The world of early erotic cinema is shadowy and fragmented, most films from before 1930 were short, silent, clandestinely produced, and distributed underground. These “stag reels” or “smoker films” were made for private screenings in brothels, gentlemen’s clubs, or discreet gatherings, often in France (especially Paris) where censorship was looser than in the United States or Britain.
True fetish-focused shorts with explicit spanking, flagellation, or corporal punishment themes only began emerging in the late 1910s and 1920s. Before that, spanking appeared sporadically in mainstream silent comedies or novelty shorts as humorous punishment gags (e.g., early 1900s vaudeville-inspired films like Why Clara Was Spanked from 1899 or similar one-reelers). These were rarely erotic, they were more slapstick than sensual.
The real shift toward fetish erotica happened in the 1920s, with France leading the way in producing short loops that combined nudity, role-play, and corporal elements. Often schoolgirl, maid, or domestic discipline scenarios. These films were fragile nitrate stock, heavily censored, or lost to time, making survivors extremely rare. Jacques Biederer (Ostra Studio) started his fetish photography around 1908 and transitioned to film in the late 1920s/early 1930s, but his confirmed moving-image work is mostly post-1930.
Key Known Examples from Before 1930
The School of Spanking (also known as La Fessée à l’École, c. 1925)
This French silent short is one of the earliest surviving examples of a dedicated spanking fetish stag film. Set in a school-like environment, it features group and lesbian spanking scenes with a playful yet erotic tone—typical of 1920s underground erotica. The film runs about 5–10 minutes, silent, and emphasizes hand-spanking and light discipline. It’s available on archive.org and fetish sites, often restored or colorized in modern uploads. This reel stands out as a direct precursor to the more elaborate French flagellation films of the 1930s.
Very Early Silent Era Spanking Novelties (1890s–1910s)
Films like Spanking the Naughty Girl (1898) or similar unnamed one-reelers from the dawn of cinema used spanking for comedic effect, think a mischievous child or servant getting a quick over-the-knee swat. These were public releases, not underground porn, and lack the fetish intensity of later stag reels. They represent the absolute beginnings of on-screen corporal punishment but aren’t true erotica.
Other Potential 1920s French Loops
handful of anonymous short reels from the mid-to-late 1920s survive in fragments or descriptions, often involving maid punishment, light bondage, or whipping preludes. Titles are rarely definitive, and many are cataloged simply as “French stag film 1920s” in private collections. Explicit spanking content was still emerging; most early stag films focused on nudity or basic sex rather than specialized fetish.
The Films of Jacques Biederer and Ostra Studio
Jacques Biederer (1887–c. 1942), together with his brother Charles, ran one of the most influential erotic photography studios in interwar Paris. Starting with more conventional nudes and portraits in the 1910s and 1920s, they gradually specialized in fetishistic themes: bondage, domination, corsetry, and especially erotic spanking and flagellation. In the late 1930s, under the name Ostra Studio (or Éditions Ostra), they expanded into producing short silent stag reels: clandestine fetish films that were among the earliest dedicated to BDSM and corporal punishment scenarios.
Unlike many contemporary stag films that included explicit sex, Biederer’s surviving movies are purely fetish-oriented: focused on role-play, discipline, whipping, and spanking, often with a playful, almost theatrical tone. They feature elegant sets, period costumes (high heels, gloves, lingerie), and recurring models, with the same props and whips appearing in his famous photographs.
The exact number of films produced remains unknown, many were lost to wartime destruction or censorship. But these three survived:
Dressage au Fouet
A classic mistress-slave discipline short, emphasizing whipping and submission in a dominant/submissive dynamic. It showcases Biederer’s signature style: artistic framing, light-hearted yet intense corporal elements, and female-led scenes.
Sous Les Caresses du Martinet
Another F/F-focused reel highlighting the martinet (a multi-tailed whip) as an instrument of “affectionate” punishment. The film blends sensuality with chastisement, typical of the era’s underground erotica.
La Vase Brise
A short, simple vignette (around 2 minutes) about a clumsy maid who accidentally breaks a vase while cleaning. She receives a hand-spanking from her mistress as punishment. This domestic discipline scenario is one of the most accessible and charming examples, directly linking to Biederer’s photographic series of maid and mistress themes.
These films, mostly from the late 1930s, mark a pioneering step in fetish cinema. They are non-explicit in terms of penetration, prioritizing visual fetishism, power exchange, and corporal punishment, making them feel more like moving extensions of Biederer’s still photography than modern pornography. Biederer’s work laid crucial groundwork for later fetish filmmakers, blending artistry with taboo subjects at a time when such material was produced in secret.
