'A Unique Sexual Ritual at The House of Francis' by Jake Tringali

Jake Tringali is a writer living in Boston, Massachusetts.  Runs rad restaurants.  Thrives in a habitat of bars, punk rock shows, and late-night adventures.  His book Poems for a Neon Apocalypse will be published in October 2018.  He may be found at jakethepoet.wordpress.com.

The following poem describes a unique sexual act performed in the 1930s by sex workers, and was first published by Westwood Journal of the Arts in 2016.

I sip Campari from your left eye
   unclothed, yet inhibited
   your beauty lies sacred before me
   more nude than naked
 
I sip Chambord from your right eye
   the house of madam francis
   holds appetite and fantasy for
   this eve’s sinful rites
  
I sip Chartreuse from your left ear
   now, let’s not be craven
   shallow dives to wet the tongue
   aural exploration
 
I sip Vermouth from your right ear
   your nervous giggles abate
   my dating needs are fickle
   in this hellfire club
 
I sip Absinthe from your left nostril
   be still now, as the
   flower abides to the bee
   your petals aflutter
 
I sip Fernet from your right nostril
   the sting in your nose
   may feel deceiving, the
   warmth is friend, not foe
 
I sip Genever from your mouth
  share with me this
  eau de vie
  our lives and lips locked
 
I sip Whiskey from your cloaca
   you whisper a low sound
   animalistic
   my carnal vessel

I sip Brandy from your labia
   your ceremony ends
   sweet ninth orifice
   now drunk, and seeking remedy
 

Formerly the House of Francis (U.S. National Register of Historic Places)

A Unique Sexual Ritual at The House of Francis
 
Hollywood is a sexy place.  The image of youth and vitality and sex engulf the city.  Even the weather is conducive for sex.  Those swift Santa Ana winds keep the temperature comfortable for cruising the town in very little clothing.
 
In the 1930s, the Golden Age of Hollywood was transforming this desert city.  The film industry was growing exponentially.  The actors, writers, directors, and producers had voracious appetites, and so restaurants and clubs opened, mainly on a quiet, dusty street called Sunset Boulevard.
 
Sunset Blvd. quickly became the nexus of Hollywood.  On one side is Beverly Hills, home to multi-millionaires behind gated communities.  On the other side is Skid Row, where thousands of homeless citizens struggle daily through the Great Depression.  And right in the middle, the “Sunset Strip,” where all of Hollywood arrives to see and be seen.
 
Lee Francis was a smart businessperson.  She had worked at brothels in San Francisco and Reno before moving to Hollywood.  She took over a building at 8439 Sunset Blvd., and reimagined it as a glamorous private club, to fulfill any needs of its members.  Lee knew the “call girls” in the area, who were mainly beautiful actresses waiting for the next gig, and consolidated them under one roof.  The House of Francis was born.

Alla Nazimova (photographed by Arthur Rice)

As a private club, Lee worked very closely with the MGM film studio, in a “hush hush” capacity.  They would have many years of successful, discreet business together.  Sometimes writers would rent a room at the House of Francis just to hide away for a few days and write their next film, with no sexual shenanigans.  The girls would fetch food and drink, but they were also very intelligent, and sometimes helped with reading dialogue and writing scenes.

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Just down the street, a similar building transformation took place.  A bohemian atmosphere, and sometimes opium, greeted the guests at the Garden of Allah, a series of Spanish bungalows run by Russian actress Alla Nazimova.  The Garden of Allah held gorgeous parties, and guests were attracted to the exotic atmosphere.  Lauren Bacall, Humphrey Bogart, and Hugh Hefner were among the many famous visitors.  (Hugh would later open a Playboy Club down the street in 1964.)  Alla herself had a “lavender marriage”, a term used when at least one of the partners is homosexual or bisexual.  Alla openly held relations with other women, including the wife of iconic Latin actor Rudolph Valentino. 
 
The House of Francis was thriving.  Guests were greeted with Russian caviar and French Champagne.  The finest food and liquor, live music, and highly trained women were available to the club members.  The call girls could make as much as $1,000 per week.  Lee introduced a soundproof room for bondage and whipping.  Several bars were installed, and then a billiard room, and a restaurant.  For one visiting client from the Middle East, 100 women dyed their body hair blonde for his weekend stay.
 

Jean Harlow (Silver Screen Collection/Getty Images)

Lee Francis (Los Angeles Times)

Actress Jean Harlow used the House of Francis as her sexual playground.  As a leading lady, she was known throughout the world for being a blonde bombshell.  At night, she would visit the House of Francis, and cavort with the women in private rooms.  And sometimes, Jean would spot an interesting man in the lobby, and take him home for a private party.  She was always careful to pay $500 to the House of Francis for “borrowing” the club member.
 
Lee kept the tabloids, cops, and politicians away by setting aside as much as forty percent of her revenues for bribes.  But she wanted more for her guests.
 
Lee traveled around the world, searching for new sexual techniques.  She traveled to India, Spain, and London.  In the Canary Islands, she was invited to an impregnation ceremony.  But it was in Paris where she learned a unique sexual ritual, and she brought this practice back to the House of Francis.
 
The ritual: Pour nine different wines and liqueurs into the nine different orifices of a woman, and sip the elixirs one-by-one. 
 
Sadly, there is an end to this wild story.  In 1940, Lee Francis was arrested for operating a house of ill repute.  Keeping her wits, Francis reportedly told the cop, “You are a sly one, you are.  In 31 years of business, this is the first time anyone ever got me.”
 
These soirées on the Sunset Strip presaged the luxurious and titillating Las Vegas era that was about to start in fifteen years.
 
The Garden of Allah was replaced with a parking lot.  After the House of Francis was shut down, the building changed hands until rock star Rod Stewart bought it, and then in 1983, the entire interior was burned to a crisp in a mysterious fire.
 
Lee Francis wrote her autobiography in in the 1950s, and it was finally published in 1965 under the title Ladies on Call: The Most Intimate Recollections of a Hollywood Madam.

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​References
 
Los Angeles Times, March 22, 1940: Lee Francis Found Guilty
Los Angeles Times, November 30, 1997: History of Hollywood Madams is Long, Lurid
E.J. Fleming: The Fixers: Eddie Mannix, Howard Strickling and the MGM Publicity Machine
E.J. Fleming: Hollywood Death and Scandal Sites
Lee Francis: Hollywood Madam
Hans Fjellestad (director): Sunset Strip (2012, documentary)
Wikipedia: Hacienda Arms Apartments