Remember the old classic pirate movies? You know – the one that ends with the good guy getting the girl, the jewels and, possibly, some social disease after sampling the treasures? If you enjoyed these swashbuckling epics then you'll certainly appreciate the 1977 hit Captain Lust and The Amorous Contessa. This gem has recently resurfaced in video shops around the country.

But, before you run out and buy your own copy of Captain Lust on my recommendation let me forewarn you of a few thins: the film does not have a particularly deep or innovative story, the acting is fair, and the sex is mostly uninspired.

Yet, even with the above criticism, I found Captain Lust to be an enjoyable adult film. The story, besides being quite simple, is extremely funny. For example, Bobby Astyr plays a deaf mute with a treasure map secretly hidden on his penis. Astyr is hilarious in this role, especially when a kidnapped nun (Justine Fletcher) is forced by Captain Lust (Jake Teague) to translate the map from Latin to English. Good old Lust only feared that his map would get all shriveled up if not properly maintained!

Unfortunately, by normal standards, there is too little sex in Captain Lust. Most of the four or five sex scenes are uneventful and typical. Fortunately, the music during these sex scenes, written specifically for this film (which is a rare occurrence in adult films) is fantastic. I unashamedly found myself singing and laughing along to the music while Jake Teague's Captain Lust and Verri Knotty's Cuntessa desperately tried to put me to sleep.

The only sex scene worth mentioning is the incestuous coupling of Wade Nichols and Sharon Mitchell. The perverse Captain Lust forces the brother and sister to have sex to satisfy his voyeuristic pleasure. The characters, while not performing with wild sexual abandon, capture the true flavor of the intended scene. Nichols and Mitchell actually look and act as if they're unwilling sexual partners. If the rest of the sex in Captain Lust was up to this fine standard, this film could have been an all-time adult classic. Instead, it actually became the first of the new breed of crossover films, a genre popularized recently with adult fare such as Nothing to Hide and In Love.

This new breed of adult efforts have successfully proven that a film does not necessarily have to be packed with wall-to-wall sex to be a hit. A serious story or good humor, quality acting, enjoyable music, and intelligent sex which is an integral part of the story will be well-received by the viewing public. Captain Lust does contain a few key elements of this successful formula, and if you consider the quality of adult movies seven years ago, you'll realize that it was years ahead of its time.