A simple pleasure in life is discovering a little-known film, free of hype and absent of big-time stars, that proves to be an unexpected winner. This same dose of euphoria holds true with adult film, as BS seems to be the prerequisite with just about any flick touting a new performer, a returning veteran... or just about anybody or anything for that matter. How many times have you've seen "the most erotic film ever made" stamped with suspicious-looking quotes on a videocassette box cover or in a slick newspaper ad? Yeh, my socks are off and I'm counting my toes, too. There have been more "wildest scene ever's" and "hottest girls ever's" than John Leslie, Ron Jeremy and Eric Edwards erotic movie appearances combined.

One of the pleasures of writing for a publication such as this is the freedom to call a dog a dog; a king a king. Of course, hype has an always will be as much a part of movies as popcorn. But that doesn't make it right to foist inflated accolades upon the unsuspecting masses shelling out their hard-earned cash and rental coupons.

Which brings us to Private Teacher, an unassuming diamond-in-the-rough that delivers a blend of dynamic eroticism, kinky imagination and superlative, steamy performances that quietly matches just about any adult film I saw during 1983.

The obvious inspiration is the successful Hollywood enterprise, Private Lessons. That's the one about an innocuous teenage boy whose coming of age is owed to a seduction by an older woman. Here, the kid, (Tom Byron) uses his telescope to spy on the frivolous sexual games played by his neighbors, two low-flying stewardesses, (Joanna Storm and Stephanie Taylor). Meanwhile, his sexually frustrated aunt (Honey Wilder) begins to wonder why her nephew is spending so much time in his room. She hires a private tutor (Kay Parker), who teaches the proper lessons to settle the kid's problem.

Simple stuff, right? Certainly this story is no better than any run-of-the-mill sex flick, what with its borrowing a theme from a popular movie. As handled by veteran film-maker Robert (3 AM, Society Affairs) McCallum, however, Private Teacher scores excellent grades at just about every level.

It's an exhilarating, steamy delight, as McCallum subtly and sexually salutes such diverse "legit" movie as —now get this— Rear Window, 10, and Beyond The valley Of The Dolls, in addition to Private Lessons. This adds snap and crackle to the flimsy plot, which may make viewers pop with pleasure.

A bunch of libido-driven performances from the participants propel the film from the ordinary to that eternal target of Real Turn-On. Next-door neighbors Joanna Storm and Stephanie Taylor are a voyeur's delight, sharing such kinky get-ups as bunny costumes and outer space-aluminum foil gear with their stud-visitors. Eric Edwards is on hand in a funny cameo as a TV announcer-masseuse, who grabs housewives by the body —literally— so they can sample his brand of sexual product. And young Tom Byron, looking like porn's answer to Matthew Broderick, has the innocence and birds-and-bees curiosity down pat. And Honey and Kay, for that matter.

Speaking of Honey and Kay, these two classy Queens of Sinema shine again, fulfilling young Byron's —and many others'— fantasy of having frenzied, passionate sex with that special older woman. Loving real tenderness permeates the sexual sequences with Ms.'s Wilder and Parker. It's fresh and totally captivating for a XXX-rated effort.

With a meager story-line and little fanfare, Robert MacCallum has brought us a first-class gem with Private Teacher. Give him an apple —make that three-and-a-half apples— and tell him to go to the head of the class of Great Sex Flicks.