colorclimax.dk

Color Climax` instant and lasting success started 56 years ago, when Color Climax Corporation opened for business in Copenhagen September 19. 1966 from a secondhand bookshop in the centre of Copenhagen.

CCC began in humble circumstances, selling sexually explicit material from "under the counter", using secret printers.

At this time Pornography was still prohibited in Denmark, so they had to play a cat and mouse game with the police.

Police raid in 1967. All adult meterial was seized by the police.

Rare photo from the Danish Police Archive, before the Danish law change in 1969. Danish Police Archive is full of photos, of young women.

This photo was confiscated by Danish Police as being lewd material. Not CCC photo.

Ole Ege, to the right, also a well known Pornographer of the 60s and 70s. (Not CCC). Girls were more than happy to participate in porn productions ,cause they got very well payed.

In 1967 the brothers published their first magazine "Ekstase" which ran to 10.000 copies.

It was a tad dirtier than its competitors and sold well.

Worlds first Sex Exhibition, in KB Hallen, Frederiksberg, Denmark, in October 1969.

The Provo-Artist, Jens Joergen Thorsen, to the right, performing Alternative Body Painting, at the worlds first porno exhibition, at KB-Hallen, Frederiksberg, Denmark. Jens Joergen Thorsen was a good friend of the Theanders, and also attended, the wedding of Sussi and Jens Theander, in Slangerup.

Club 34 in Istedgade - Copenhagen, had CCC models in their window.

Club 30 Istedgade.

Sign from outside danish sexshop around late 70`s. Anything goes.

Sign from outside danish sexshop around late 70`s. As you can see anything goes. From 1969-1980 any erotic material was legal in Denmark

Photo from Istedgade, Vesterbro, 70s Copenhagen

Police walking outside pornoshop ,on the pedestrian street, "Stroeget" in Copenhagen. Photo from 70s

Pornoshop on the pedestrian street "Stroeget" in Copenhagen. Photo from 70s

Porncinema at Stroeget, Copenhagen, 70s

Club 34, Istedgade 34, Copenhagen.

Public acceptability of pornography in 1960s Denmark was growing and liberalisation was sweeping through the country. The two founding brothers of Color Climax Corporation, Jens and Peter Theander both in their mid twenties astutely realised that hardcore pornography was not only highly desirable but would soon be accepted by their people.

1969 The law was revised and picture pornography became legal in Denmark, as the first country in the world.

Copenhagen was flooded with tourists from all over the world, buying the Magazines they couldn't get in their homecountries.

In the same year the Danish pornindustry sells adult entertainment products for 200 mio kroner.

Pornshop on Vesterbro, Copenhagen, few years after the Danish Law change. The signs were in english, to attract tourists.

Sexhouse of Scandinavia, Stroeget, Copenhagen, Denmark. 70s.

Saleswoman from one of the first legal pornshops on Vesterbro, Copenhagen.

Jens and Peter Theander were able to come out in the open with their new legal business. They soon improved the production quality of their 32 page black and white magazines with a single coloured cover to full color magazines. In 1976 they moved to a new larger format that became known in the industry as the "one handed" magazine.

The magazines Color Climax issued before 1968 were primitive efforts in black and white with a single coloured outside cover. By 1969 full colour magazines were in production but still with only 32 pages. Despite these primitive aspects the magazines sold like hot cakes. The early magazines were given a unique name and were numbered according to their date of production, titles like "Bottle Game", "Crescendo", "3 Virgins and 2 Boys", "Hash Party", "Hot Cunts", "Birthday Sex", "Black Lesbian" and scores more. The first issue of "Anal Sex" is numbered 37 (CCCs 37th production) and "Anal Sex 2" is numbered 61, of course "Anal Sex" became a regular title and completed more than 100 issues.

Photo showing models before a photoshoot. Taken before July 1969

In the early days, considering the problems the illegal business was facing it was a miracle that anything got printed. Jens, Peter and their small team were constantly ducking and diving in an effort to avoid the long arm of the law. The guys printed late at night and had a very small shooting budget. The photo-sessions themselves were a hit and miss affair, with sets built into a corner of a room with a bed or box mattress covered with a bed spread. Decor usually consisted of posters of the Beatles and other icons of the flower power era.

Film-Shooting 1978

One area where the brothers had no problem was getting hold of models to take part in the photo shoots.

CCC model Vicky anno 1976

In fact they were almost besieged by queues of people who were only too willing to fuck in front of the camera. A sexual revolution was happening at the time and group sex was a popular activity for many. Groups of 6-8 at a time were common, the magazine "Bottle Game" features a group of girls and boys playing spin the bottle and enjoying the ensuing orgy. The record number starring in one orgy was 17 sex hungry young adults.

Technologically Color Climax was the market leader with a brand name that was synonymous with the word "pornography". Always in touch with their reader's requirements.

Color Climax were determined not to sit on their laurels, whilst other companies issued poor quality porn magazines, Color Climax upped their game producing larger format, high quality porn mags with well produced photographs.

By 1975 the game was on, large format had arrived and within a year all Color Climax magazines were King-Size versions.

CCC model Cornelia, anno 1976 befor the photoshoot "Seductive Sex Show"

it was the reader's letters that were opened by the Theander brothers in Copenhagen in the mid 1970s which led them to reach further into the taboos of hardcore pornography. Requests would arrive for specific sexual themes such as shaven cunts, anal sex, pissing and fisting. New porn magazines were born from these requests, "New Cunts", "Anal Sex", "Bizarre Sex" joined hand in hand with the original "Color Climax" title. There was a huge wave that carried the Theanders to test new taboos and porn magazines which even today would shock were produced. Toiletsex scenes featured in a few of the Bizarre Sex magazines but worse was to come and then much worse still.

In 1975 Rodox Group was running in top gear.
Completely new premises were ready for occupation.

While the administration had offices in a villa on Kastrupvej in Amager, construction of a large new headquarters at Strandlodsvej, also in Amager, was in full swing. In 1975 they were ready for occupation. Candy Film with Jens Theander as director had also furnished a large modern studio at No. 6 Baldersgade in Nørrebro.

Colorclimax ran at full speed and claimed to be Europe's biggest porn producer which was an understatement, cause it certainly was.

In addition to its own production, many titles were imported from the USA and a great seller was John Holmes. In 1976, Holmes was invited to Denmark, where at the Baldersgade studio he recorded a number of movies with pretty Danish models.

The first films that Candy produced were short 3-minute films mostly in black & white and of course without sound. Several of these films had group sex scenes with about 8 people. It seems incredible to be able to produce a movie in 3 minutes with that number of models, but it was the hippy and "make love not war" era so there was plenty of model material.

Already around 1970-71 the typical porn film was in colour and had a running time of just under 10 minutes (what is known in film parlance as a single-reel). It was Candy who created the template for making a porn film used today, namely intercourse situations with the completion and ejaculation on the girl's face. It was not in the hundreds of old movies from before 1970.

In 1975 a large part of the films, however, were 100 metres long, corresponding to a playing time of about 15 minutes and it was the length that remained throughout the period with cine film. Now the films were also available with sound. Candy Film recorded them still as silent films but they were dubbed with soundtracks in German, English and French.

CCC models, Erika, Britta and Bella preparing for the photoshoot "Live-Show Love" anno 1983

The 80s and 90s:

With the 70s behind them the infant pornographer was coming of age, it was growing up and developing into a more mainstream pornographic business. The horrors of the 70s vile porn era were becoming a distant memory and Color Climax concentrated on what 99% of its customers required - mainstream hardcore quality pornography and lots of it. Sex Bizarre magazine was still being produced but the toiletsex scenes had gone and it became a great fist and wet sex magazine.

The advent of the VHS video tape enabled Color Climax to republish its 1970s back catalogue of 8mm film loops.

1996 This year marks CCC`s 30th Anniversary. After 30 years in pornography, from the humble beginning at Rodosvej to being the largest producer of adult material in Northern Europe. CCC have published over 3,000 different books and magazines with a grand total of over 140 million editions; 8 1/2 million films; and close to a million video cassettes.

The world was fast becoming their oyster as most of the western world was pornography tolerant and the market place was huge and largely untapped. The riches followed and Color Climax Corporation moved into new large premises in Copenhagen at Strandlodsvej.

The Final Years:

Throughout the 1990s Color Climax were losing ground and competition was fierce particularly in the porn movie business. Color Climax didn't embrace video pornography by producing new innovative full length porn movies. The short film loop was their tried and trusted area of expertise but the public were hungry for feature length porn movies and Color Climax failed to oblige. The porn mags still had some life left in them but circulation was on a fatal downturn and by 2001 Color Climax sold out to Silwa of Germany. Silwa kept the brand alive for 6 years before producing the final Color Climax branded title in November 2007.

The last Color Climax magazine, CC199, made by Silwa in Germany.

At the beginning of 80's, French and American films began to be produced on video with direct sound from the outset and this started to cause problems for Rodox. A number of movies in the marketplace were shot on 35 mm film with a running time of about 60 minutes and produced on a relatively large budget. Carlton Cinema in Vesterbrograde in Copenhagen was now a pure porn movie showing these big expensive French films. The market for short cine films was coming to an end.

It was the beginning of the end for Candy Film. Peter Theander thought that he could not find models in Denmark who could carry an entire feature film and even a dialogue in English, so he would in future rely solely on foreign imported movies. Candy closed in 1986 and Jens Theander left the company, probably as a very rich man and the studios were sold to Minerva Film.

Peter Theander continued the company until 2001 with the release of foreign titles and reissues of old Danish titles on video. When Jens Theander left the company, it was also the end of publicity about the company. Peter Theander did not want to give interviews to the press. Peter now spends time cultivating his interest in opera and his fine wine collection. A fine end to a distinguished business career no other porn producer would be able to match.