Mudhoney-1965
Director Russ Meyer
Starring John Furlong, Stu Lancaster, Antoinette Cristiani
Scott’s Review #1,366
Reviewed June 4, 2023
Grade: B+
As with other Russ Meyer films, an open-minded mature audience is mandatory, and a late-night viewing time is suggested. Some good, quality libations make for the ideal situation and robust enjoyment.
To set the stage for those otherwise unfamiliar with the intriguing director, he is known primarily for writing and directing a series of successful sexploitation films that featured campy humor, witty satire, and enormously large-breasted women.
The women frequently frolic around semi-nude or completely nude with their endowments proudly bouncing around.
Gems like Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965), Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970), and Supervixens (1975) are known as his definitive works.
Mudhoney (1965) is not one of his best-remembered films but it contains enough fun and boobs to highly recommend for either his staunch fans or newcomers seeking bombastic 1960s entertainment.
I’d be careful not to watch it with parents or conservative-leaning friends though.
Amid the Great Depression, Calef (John Furlong), arrives from Michigan to a backwoods Missouri town looking for work en route to greener pastures in California.
He becomes a hired hand under farmer Lute (Stu Lancaster) and takes a shine to Hannah (Antoinette Cristiani), Lute’s pretty niece.
The feeling is very mutual.
Problems surface when Hannah’s abusive and frequently drunk husband Sidney (Hal Hopper) becomes aware of their attraction and it’s revealed that Calef is fresh out of prison.
With the help of an unhinged preacher, Sidney turns the locals against Calef and organizes a lynch mob to take him down.
The film is shot in black and white which only enhances the visual of a midwestern, cornfed small town. Desolate and bleak it is presumed to be summertime as most women bathe outdoors (naked of course) or swim in a nearby pond.
Besides Hannah, other blonde female characters appear. The sexy Clara Belle (Lorna Maitland) is the most adventurous and fun.
As with other Meyer films, especially Supervixens, there is one character who is evil and possibly insane. In this case, it’s Sidney who eventually sets fire to a farm and rapes and murders the preacher’s wife.
The acting is hardly up to snuff but Mudhoney is not about Oscar-caliber performances. The over-the-top, campy performances combined with the obnoxious and loud dialogue only enhance the events.
The comical moments outweigh any dark moments and it’s hard to take the film too seriously. Laugh-out-loud worthy is when the preacher eyes the naked Eula as she washes on the country farm.
The visual aspects of Mudhoney impress me, especially in the opening sequence. A series of quick shots of intersecting bare feet reveal that Meyer has more to offer than sexploitation. Later, a body falling into a grave involves inventive camerawork.
Before anyone gets their knickers in a twist, while one primary female character is beaten and victimized, there is more than enough female empowerment to go around, especially Clara Belle.
She is nobody’s fool and along with the snickering, brash Maggie Marie deliciously played by Princess Livingston, they incorporate no-nonsense strong female characters.
B movies never entertain better than a Russ Meyer film and Mudhoney (1965) while not his best has entertainment value with a dour middle-of-nowhere USA setting. This parlays perfectly with the white-bred, fresh-faced characters who appear within.