Tag Archives: Russ Meyer

1965 Films, Camp, Russ Meyer, Sexploitation

Mudhoney-1965

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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 and 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. Over the top and campy the obnoxious and loud dialogue only enhances 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 and 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.

1970 Films, Comedy, Pam Grier, Russ Meyer, Satire

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls-1970

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Beyond the Valley of the Dolls-1970

Director Russ Meyer

Starring Dolly Read, Cynthia Myers

Scott’s Review #976

Reviewed January 2, 2020

Grade: B+

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) was originally intended as a sequel to the 1967 film Valley of the Dolls but was revised as a parody of the commercially successful but critically panned original.

This was not altogether a smart move since it would have been interesting to see a coherent follow-up exploring the lives of the original characters instead of a similarly named film with little to do with the first.

Instead, the film plays like frenetic mayhem with jarring edited scenes, a peculiar character switch and storyline, and completely over-the-top vulgarity. Still, the film is fun and extravagant, but hardly on par with Valley of the Dolls.

I would not even recommend watching them in sequence- the confusion would only be doubled.

To call Valley of the Dolls a “serious” film is laughable, but compared to Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, it is.

Director Russ Meyer is known for successful sexploitation films that feature campy humor, satire, and large-breasted women, such as Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) and Supervixens (1975), are at the helm to create the bombastic and eye-dropping shenanigans.

Famous film critic Roger Ebert co-wrote the screenplay along with Meyer.

Three young women MacNamara (Dolly Read), Casey Anderson (Cynthia Myers), and “Pet” Danforth (Marcia McBroom) front a struggling rock band, The Kelly Affair, managed by Harris Allsworth (David Gurian), Kelly’s boyfriend.

The four travel to Los Angeles to seek Kelly’s estranged aunt, Susan Lake, an heiress to a family fortune. Fans of Valley of the Dolls will need to know that Susan is supposed to be Anne Welles, the central character in that film.

A battle ensues as Susan graciously offers to give some of her fortunes to Kelly, but Susan’s unsavory financial adviser, Porter Hall (Duncan McLeod) will have none of it. Amid the drama, Kelly meets a gigolo who feuds with Harris, while Harris is pursued by a sexually aggressive porn star named Ashley St. Ives (Edy Williams).

Events all take place against the backdrop of the night-after-night Los Angeles party.

While the plot is not the central aspect of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, the renaming of Susan from Anne, the same character, as well as the recasting of Barbara Parkins with Phyllis Davis, make things confusing.

Adding to this point, Parkins was originally cast as Anne/Susan but was abruptly fired from the production. This makes any comparisons to Valley of the Dolls other than the title alone, unwise and a waste of time.

The lively revelry is the fun and the beauty of Beyond the Valley of the Dolls. The film has a cool and groovy vibe and epitomizes the late 1960s psychedelic and colorful aura. The free love and the expressionism make the experience a wild but liberal-minded experience and that is suitable for a film like this.

The intention is to entertain and express the confidence of women. While the female characters are exploited, they are also driven and comfortable with themselves.

A fun fact, and cause for musing, is that as wild and exploitative to women (and men) as Beyond the Valley of the Dolls is, Ebert was largely responsible for penning the script.

In the 1980s the critic, who I am a cherished fan of, panned many of the 1980s horror/slasher flicks, especially Friday the 13th (1980) for exploiting women, but he had no issue exploiting them years early.

Makes one ponder the hypocrisy of his comments.

Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (1970) is daring and never plays things safe. With a hip edge and plenty ahead of its time in same-sex character representations, the film is unique and brimming with hilarious and bizarre antics.

The plot is rather silly and goofy and unsurprisingly panned by critics but has become a cult classic and with repeated viewings, has grown on me more and more.

The production is meant to be watched late at night for better appreciation.

1965 Films, Art, Camp, Russ Meyer, Scott's Top 100 Films, Sexploitation

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!-1965

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Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!- 1965

Director Russ Meyer

Starring Tura Satana, Haji

Top 100 Films #85

Scott’s Review #406

220px-Faster_pussycat_kill_kill_poster_(1)

Reviewed May 28, 2016

Grade: A

Shamefully, this cult masterpiece from 1965 has somehow alluded me for many years- largely due to its unavailability on Netflix- head shaking for sure.

Finally, I decided to simply buy the newly released Blu-Ray edition, and I immediately became a huge fan of this Russ Meyer work of art.

Influential and intriguing, it is no surprise it is a camp classic.

Several famous directors, most notably Quentin Tarantino, have paid homage to this film in their later works- most notably, Death Proof. Fast cars, sexy women, and murder represent this unique film.

In comparison to other famous Meyer works, specifically the gregarious yet brilliant Supervixens (1975), Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! is almost understated and quiet. He also directed the well-known Beyond The Valley of the Dolls from 1970.

Shot in black and white, several notable comparisons to Supervixens must be pointed out: a hot California desert, large-breasted women, and gas stations are prevalent throughout.

Unlike Supervixens, though, there is little or no nudity.

Three go-go dancers race through the desert in their sports cars. They have murder and kidnapping on their minds. The ring leader, Varla (Tura Satana) is a vicious, sexy, Asian woman. Her two side-kicks are Billie (Lori Williams), and Rosie (Haji). While Billie and Rosie squabble and fight in a juvenile fashion, Varla is the serious one.

The trio enjoys racing their cars and engaging in the game “chicken”. When they meet the all-American couple, Tommy and Linda, out for a romantic drive, they have a dispute and end up killing Tommy- drugging and kidnapping Linda.

After stopping for gas, Varla hatches a plot to steal money from a crazy old man, his muscular yet dimwitted son (known as the Vegetable), and the old man’s seemingly normal son, Kirk.

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! is a groundbreaking film as it is gender-bending. The women are hardly written as sex objects. Most films of that day were far from it. They are ferocious, specifically, Varla, as they do typically masculine things- race cars, fight, kill, yet do not sacrifice any of their femininity.

All three women are sexy, and busty, and wear stylish make-up. They are not trying to be like men, but are tough girls. This is part of what makes the film so wonderful to watch.

Usually, in Hollywood, these characters would be molls to even rougher men or supporting the men in some way. These female characters are the film.

My favorite character is Varla. Sexy, fierce, and a minority, how often is a female villain this charismatic?  Perhaps in Bond films, but then she would be a conquest of Bond and not her person.

Varla makes up her own rules. The fact that she is Asian is superb and breaks many barriers in the way Asians are portrayed in the film. Varla is more devious than the other characters- willing to kill anyone who stands in her way- even her friends.

She is a character written very well by Russ Meyer, and a pure femme fatale.

The male supporting characters are interesting. The old man, actor Stuart Lancaster, would later appear in Supervixens. He is a cripple, wacky, and as diabolical as the women. He has designs on innocent Linda and makes no bones about it. The Vegetable is hunky and fresh-faced- an innocent victim of his father’s evil ways, so he is a character we root for. I enjoyed the brief romance between him and Billie.

Lastly, Kirk is the “normal” son, also a victim of his father. When he and Linda run across the desert while being chased by Varla, we root for them to survive.

The black and white style, chosen to save money, actually adds to the unique cinematography,  with sharp edits, and gives the film a mystique.

The 1960s jazzy score adds to the film as well. In color, I wonder if the film would have had a more cartoonish quality. The black and white moves Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! into art film territory.

The debate over the film is, “Is the film exploiting women or empowering them”? To me, the film is answering the question of whether women can be tough, sexy, and complicated with a resounding yes.

All three principal characters are layered- each develops feelings for other characters, and at one point Rosie’s sexuality is questioned by Billie. Still, the female characters are not monsters nor are they caricatures. They are complex with real emotions.

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) is an influential art film/exploitation film that empowers female characters, questions gender categorizations, and takes hold of the viewer, never letting go.

A miraculous representation of the changing times in cinema during the 1960s. It is brilliant.

1975 Films, Camp, Charles Napier, Russ Meyer, Scott's Top 100 Films, Sexploitation, Shari Eubank

Supervixens-1975

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Supervixens-1975

Director Russ Meyer

Starring Shari Eubank

Top 100 Films #75

Scott’s Review #361

220px-Supervixensposter

Reviewed January 9, 2016

Grade: A

I first watched Supervixens in 2008 and, if I am being completely honest, did not much care for it, or rather, was very perplexed by it. I did not know what I had just viewed and was simply caught off guard and blown away- I have since realized that this is part of my love for the film.

Is it a comedy? Is it too over-the-top and shameless? Is it trying to degrade women? Now, a mere eight years later, it lands firmly ensconced on my Top 100 Films list and it is similar to a fine wine- it just gets better and better with age.

Never before did I think I would fall in love with a sexploitation film, but I have.

Directed by Russ Meyer, noted for his series of 1970s sexploitation films, Supervixens, is set somewhere in the desert of eastern California.

Gas station attendant, Clint Ramsey, a handsome young man, is found irresistible to a series of sexy and large-breasted women, all with names beginning with “Super”.

We are introduced to his steady girlfriend, SuperAngel, a bored, horny, feisty woman played by Shari Eubank. Jealous and possessive, she commands Clint to leave his job and come home to her immediately, which leads to hilarity as they spar outside utilizing an ax as they wrestle and fight.

Their nosy neighbor looks on, both tantalized and frightened.

Others who make appearances during Clint’s journeys are SuperLorna, a horny gas station customer (strangely appearing in only one scene, but gracing the film cover packaging), who sets her sights on Clint much to SuperAngel’s chagrin.

SuperCherry is a buxom girl who picks up Clint hitchhiking, SuperSoul, an Austrian farmer’s wife, seduces Clint at the farm, SuperHaji, a bartender at the local watering hole, and finally, SuperEula, who is black, deaf, and with a white father.

Supervixens, as well as some of Russ Meyer’s films, have influenced countless other famous films to come, and I continue to note the overall influence Supervixens has had on Quentin Tarantino, specifically.

With the bloody violence mixed with cartoonish characters, as well as Nazi references (a frequent theme of Tarantino’s) and German marching music, Supervixens has a sly sense of humor- wicked almost, but never apologetic.

Tarantino uses a similarly outrageous style.

Carrie (SuperVixen bloody in the tub), The Shining (Harry breaking down the bathroom door amid a screaming SuperVixen), Friday the 13th- Part 3 (the camera angle at the top of the hayloft panning down on the approaching climber) are just a few film comparisons that I have noticed during repeated viewings.

My love of the film is its outrageousness and I find the film to be empowering to women most of all and not degrading. There is also male nudity and reference to the male anatomy numerous times so it is not a one-sided exploitation film.

Each female is a superhero, of sorts, and despite the sexploitation aspect, the film is quite romantic in spots- the tenderness between Clint and SuperEula is one of my favorites.

I also love the romance between Clint and SuperVixen (a dual role for Eubanks), as she is a reincarnation of SuperAngel. Working side by side at a roadside gas station that she owns, they pump gas and prepare burgers together, while running through the desert in a happy, lovely way.

Of course, their romance is threatened by the sinister Harry, who has returned for revenge.

Hilarious, outrageous, and in-your-face sexual, Supervixens (1975) is a camp classic that is so much more than that. Influential and creative, it simply must be seen to be believed.

I hope it is never forgotten.