Christine's Secret is indeed and enigma. Produced by Candida Royalle for her Femme series, the tape is intended primarily for those who want something other than the usual, overtly explicit XXX feature (this group is usually understood to be the couples' or women's market). And so, the opening credits are run with a shot of a man stroking his upper torso as a background. We then see a woman approaching a country inn, which, we find out, she visits once a year, always alone.

And so the enigma. The proprietress of the inn can't understand why Christine has no boyfriend. Neither can we, but we later see Christine looking out her window caretaker is looking out his window at her, and is a scene filled with strong desire they each masturbate while watching the other one. Socko beginning, what a story, can't wait to hear the details!

Unfortunately, we never do. There are perhaps twenty lines of dialogue in the whole feature, and we've already gone through half of them. So, what is set up as an interesting storyline is discarded, and the production becomes an all-sex picture.

Not that this is a problem, as was evidenced in Royalle's Urban Heat. And it really isn't much of a problem here, except for the abrupt shift in focus. The sex in the story is terrific for those who want hardcore without graphic insertion shots, and with a true sense of tenderness. Chelsea Blake and George Payne, especially, exhibit an abandon and sense of passion not usually displayed in adult films as part of the relationship of a loving couple. They laugh, they exclaim their love, and it's one of the more erotic and intensely passionate scenes I've seen. All of the lovemaking scenes display the sense of love implied in the word... there is kissing, cuddling, and a sense of true affection. The actors all do a fine job of conveying this feeling.

There are problems, though. The sound quality is reprehensible! At times we completely lose dialogue, or just simply can't make out what's being said. and, the background hum is so bad the volume had to be tuned up very high in order to almost hear the dialogue. In a work that sets out to have high production values, this is a true sore spot.

Overall, Christine's Secret is a welcomed addition to one's XXX library. Especially for those who desire some show of affection on the part of the players, but who don't want the extremely graphic, male fantasy-oriented sex of most XXX features.