Something seemed to change in the adult film world when Rhonda Jo Petty made her debut in Bob Chinn’s Disco Lady in 1978. The movie itself is better than it has any right to be, and its overarching theme of changing times help its stature and give it long legs. But the appearance of Petty, who was top-billed and splashed across the film’s one-sheet despite having approximately six minutes of screen time, signaled something new. For certain, there were adult film actresses who came before her that were beautiful, but the exact kind of sun-kissed gorgeousness that Rhonda Jo Petty possessed was a perfect match for the west coast porn scene in the late 70’s. She was screen-ready and the camera absolutely loved her. With her feathered blonde hair and heavy lidded eyes, she was sold as “the Farrah Fawcett” lookalike by wrong-for-a-living filmmaker Jaacov Jaacovi in the promotional material for Little Orphan Dusty, a ghastly rape-and-revenge film that nonetheless made her a superstar.
Along with having a healthy career in features, Petty also did her share of loops, and it’s hard to imagine a better curation than the fifteen collected in Ultra Flesh Archives’s Fierce: The Rhonda Jo Petty Collection. The third release in UFA’s run of star-oriented loop compilations, Fierce proves to be the best release of the bunch for a number of reasons. For one, Petty was a terrific and enthusiastic performer which is evident in every single selection. Another reason would be that this set houses the finest restoration work UFA has put forth so far. Almost every single loop is crystal clear and vibrant, some of them looking almost brand new.
For some, the third thing this collection has going for it is that it’s devoid of anything that could be considered outré or untoward. Petty wasn’t a fetish performer and had pretty normal boundaries as to what she would or wouldn’t do onscreen, so each loop is dedicated to simple, straightforward scenarios that the late Lowell George would describe as “good clean fun.” If there were any one of the five UFA loop collections I’d recommend to the curious who are looking for a place to dip their toe in, Fierce is definitely their gal.
For Fierce, the main feature runs around two and a half hours and is contains the following titles:
HOT MOTORCYCLE (1981): The program begins with a light but fitting touch as the first loop in the collection has Rhonda Jo being serviced by Laurie Smith while on the back of a motorcycle parked underneath a swag lamp in what looks like someone’s dining room. As Petty was an avid horse and cyclist enthusiast in her formative years, this selection can’t be a coincidence.
CLOSE FRIENDS (1979): Rhonda and Terry Dolan do some light touching while sipping a cool beverage. They retire to a bed with some super cool throw pillows and what follows feels like a staged loop that got off track and turned into a genuine and passionate encounter between the two of them.
FARRAH’S HOT SISTER (1978): Rhonda shows a handyman into what looks like my grandmother’s kitchen in 1978. A Godard-like jump cut takes us directly into the action as she and the handyman go at it on the kitchen table. Interestingly enough, the pop shot for this one was taken from two angles, one in slo mo. Fancy!
THREE TO GET READY (1981): A blast of full color as RJP, Tamara Longley, and Richard Reynolds cavort underneath an Elvis Costello poster. A Linda Ronstadt poster makes a cameo. Hot stuff!
DINNER WITH AN ANGEL (1981): A touch of class from Swedish Erotica as Petty and Ken Starbuck fuck in front of a fireplace after a sumptuous meal.
REPAIRING RHONDA-JO (1981): Petty tries watching some porn, but something is wrong with the TV. She calls a repairman and well-endowed Kevin James shows up to fix the set. A true winner for it’s thoughtful compositions; it looks like an actual shot list was used.
QUICK DELIVERY (1978): Another Swedish Erotica title has Rhonda Jo and Sondra receiving a grocery order from delivery boy John Holmes. Standard idea, but plenty good because of the performers. In terms of the restoration work, this one is a knockout.
LOVE ON A LADDER (1981): Petty plays with Blake Palmer in a loop shot around the same time as Bob Chinn’s Baby Cakes. In fact, this is probably her same character from Baby Cakes. Petty’s facial muggings, paired with her poodle perm, look like they are direct inspirations for the crimped-Heather Graham in the final third of Boogie Nights.
LOVERS REUNION (1978): Petty hangs with the mighty Jon Martin, looking a great deal like Peter Bogdanovich until he ditches the sunglasses and the sweater that’s tied around his neck. This one displays of the great strength of this series; namely, how RJP can ensure that she’s the center of attention amid an array of hideous interior furnishings. Since her heyday was 1978-1983, the odds were never in her favor when it came to canoodling on anything that was muted and/or not tacky. Nevertheless, this Swedish Erotica title is well shot with some great compositions.
SIXTY NINE PLUS ONE (1981): Petty, Heidi Kance, Laura Landers have an outdoor threesome in a driveway. The taxicab setup is bizarre, but it proves to be a good setup for the all-girl fantasy piece, and Kance looks to be having a ball while Petty gets lost in the moment and absolutely bakes in the unforgiving sunshine.
ARABIAN STALLION (1981): A title that plays almost like the sequel to Dinner with an Angel, it’s another Swedish Erotica selection with Petty and Ken Starbuck. It has the same sense of elegance with some of the shot selection, and the stuff captured from under the glass table is some superfine work.
FARRAH’S STUDS (1979): Petty peers out from her beachside balcony, spots two men (Biff Parker and Rick Toole), and quickly invites them up. Petty is in fine form and looks a little like a hotted up Ann-Margaret, but, during the loop’s closing moments, she looks like she’s silently screaming “are y’all gonna cum or what?” inside her head.
SEX COACH (1981): Petty & Kevin James again! Petty wears a cute outfit and there are some more great interior furnishings such as a quilted comforter and a very uncomfortable rocking chair.
BLONDES HAVE MORE FUN! (1980): Petty wakes up to watch the Gardner hose down her window. He immediately materializes in her bedroom and they commence to going at it. The guy’s a schlub, but Petty salvages it.
FASHION SHOW (1978): Now it’s a party! Petty, Desiree Cousteau, & Johnnie Keyes in a Swedish Erotica scorcher that makes it difficult to imagine a better title to end this collection. Just joyous and terrific fun, and the colors really pop in this one.
Like the other star-specific titles in UFA’s releases, Fierce contains a full length commentary between Ultra Flesh’s Mark Murray and Rhonda Jo Petty. She provides a spirited and wonderful commentary where she is quick, charming, and incredibly engaging while covering everything from her formative years in the Valley (including visits to a Manson-infested Spahn Ranch), her work in features and loops, her dancing career, and her memories of various friends and associates (including Max Baer). There is a wistfulness in her voice as she waxes nostalgic about some of the old crew while watching the loops unfurl, and the way she threads a respectful needle talking about Ron Jeremy is a disarmingly human moment.
Also included is Firefly, a bonus loop including Petty, Skipper Wice, and Laurie Smith who participate in a threesome in front of a wicker chair and an awesome fireplace. It’s good, but “280-3”, a non-Petty, black and white softcore loop featuring stark photography and some edging, is even better. God knows how many of these kinds of things were made, and it’s just assumed that Mark Murray has a section in his library overflowing with them. They’re so curious and and fun that they almost warrant their own spin-off collection. Until that day, I’ll be happy with as many as he wants to include as bonus material.
There is also a photo gallery that runs about seven minutes and includes magazine shoots, slicks, and everything in between. Also included is a restoration feature that is even more noteworthy than the ones for the other UFA releases due to just how amazing these look. As evidenced in this feature, Murray had his work cut out for him on some of these and the results are extraordinary.
One of the more interesting and fun additions is “Disco Sex Action: Yolanda, the Nympho Disco Queen Comes With You!”, the audio from a flexi-dsc insert that was in a 1979 issue of Velvet Talks magazine. The audio may be rough (understandable given flexi-discs weren’t exactly made with posterity in mind), but it doesn’t deter in the slightest. Yolanda loves the music, baby.
The on-disc extras are rounded out with the trailers for UFA’s Wildheart: The Leslie Winston Collection, Endless Exxxcstacy Volume 1, and Effervescent: The Serena Collection, Vol 1.
As is the norm with this line of UFA releases, the case is housed in a glossy sleeve, and packed inside are UFA trading cards (including Petty’s), the die-cut restoration card with an authentic 8mm filmstrip, an insert booklet with a sex mag order form design, and a condom that I will feel obligated to keep both in the wrapper and the case itself. The limited number, special edition comes with a replica Disco Lady press book and UFA card both autographed by Petty.
How UFA’s loop collections land with viewers will always come down to a matter of taste and proclivity, but by almost every metric that counts, Fierce is UFA’s best release yet. It’s an incredibly curated and programmed selection that sports their best restoration work, and is the textbook definition of “showcase.” But this one also soars because of Rhonda Jo Petty, both on screen from 1978-1981, and also behind the mic in 2026. Unapologetically proud as she bears witness to a chapter in her life that others might shy away from, it becomes crystal clear why Fierce is such a fitting title for this collection.
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