GIRLS ON THE ROAD (aka HOT SUMMER WEEK) 1972

"Looking For Men...Looking For Trouble...And Finding Both!!"

      A frustrating example of a film that should (and could) have been a nifty example of early 1970's drive-in/exploitation, this was first released under the title HOT SUMMER WEEK in early summer 1972 and after having not made nary a ripple was sent out the following year re-titled GIRLS ON THE ROAD which played up the thriller elements a bit more. Producer Joe Solomon and Fanfare Productions had a pretty good run before this with HELLS ANGELS ON WHEELS (1967), THE LOSERS (1970), EVEL KINIEVEL (1971), WEREWOLVES ON WHEELS (1971) and he was the subject of an article in Esquire ("The Last of the Schockmeisters" written by Roger Ebert). Not featuring a whole lot of "road", "girls" or "hot" sadly GIRLS ON THE ROAD (or HOT SUMMER WEEK) is a bit of an outlier in Solomon's career as went on to produce the solid Blaxploitation police drama TOP OF THE HEAP (1973) and A SMALL TOWN IN TEXAS (1976 - directed by the great Jack Starrett). 

    Part of that 70's sub-genre of dangers of the road which included JOYRIDE TO NOWHERE (1977), HITCH HIKE TO HELL (1977), THUMB TRIPPING (1972) and THE YOUNG CYCLE GIRLS 1978 , the opening credits for GIRLS ON THE ROAD start off promisingly enough with a quick shot of softcore big bust queen Uschi Digart (YAAH!! Uschi!!) in a bikini which is followed by a desperate attempt to be cool as the credits roll through on bumper stickers, graffiti and various signs interspersed with such classics as "Honk If Your Horny". We're then introduced to a pair of SoCal. high school girls studious bespectacled nice girl Karen (Dianne Hull ALOHA BOOBY AND ROSE) and somewhat spoiled rich girl cheerleader Debbie (Kathleen Cody SUPERDAD). It's quickly revealed that neither one of them gets into much trouble in school and being self-proclaimed "wallflowers", they cling to each other during a party chaperoned by Debbie's parents and watch in envy to some PG-rated debauchery by their fellow classmates. They decide this being the first day of summer vacation to take off on a spur-of-the-moment road trip.

     Driving off in Debbie's new Mustang for her parent's beach house in Big Sur the pair joyously decides to "let their hair down" which involves driving like idiots while bouncing off a few curbs & running red lights, flashing older motorists, and throwing their bras out the window. Being the 1970's they decide to pick up some hitchhikers ("only the cute ones") and soon give a hippie a ride but end up stranding him and steal his guitar.

 A Uschi cameo is always a good thing!

     Unbeknownst to the pair, there's a serial killer operating in the vicinity of the beach house where they're headed who's been killing young girls and leaving their bodies on the beach. There's a likely suspect in the form of a recently discharged Vietnam Vet named Will (Michael Ontkean from THE NECROMANCY and later the sheriff in TWIN PEAKS) who periodically suffers from flashbacks that appear to be pieces of various colored clear plastic bent & waved in front of the camera. He's first shown in a roadside diner where he gets in a fight with a couple of pool playing bikers (one played by famous stuntman Charlie Picerni) and gets the best of the situation by pulling a gun on them.
     After the encounter at the diner, Will wanders out to the road to hitchhike where he's picked by you-know-you. It seems he's heading to the same general area in Big Sur as the girls. He's going back to a place called The Institute Of Human Potential (??) which is one of those California encounter group things unique to the '70s which pop up constantly in movies from that era (there even one in MAD MEN) where folks sit around in a circle, engage in meditation and everybody and everything is "beautiful". The Institute (conveniently enough) is located right next door to the girl's beach house destination and plus just happens to be where bodies from the serial killer are showing up. 
     Upon arriving they meet the head of the institute John (a shaggy-haired and bearded Ralph Waite from THE WALTONS) who's been worried about the till now gone-missing Will and immediately shows a creepy interest in the underage Karen while Debbie and the still flashback induced Will to start a romance. Also lurking about is Lt. Williams aka "The Maker" (John McMurty GROUP MARRIAGE) who's a former comrade of Will and who paints people faces, carries around a dove, constantly wants an audience as he acts out his "fantasies" in glitter makeup and stares creepily at the two girls. Throughout the film, we're constantly hearing newsflashes blaring out breathless reports concerning the killer even when there's no radio or TV in sight (which were probably added post-production) and despite the non-stop media coverage, there's a disturbing lack of police presence about the area (meaning none).

     The plot unfolds as a curious mish-mash of a coming of age along with road film (although played up in the advertising we only spend about 20 min. on "the road") and a serial killer/proto-slasher with a strangling and a climax that features an ax welding maniac as Will's wavy colored flashbacks take up an inordinate amount of screen time. The trailer included on the Scorpion DVD carries a PG rating which is very well in line with what you could get away with within '70s as the film features some scant nudity and blood. You get a distinct feeling that this originally started out as an R-rated production before something happened along the way.
    Waite walks away with the acting honors without even half trying and the two girls even though looking distinctly different often seem to be playing the same rather bland character. The film ends really abruptly as if they simply stopped filming or there were a few pages of script missing. Dianne Hull was later very touching as one of the title characters in Floyd Mutrux's sadly underappreciated ALOHA BOOBY AND ROSE in 1975. Producer Joe Solomon shows up in a cameo has a liquor store customer who buys the girls some beer.
    The film features some attractive cinematography courtesy of David Walsh (CLEOPATRA JONES) and director Thomas Schmidt was a second unit director for John Sturges on HOUR OF THE GUN and ICE STATION ZEBRA but passed away at age 35 with this being his only director credit. The music is by Tom McIntosh and there are a couple pieces of 70's AM fluff with one titled "Fantasy in Love" that's played ad nauseum throughout the film (much like the newscasts) and is guaranteed to begin grating on one's nerves well before the closing credits. The two bikers Will fights in the bar wear the Devil's Advocates colors on their jackets from THE LOSERS and some footage from that film shows up in Will's flashbacks.
    The film also features some odd poster designs with one picturing the girl's disembodied heads floating in a hippie prayer circle while a second one has a spoiler-filled illustration of the climax's ax killer. Scorpion issued this on a now OOP DVD with its more common HOT SUMMER WEEK title card along with a trailer, alternate titles, and an interview with writer David Kauffman.

Happy (Belated ??) Birthday To Uschi Digard (And Some Cool Uschi News !!)

 Some time back it was (allegedly) Uschi's 65th birthday as it had been widely reported for years to be Aug. 15 1948. As it turned out this bit of bio info was wrong - as has been bunches of other stuff floating around on her. Even her birthplace was widely disputed as it ranged everywhere from the sorta believable (Sweden) to the really outlandish such as Bismarck (!?) N.D. - this most likely just wishful thinking on Bismarck's part.
    Always a very private & reclusive person (in spite of her screen persona), she's given very few interviews. All that's changed now, however, as the guys over at The Rialto Report have scored a really major & cool coup - a 67 minute (!!) interview with the queen of softcore porn & sexploitation. This is FASCINATING listening and a must for anyone interested in the history of drive-in movies, men's magazines & the dawning of the golden years of adult entertainment. Starting with her childhood (Switzerland is her birthplace-and although she coyly doesn't reveal the date - she does shoot down that reported one), taking us thru her early employment & travels in Europe & Mideast (she never worked at the U.N. as reported, but really does speak nine languages), 50 year (!!) marriage and eventual move to Los Angeles in the mid 60's and her initial work in men's magazines.       Along the way, we get Russ Meyer stories, background stories on her photoshoots and of course her career in films. She relates a funny story on how she never had a driver's license so her husband had to drive her all over L.A. to her various film & photo locations. Basically what you have here is a 60 min + history of the classic era of sexploitation (and plus you find out about her new autobiography).

     With her long hair, amazonian build & beautiful natural looks (usually devoid of make-up), nobody seems to personify that 60's & early 70's sex appeal "look" better than her. She had a presence that truly was bigger than life - a mind-bending combination of hippie earth mother looks and a sexual wildcat. IMDB lists 126 titles to her credit , but you can most likely at least double that counting all the loops, short subjects & blink and you'll miss her cameos.
     It's amazing how many times she pops up (even briefly) in 70's drive-in movies - start watching them and see how often you say "Look, there's Uschi !!". She always seemed to have a smile on her face and almost seemed to be winking at the camera and saying "Hey -its all in fun". Although she skirted around the edges at times, she never performed hardcore (which is something I've always admired about her).
      On the recently released blu-ray of Kentucky Fried Movie there she is in an awe-inspiring shower scene (in glorious full-color HD no less). For whenever her birthday is - a VERY special birthday greeting for a true icon (plus its a great reason to post some Uschi pictures - as if you need one).

Hicksploitation Movie Night # 5 - Truck Stop Women 1974

(or Claudia Jennings Movie Night # 2 !)

"No Rig Was Too Big For Them To Handle !"

    Truck Stop Women has about everything you could want from a 70's drive-in exploitation flick - gratuitous nudity every ten minutes or so, car & truck chases, broadly drawn stereotyped characters, Claudia Jennings, violence, naked Claudia Jennings and even a cameo by soft-core queen Uschi Digard.

   The plot is pretty much the standard moonshine movie plot (big operators trying to move on on the small guys) only moved to a truck stop The story has Anna (Lieux Dressler - Kingdom of the Spiders 1977 ), who runs a truck stop in New Mexico along with her daughter Rose (Claudia Jennings). Their truck stop is a pretty busy place, along with gas a diner. we also got hijacking & stealing freight, along with a chop shop and a prostitution ring (Wow ! What a place !). And wouldn't you know it, here comes the guys from the Mafia, who are looking to move in on the action. The main mafia guy "Smith" is played by John Martino (Paulie from The Godfather 1972) - matter of fact here playing pretty much the exact same character he played in The Godfather. Rose sees this has an opportunity to also move in on her Mama and gets involved with Smith to help move things along which all leads to some really bad stuff coming down at the climax.

     Also hanging out at Anna's place are Curly (Dennis Fimple from House of 1000 Corpses), Winter (Len Lesser - Kelly's Heroes 1970 and Uncle Leo from Seinfeld) & Mac (Gene Drew - Georgia Peaches 1972 & Bobbie and the Outlaw 1976). Veteran (and very busy) TV guy Paul Carr plays Mama's double crossing partner Seago.
     Surprisingly the story is a little more downbeat & violent then expected with lots of shootings and people getting offed by various methods with most of the cast buying the farm by the end. Also there's some fairly well done chases/crashes (considering the budget) complete with some "hanging off the side of the truck" stunt work. The soundtrack is one of the more schizophrenic I've ever heard with the expected country & truckin' songs by Big Mack & The Truckstoppers, but you also get some kinda Kraftwerk like stuff via a Casio keyboard and garage band instrumentals.

  By 1974 Claudia was becoming a  pretty busy actress (in between TV & movie work, this is one of six roles from 1974), with her classic Gator Bait coming out right after Truck Stop Women.

 

The Manson Massacre 1971

       Also known as Together Girls, The Cult, The Love Cult (and most likely other titles) this 1971 exploitation quickie was one of the first low budget cash-ins on the Tate/ LaBianco killings. Considered a lost film for a long time, a few years ago it turned up on of all things -  a budget German DVD (titled Daughters of Satan). Filled with nudity, sex, gore & torture (hey, what did we expect ?), it does play fast & loose with the facts. The basic Manson premise is here - a hippie cult leader (played by TV vet Makee Blaisdell) inducts women into his circle and they later commit murder (here the victims are a a pair of swinging couples). The real identity of credited director "Kentucky Jones" has been rumored since its release to be various people among them schlockmaster Albert Zugsmith, Lee Frost and even members of the Manson Family themselves are said to have worked on the movie under the various alias on the credits.

    B&W flashbacks show the background of Manson (or Ivor as his called here) and his followers. Ivor's flashbacks include an incestuous relationship with his mother (played by soft core queen Uschi Digard ), killing his father and time in jail (complete with a pretty rough "pick up the soap" shower scene).  Other flashbacks show him recruiting up his harem - for one he girl he does this is done by helping her steal a vibrator (after her father refuses to buy it for her) and various sick/weird home situations of the other members of the group

   After they steal a hearse Ivor rides around in the back laying in a white coffin - in fact pretty much all he does thru this movie is lay around  looking bored surrounded by his chicks and occasionally explodes into tirades and belt whippings (when is not thinking about Uschi).  Looking like it was filmed on about two sets it is somewhat of an endurance test (OK, its kinda boring).  This is a sleazy, grubby bit of celluloid, with the dubbed German dialogue (no subtitles) even adding to the weirdness of the whole thing, but it does have a certain fascination about it. Hopefully a English dub will turn up someday.

  This would make a great double feature with 1969's sexplotation western Ramrodder which was filmed on the Spahn Ranch and contains members of the family in the cast.  Cinematographer Robert Maxwell worked on both this and Manson Massacre (and TONS of others 70's stuff including The Candy Snatchers and The Severed Arm). As one of the few known crew members, he unfortunately passed away in 1978.