[42nd Street Fever] - A thread dedicated to exploitation and its subgenres on Blu-ray

[The Great Owl]

I'm trying to pick some less obvious gems for the thread. This one, a made-for-television flick of all things, needs more love...



Cathy and Diane, two UCLA coeds played by Deborah Raffin (7th Heaven) and Lynne Moody (Knots Landing), are enjoying a road trip through the countryside on their way back to school when their car has a flat tire in a rural Mississippi town. After they reject the sexual advances of the local sheriff, played by Chuck Connors (The Rifleman), they are arrested on false charges and sentenced to a county prison work farm for women, where they endure harassment and brutality at the hands of their jailers while performing slave labor for nearby businesses. The only hope for these two resilient heroines, who are segregated from each other because of their ethnicities and completely cut off from society, is to escape, but their attempts are hampered when they learn that the entire town is complicit with the schemes of the corrupt justice system.

The 1976 made-for-television movie, Nightmare in Badham County, directed by John Llewellyn Moxey, premiered on ABC for U.S. audiences, but was also released in a longer uncut version for foreign theaters. The uncut theatrical incarnation, which includes added nude scenes, shares more exploitative similarities with the women-in-prison sub-genre of drive-in cinema of the era, while the original television cut, which I prefer, centers more closely on the scenario of an illegal slave ring in the guise of a prison farm, but both versions pack a harrowing punch. The idea of two college girls suddenly going missing during a long drive, with no way to contact their relatives, and facing the prospect of slaving indefinitely at the prison farm or being quietly buried in a field is unsettling enough in its own right, but the story element of a prison farm serving as a mere front for a lucrative town enterprise was reportedly based on actual events in rural Americana. Sadly, the racist tendencies of the legal system in this film, made clear by the plight of Moody's character, who is placed in a prison section for black inmates, are still relevant in the real world.

If you are looking for an opportunity to see recognizable faces in unlikely roles, to say the least, then you are in the right place. Tina Louise, whom you all know as Ginger from the Gilligan's Island television comedy series, delivers a harshly unglamorous performance here as a cruel prison guard trustee who never misses an opportunity to abuse those under her watch. The late Robert Reed, whom you all know as Mike Brady in The Brady Bunch, stars as the warden who has lecherous intentions for the female inmates. Lana Wood, who appeared as “Plenty” in the James Bond 007 film, Diamonds Are Forever, stars as one of the prisoners. Fionnula Flanagan (The Others) is featured as one of the guards. The amazing Della Reese (Touched by an Angel) lends a sobering edge to the proceedings as an older black inmate who is doomed to a bleak lifetime on the prison farm. Finally, Ralph Bellamy (Trading Places, Pretty Woman) stars as the county judge who discreetly collaborates with the sheriff to provide slave labor to the prison.

I imagine that the initial television airing of Nightmare in Badham County, during the days when the only sources of entertainment for the masses were the three major networks, probably scarred many viewers for life in the same way that the theatrical release of Deliverance left its mark. This film is probably the closest that made-for-television fare came to grindhouse cinema, but, at least in its original television cut, I find it to be a genuinely emotional rollercoaster ride. The script gives us many moments where its two female protagonists see possible salvation on the horizon, only to have their hopes shattered when they are caught or cornered. As the story unfolds, the viewer is weighed down by the same gradual resignation that invades the psyches of its leads.

This is not the most cheerful tale in the world, but, if, like me, you are nostalgic for the 1970s and early 1980s days when major network made-for-television movies ruled, then you will likely be drawn into its fold.

[The Great Owl]

Another...



Life has turned out to be pretty lame for Kim, a teenage girl who attends Malibu High. She is failing all of her classes. Her boyfriend has broken up with her and is now dating the richest pretty girl in town. Her mother hassles her every day about cleaning up the house and waking up on time for school. Her day-to-day existence with her best friend, Lucy, is boring and aimless, because they don't have anything better to do than get high at home.

Things take a fast turn for the better for Kim, however, when she becomes a teenage prostitute and starts making a ton of money, even though she only gets 40% of the takes from her shady pimp, who takes her around to blue collar clients in his van. Pretty soon, she's driving an expensive car that upstages the one driven by the rich girl who stole her boyfriend. She's attracting the attention of all of the guys at her school because of her new skimpy outfits. She is also a straight-A student now, since she is seducing and making love to her teachers. She can afford all of the drugs that she wants. She even starts making more money when she develops a taste for murder and becomes a hit woman for a prominent local mob gangster. She learns how to shoot a pistol, and then uses her undeniable charms to lure mob targets to their deaths.

Teenage prostitution is a one way ticket to nowhere, though, and being a teenage hit woman does not exactly guarantee a bright future either. Kim's lifestyle eventually puts her in way over her head. One doesn't exactly have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the 1979 film, Malibu High, is not going to end well, but there's a lot of fun to be had in watching our antihero heroine's rise and fall. For one thing, Kim is played by Jill Lansing, who thankfully looks a little too old to be a high school student. Tammy Taylor, who plays the snooty rich girlfriend of Kim's ex-love, also shines in a few memorable scenes. Most importantly, though, this slice of cult cinema actually turns out to be a surprisingly effective neo-noir that keeps me interested in the story all the while, although one can predict the fate of Kim's femme fatale from a mile away. Finally, this hard-R-rating film is a blast to watch simply for its 1970s-ness, with the clothes, the cars, and all.

If you are even remotely interested in going back in time to see what sort of gloriously sleazy fare drew the masses into grindhouse theaters and movie drive-ins during the 1970s, then this is a standout example. Exploitation, guns, drugs, decidedly non-Academy-Award-winning performances, and other various “so utterly wrong that it's just right” elements combine to make this quite an entertaining feature for a weekend night.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by El_Fez

Vile and hard to watch, absolutely - but I will always contend that there is a great deal to say about the movie. Lots of subtext and symbolism throughout the whole thing.

[Show spoiler]
In fact, we had an hour's worth of something to say about it:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dh8a...ature=youtu.be

I thoroughly enjoyed the above review/discussion video. Thank you!

[gbm82]

I'm going through the short films that are on VS's Psychos in Love disc and there is a short called Pairs that is just black and white images of breasts... thought that would fit in here...

[Spasmo]

Originally Posted by bruce holecheck

I quite like this one. It really plays out like a giallo, except with a sniper instead of a slasher.

I'd never thought about it that way before but you're right.

[Spasmo]

Originally Posted by Mike0284

Since it's Noirvember, I was wondering which Giallo films could also be considered Neo-Noir films.

The Pyjama Girl Case comes to mind.

[anthony21879]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Another...a fine double-feature...



You all need Bonnie's Kids in your life. Every one of you.


Another double-feature...



None of these are going to change your life, but they're wondrous Saturday afternoon exploitation viewing.

Well, if you put Friday the 13th (1980) and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005) into a blender, then you might end up with something like The Roommates. A group of school friends spends a summer at Lake Arrowhead, enjoying a series of romantic adventures and misadventures. All the while, a mysterious person in black prowls around the resort area killing women. While it's not difficult to predict the identity of the murderer, the movie does do a fantastic job of generating some moments of real suspense, and it amps up the intensity during some of the kill scenes. This is 1970s fun-spirited sleaze at its finest.

A Woman for All Men, which proudly wears the influence of Double Indemnity on its sleeve, is a little slower than The Roommates, but it's another enjoyable 1970s cult flick. Judith Brown is a homewrecker of the first order, as she marries a construction tycoon and weasels her way into his family relationships by sleeping with one of the sons, played by Andrew Robinson (Hellraiser), and freaking out the daughter, played by Patty Bodeen. The family has to be the most dysfunctional family in the world of cinema. Seriously...what other family sits in the living room to watch a slideshow of nude glamour shots that the father took of the stepmother? It's all in the good 1970s fun, though.

I can already tell this threads gonna kill my fawkin wallet!

Thanks for the recommends!

[anthony21879]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Another...



Life has turned out to be pretty lame for Kim, a teenage girl who attends Malibu High. She is failing all of her classes. Her boyfriend has broken up with her and is now dating the richest pretty girl in town. Her mother hassles her every day about cleaning up the house and waking up on time for school. Her day-to-day existence with her best friend, Lucy, is boring and aimless, because they don't have anything better to do than get high at home.

Things take a fast turn for the better for Kim, however, when she becomes a teenage prostitute and starts making a ton of money, even though she only gets 40% of the takes from her shady pimp, who takes her around to blue collar clients in his van. Pretty soon, she's driving an expensive car that upstages the one driven by the rich girl who stole her boyfriend. She's attracting the attention of all of the guys at her school because of her new skimpy outfits. She is also a straight-A student now, since she is seducing and making love to her teachers. She can afford all of the drugs that she wants. She even starts making more money when she develops a taste for murder and becomes a hit woman for a prominent local mob gangster. She learns how to shoot a pistol, and then uses her undeniable charms to lure mob targets to their deaths.

Teenage prostitution is a one way ticket to nowhere, though, and being a teenage hit woman does not exactly guarantee a bright future either. Kim's lifestyle eventually puts her in way over her head. One doesn't exactly have to be a rocket scientist to figure out that the 1979 film, Malibu High, is not going to end well, but there's a lot of fun to be had in watching our antihero heroine's rise and fall. For one thing, Kim is played by Jill Lansing, who thankfully looks a little too old to be a high school student. Tammy Taylor, who plays the snooty rich girlfriend of Kim's ex-love, also shines in a few memorable scenes. Most importantly, though, this slice of cult cinema actually turns out to be a surprisingly effective neo-noir that keeps me interested in the story all the while, although one can predict the fate of Kim's femme fatale from a mile away. Finally, this hard-R-rating film is a blast to watch simply for its 1970s-ness, with the clothes, the cars, and all.

If you are even remotely interested in going back in time to see what sort of gloriously sleazy fare drew the masses into grindhouse theaters and movie drive-ins during the 1970s, then this is a standout example. Exploitation, guns, drugs, decidedly non-Academy-Award-winning performances, and other various “so utterly wrong that it's just right” elements combine to make this quite an entertaining feature for a weekend night.

Whoever's looking for sleaze with a storyline, this is a great one! The kind classicmaterial likes

[bergman864]

So many great recs in this thread. Vinegar Syndrome is about to get all my money this Black Friday.

[El_Fez]

Originally Posted by Boggle

NEW BARBARIANS. This blu-ray is old and looks bad, but the movie is pure fire. You can also get this in a 3 pack with Castellari's other post apocalyptic films. Absolutely essential.

Honestly, I love Castellari's work in all forms. His Mad Max ripoffs, his war movies like Eagles over London and Inglorious Bastards, and yes - my most wanted movie on Blu, Great White. A seriously underrated director!

[anthony21879]

Originally Posted by Thebunk

Gents/Ladies/Others,

I have decided to reorganize my collection away from label or Director specific to Sub-Genres. Here is what I have thus far,

- Giallo
- Euro Cult / Horror
- Horror
- General Cult & Exploitation
- Foreign Drama
- Action
- Western (not going to get too specific here with Spaghetti, new, etc)
- Asian Horror
- Martial Arts

Lots more to go but this is the way I’m going. Thoughts?

Great idea! I did mine the same. Action, drama, comedy, documentary, forieign, family: (subgenres - animated, live action, coming of age), horror (broken into sections - franchises, trilogy and sequels,
Anthologies, and one-offs, with a killer kid subsection), musicals, romance, shorts, tv series.

All alphabetically.

I'm thinking of adding a giallo section to the horror.

[indravayu]

Originally Posted by Mike0284

Since it's Noirvember, I was wondering which Giallo films could also be considered Neo-Noir films.

Bazzoni's The Possessed.

[Leeon0]

Sandra Peabody specials. TH is a blast.

[Steedeel]

Originally Posted by dallywhitty

Excuse me, but could you please omit that 'pallbearer' quote from your signature? As somebody who has actually been a pallbearer, I'm offended and I expect you to cater your signature to my needs.

thnx

I’m offended by your being offended!

[Steedeel]

So.......this French adult title that VS are carrying on their website. Anyone seen it?

[SuperFlyHighGuy]

Originally Posted by Leeon0

Sandra Peabody specials. TH is a blast.

I agree, Teenage Hitchhikers is fun and I revisit it occasionally. I thought Massage Parlor Murders was a chore to get through, though.

[gimmeshelter]

Originally Posted by DrEricVornoff

Speaking of classic erotica/porn... I would love to see a fresh scan/Blu-ray release of the Bob Chinn produced All American Girl with Peggy Church... ideally by someone like VS... not sure if a good element exists though... the SWV release was pretty rough... but that would make me very...ahem... happy!

VS has it and announced a release of it, but then have sort of unofficially retracted it because they don't think it will sell, which eventually sent the founder of their FB fan group into a self-imposed exile of his own group in silent, horny protest.

[gimmeshelter]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

Another...a fine double-feature...



You all need Bonnie's Kids in your life. Every one of you.

Absolutely essential. This is a terrific disc.
Too lazy to post pics, but other must-buys include BEACH GIRLS and POM-POM GIRLS from Scorpion and HOT DOG...THE MOVIE from Synapse.

[Member-222782]

Originally Posted by gimmeshelter

VS has it and announced a release of it, but then have sort of unofficially retracted it because they don't think it will sell, which eventually sent the founder of their FB fan group into a self-imposed exile of his own group in silent, horny protest.

Steedeel will buy this. Two customers are better than none

[TrentW1982]

Originally Posted by Thebunk

Gents/Ladies/Others,

I have decided to reorganize my collection away from label or Director specific to Sub-Genres. Here is what I have thus far,

- Giallo
- Euro Cult / Horror
- Horror
- General Cult & Exploitation
- Foreign Drama
- Action
- Western (not going to get too specific here with Spaghetti, new, etc)
- Asian Horror
- Martial Arts

Lots more to go but this is the way I’m going. Thoughts?

I have done similar. Although it's a bit of a hybrid, I mostly have sections for sub-genres but also have a few sections for directors or actors I own a lot of films of (eg. Jess Franco, Charles Bronson, Lucio Fulci, etc), and that creates some real conundrums when I need to decide things like "Should 'Citta Violenta' go in my poliziotteschi section or my Bronson section?"

I'm constantly rearranging, much to the annoyance of my wife!