On November 21, 1974, an advertisement ran in the New York Times for Roberta Findlay’s film Angel Number 9 with the tagline “The first erotically explicit film ever made by a woman” (see Figure 3.1, Chapter 3). But the next year, when her film Anyone But My Husband’s opening credits ran, Findlay appeared listed for photography but vanished behind pseudonymous writer-director “Robert Norman.” In fact, Angel was not Findlay’s first sexploitation film, nor was she the only woman working in the genre at the time. Findlay has been attributed many titles including Michael Findlay’s wife, the first female cinematographer, the first female pornographer, a traitor to women, and the manager of Sear Sound recording studio. For most of my life I have known her as the partner of my late grandfather, Walter Sear. Findlay holds a curious place in the history of Times Square, pornography, and feminist cinema. This paper traces Findlay’s work from the creation of her legacy as the supposed first female pornographer to the first films she made under pseudonyms and examines whether it retains the femininity her title implies, as well as examining the films she made alongside Sear and how they fit into those contexts.

Unlike Hollywood in the 1970s, there is an impressive list of women filmmakers who have worked in the production of exploitation films. Ann Perry- Rhine, for example, became the first female president of the Adult Film Association, starting her career as an actress during the “nudie cutie” era and then as producer of Evolution Enterprises. Other women who followed the career path of actress-turned-director/producer include Marilyn Chambers, Lina Romay, and, to some extent, Roberta Findlay (see Jennifer Moorman’s chapter for more contemporary examples of this trajectory). Many began making exploitation films with hopes of becoming Hollywood directors but were unable to get their foot in the door. At the time, this was a viable career path for many male filmmakers (a very short list includes Francis Ford Coppola, Sam Raimi, James Cameron, and George A. Romero). However, not many women filmmakers were able to transcend the exploitation/Hollywood divide and most stayed within the exploitation genre.