Although producer Gunter Otto took over directorial reign for subsequent Josefine Mutzenbacher episodes, Hans Billian - who had, of course, made the initial (and best) installment starring his then mistress Patricia Rhomberg in the definitive interpretation of the plum role - would occasionally return to the material of his own accord as well. He had the Viennese lady of the night confess to unspeakable sin in DIE BEICHTE DER JOSEFINE MUTZENBACHER (JOSEPHINE for short in its US incarnation), rummaged breathlessly through her diary for AUS DEM TAGEBUCH DER JOSEFINE MUTZENBACHER and invested the character with hitherto unsuspected educational values in DIE LIEBESSCHULE DER JOSEFINE MUTZENBACHER, which was linked to its concurring serial saga for stateside distribution by being rechristened SENSATIONAL JANINE !
Taking into account all episodes both official and "counterfeit", including Otto's much maligned latter-day modern dress variations, TAGEBUCH probably rates as the finest of the follow-ups. Rhomberg, a true cult favorite among adult aficionados, up and left for a career in health care, from which she had been temporarily diverted at Billian's urging to begin with, and of all the subsequent screen strumpets essaying the part only shopworn "Sandra Nova" a/k/a Uschi Karnat had any real longevity. Surprise then that it was Andrea Werdien, a hitherto unremarkable porn starlet billed as "Andrea Blauen" on Jürgen "Kenneth Howard" Enz's DAS SEX-ABITUR 2, who provided the most inspired reading of the character in the post Pat period.
With Otto's longtime competitor in the mountains 'n' mammaries sexploitation sweepstakes Alois Brummer producing, everyone's favorite Austrian prostitute's up to her old tricks again, doubling as a patron of the arts on special soirées consisting mostly of said artistic community getting down and dirty with the willing assistance of Josefine's juicy sisters in sin. As a growing girl needs a breath of fresh air every now and then, Ms. Mutzenbacher accompanies friends of both sexes on an al fresco picnic that rapidly degenerates into a wine-fueled free for all, temporarily broken up if ultimately joined by respected pillar of society Xaver Kirchner, played by stalwart Kraut stud Sepp Gneissl (lascivious lodger Eckhard from the original SENSATIONAL JANINE), so taken with Josefine's generosity that he implores she take his dimwitted son Loisl (handsome Hans-Peter Kremser, who appeared as "Peter Renald" in several early Marc Dorcel video features like THE RANSOM FOR EVA and MADAM SOPHIE'S FAVORITES) under her wing.
Receiving a crash course in carnality from his luscious landlady and her eager to please - if sadly uncredited - parlor maid pretty much upon arrival, Loisl starts his apprenticeship with crotchety old carpenter Master Wehringer (Peter Strasser) the following day, attracting the immediate attention of his mentor's virginal 16 year old daughter Maria (lovely Monika Zierer) whose cherry he's about to pop when dad returns unexpectedly and boots him out. Making a social call as Countess Von Schwarzenberg, Josefine convinces Wehringer to allow his wayward offspring to come and stay at her town apartment to further her education ! Fortunately, friendly physician Dr. Hofbauer (Peter Steiner, Jr. in a rare hardcore appearance apart from a couple of Enz epics) is on hand to provide a sworn affidavit to Maria's maidenhead so moral can remain upheld as she ties the knot with Loisl at films, er, climax.
Personally, I have always marveled at this series' ability for cramming its narrative full of frequently witty incident while simultaneously supplying virtually wall to wall sexual activity, a recipe rarely done right by American adult movies where the story proper more traditionally stops when it's time for action. Off the top of my head, I would say perhaps only Radley Metzger (in his XXX incarnation of "Henry Paris") accomplished a similar feat with fornication spilling forth from every corner of the frame, not to mention frequently found in the background, in THE OPENING OF MISTY BEETHOVEN and, albeit to a lesser degree, MARASCHINO CHERRY.
While production quality would drop noticeably in years to come, it's still maintained at the lofty level of its illustrious predecessors here in terms of cinematography, sets and costumes. Released in both hard and soft cuts, with alternative coverage substituting for its "offending" footage rather than just clumsily shorn of explicit content, these films generated huge box office throughout Europe at the time and remain a nostalgic testament to an era now forever out of reach when porn truly was chic.
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