; they collapse onto the bed and the movie ends.

All three of these movies are rather simple and silly by current standards and I’m certain that no one would pay the prices that were charged for them today.  However, they do have a certain charm and they are well worth seeing if you’re interested in the history of spanking films. GHM's next movie for Janus. 'The Prefect's Lesson' would mark the switch from film to VHS tape and the arrival of sound.