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Polar Blair's Den Menu PageThe term "sexploitation" really came into being with the risque movies of the late 1960s-1970s. Films of this sort, though, have been made before and since that time. Generally, though, "sexploitation" describes the 60s and 70s skin flicks. Some were great, some were awful. Since all movies of this sort, despite the date, all reach for the same objective, they will appear in this list.
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Features:
"Escort Girl" (1941)
"Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" (1965)
"The Flesh Merchant" aka "The Wild and the Wicked" (1956)
"War Goddess" (1973)
Quick Reviews:
"The Dallas Connection" (1994)
"The Horrors of Spider Island" (1960)
"Invasion of the Bee Girls" (1973)
"Return to Savage Beach" (1998)
"Slaves in Bondage" (1937)
"The Woman Hunt" (1973)
The Dallas Connection (1994)-
Like I say, most movies called "sexploitation" are usually from the
late 1960s-1970s. However, in the 1980s and 90s, the proud
tradition of sexploitation was continued and updated by Andy Sidaris
and, for this movie, son Christian Drew Sidaris. Director father
Andy started the L.E.T.H.A.L. Ladies series of soft-core, B-movie
action spectaculars. This film is sometimes thought of as a
L.E.T.H.A.L. Ladies entry but, in reality, it isn't. True, this
has many of the same women from the earlier films, but they all play
different characters.
Why do most sexploitation movies have to be scripted and acted so badly? I know these movies aren't supposed to have a "My Dinner With Andre" kind of intelligence, but they can at least look like they were written by someone older than 12. The women are gorgeous, and since this is a skin flick, they do a good job. Heroine Samantha Maxx (played by Samantha Phillips) IS arousing, and enticing. 6'1" raven-haired beauty Julie Strain (as villainess Black Widow) is sexy as ever. Julie K. Smith, the short, but extremely busty blonde is something spectacular (she plays bad girl Cobra). Wendy Hamilton is another pleasant surprise as brunette baddie Scorpion (we find out later she's not as bad as she seems).
This movie is dumb, but it's good as a T&A flick. That's all it was really meant to be. If that's alright for you, it's worth watching. I, myself, prefer some kind of cool story to go along with it to explain the nudity. Otherwise, the makers can just go ahead and make it a full-on porn film. I'm not that much of a letch. I like sex WITH a good story and some passable acting.
The Horrors of Spider Island (1960)- A cheapie sexploitation movie that tries to pass itself off as a horror movie, and fails at both. This movie is pretty bad, but at least the girls are hot. However, the best-looking girl, Helga Franck, is the one that shows the least skin! What the heck! Alex D'Arcy and Helga Franck act well enough for the material given to them, but the large part of the movie's acting is terrible. The dubbing is a bit too obvious, and the "effects" were not even good for that time. Plus, the movie just kind of drags along, without much horror or sexuality. It's a missed opportunity. Just a few little additions would have made this more watchable. I recommend it if you're only paying one or two dollars for the DVD and you have some spare time, but nothing more.
Cast:
Alexander D'Arcy as Gary Webster [credited as Alex d'Arcy]
Helga Franck as Georgia
Harald Maresch as Joe [credited as Temple Foster]
Rainer Brandt as Bobby [credited as Allen Turner]
Barbara Valentin as Babs [credited as Barbara Valentine]
Elfie Wagner as Linda [credited as Donna Ulsike]
Dorothee Parker as Gladys [credited as Norma Townes]
Helga Neuner as Ann
Eva Schauland as Millie
Gerry Sammer as May
Helma Vandenberg as Kate [credited as Helma van den Berg]
Walter Faber as Mike Blackwood
Robert Raglan as Radio Man [uncredited]
Director- Fritz Bottger [credited as Jaime Nolan]
Writers- Fritz Bottger, Eldon Howard, Albert G. Miller.
Alternate Titles:
Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973)- William Smith is the hero. Anitra Ford is the villainess. Victoria Vetri is the love interest to Smith and beautiful, damsel-in-distress. I like William Smith. There aren't too many actors who do equally well at hero and villain parts, but Smith is one of them. Men are being "loved" to death by murderous women. William Smith, a government inspector, comes to investigate. Anitra Ford, as far as we know, is some sort of alien; a hybrid between human and queen bee. She has the technology to turn human women into bee-like sexual predators. The only thing we never know is the motivation behind this killing spree. This movie has an excellent cast, and it's one of the few times I think nudity is as legitimate in a film as it is fun. You can't really have a movie like this without nudity, believe it or not. The premise of the movie is interesting enough, but it seems like the writer got too bored to explain the background of Anitra Ford's character, or give us a reason for why this was all going on. What did the Bee Girls hope to accomplish? Still, this is an entertaining, watchable movie and I hope it gets a remake with a more elaborate script. Special mention must go to Victoria Vetri, who I find most impressive in character and figure.
Return to Savage Beach (1998)- So bad. Ridiculously bad, even under the auspices that it's a T&A flick. It's another Andy Sidaris-directed film. The story is bad, and the acting is bad. At least the women look hot, and the movie is well-filmed. Those are the good points. All the women are great, but Carrie Westcott as blonde Sophia seems to be the standout in this movie. What's this movie all about? I doubt if the filmmakers even know. Main idea: A bunch of chesty babes called L.E.T.H.A.L. Force goes after bad guys. That's about it. Also starring Julie Strain, Julie K. Smith, Shae Marks, and Ava Cardell. One of the two creators of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kevin Eastman, has a part as good guy Harry The Cat. He's the real-life husband of Julie Strain.
Slaves in Bondage (1937)- Lona Andre plays heroine Dona Lee. This is an early prototype of what would become, thirty-some years later, the "sexploitation" film. At this time, movies like this were simply referred to as "exploitation" and usually contained a moral message about the pitfalls of wreckless sex, marijuana, cocaine abuse, and other "not nice" things. Here, the subject is just prostitution. There are also moments of lesbian-ism. For the time period, this movie was extremely avant-garde. Today, it's just bizarre. It's weird to see people in an old-time movie speak so bluntly about, not just sex, but prostitution...even "lezzies". It's made with what we would call today a PG sensibility, but at the time, if they had ratings, this probably would've been called XXX+. They really couldn't show skin, because it was tough enough to get these movies played in theaters. I found this movie dumb and nearly unwatchable by bad acting, lazy writing, and near uneventfulness, but it had a good enough plot idea. A crooked businessman and his female partner use a beauty salon as a front to recruit women as prostitutes for the man's roadhouse.
The Woman Hunt (1973)- I thought this movie was SO going to stink until I actually watched it. First off, I don't like the idea of "human hunting", an idea that's been overplayed in movies (especially in the 1990s decade). Second, I never like seeing women get killed in shows...certainly not good-looking women. I was really quite surprised by this movie. It's one of the many made-in-the-Phillippines, American sexploitation flicks that came out of the 70s. Surprisingly, this is probably more of an action movie than a sexploitation movie. The action sequences are done very well, even by today's standards. Yes, there is some female nudity to give the audience cheap thrills, but that's not the only thing the movie has going for it. This movie tells us something we need to know. Slavery was alive and well in the 1970s, as it is today. Some people in undeveloped countries DO prey on women for sex slaves. In addition, there are some people who like to kill other people for sport. This movie simply puts those two terrible vices together.
John Ashley plays Tony, one of the kidnappers who decides to turn on his boss and free the current female prisoners. The story is very plain and simple and doesn't try to do anything that time, talent, or budget won't allow. As a matter of fact, the film movies very quickly. Because of its fast pace, there is no such thing as character development, although the personalities of some of the characters are quite entertaining. Ashley's character doesn't really have much of a personality beyond the fact that he's a reformed bad guy. He does a decent job of acting, though. Sid Haig, as Silas, is probably the coolest man of the cast. He's totally into the abduction and demeaning of women, and has the best sense of humor about it. He's a funny, wise-cracking a**hole! Silas is a bad guy, but he still has some scruples. He doesn't like to physically "hurt" the women, just humiliate them, and he's still kind of a buddy to Tony, even after he's turned. Silas doesn't, however, like Karp. Ken Metcalfe has an interesting, even cool character in Karp despite the fact that he's a total weirdo. Karp is easily the most violent of the three kidnappers, and he hates women. The wacky, red-haired hippie dude pretends that he's attracted to women, but it becomes pretty obvious to us that he's a homosexual. Silas' hatred of the "queenie" Karp is what ultimately leads to his end when Karp shoots him in the stomach. For some particular reason, Karp targets McGee (played by Pat Woodell).
Pat Woodell did a good job as McGee, the leader of the kidnapped girls. She has short hair in this movie, which is unusual to see. She also bares her breasts which is another unusual (although welcome) sight. Pat actually gives good delivery of her lines, which is not common to most sexploitation movies. The most quotable line is what she says to a Japanese businessman putting the make on her: "Why don't you take a running backflip and go f*** yourself." Charlene Jones as the black girl, Billie, was another cool character. She just had a good personality, and she was convincing. Laurie Rose as strawberry blonde, Lori, was cute, but she wasn't the most believable. I liked her in the movie, though. She didn't act terrible, but she doesn't really "wow" us with her words. Where McGee was targeted by Karp, and Billie was desired by Silas, Lori was pursued by Magda. Lisa Todd, best known as one of the "Hee Haw" girls, played bisexual beauty, Magda. Lisa is almost always drop-dead gorgeous in her film and TV appearances. In this movie, she was made up to look a bit strange. Her character was strange, so it worked. Magda was the henchwoman/lover of ultimate villain Spyros, played by Eddie Garcia. She was the overseer of the kidnapped girls; their keeper. Magda loves girls as much as she loves Spyros; and she was really fond of Lori. Luscious Lori is nearly molested by the powerful Magda twice! Lisa Todd, as Magda, still looks good, but in an offbeat way. Her hair is way big and she wears dark clothes with boobs pushed up-and-out to high heaven! Kind of like an evil version of Elvira!
The plot of this movie is not at all intricate, but there still IS one. It's a simple little 81-minute movie for guys that like TNA and shoot-em-up action. That's about it. There's nothing too involved. I thought this movie was going to be a lot sleazier than it was. Most low-budget sexploitation movies of this period ARE a lot sleazier. Heck, a lot of mainstream action movies today are sleazier than this. Don't pay too much attention to what egghead critics tell you. This is a fun little movie if you like the content. The filming and editing isn't the best, but you have to take that with films of this sort. It's still very watchable.
SPOILER ALERT!
Everyone in the movie gets killed off except Tony (John Ashley) and Lori (Laurie Rose).
Cast:
John Ashley as Tony
Pat Woodell as McGee
Charlene Jones as Billie
Laurie Rose as Lori
Lisa Todd as Magda
Sid Haig as Silas
Ken Metcalfe as Karp
Eddie Garcia as Spyros
Alona Alegre as Sam
Alternate Titles:
Why do most sexploitation movies have to be scripted and acted so badly? I know these movies aren't supposed to have a "My Dinner With Andre" kind of intelligence, but they can at least look like they were written by someone older than 12. The women are gorgeous, and since this is a skin flick, they do a good job. Heroine Samantha Maxx (played by Samantha Phillips) IS arousing, and enticing. 6'1" raven-haired beauty Julie Strain (as villainess Black Widow) is sexy as ever. Julie K. Smith, the short, but extremely busty blonde is something spectacular (she plays bad girl Cobra). Wendy Hamilton is another pleasant surprise as brunette baddie Scorpion (we find out later she's not as bad as she seems).
This movie is dumb, but it's good as a T&A flick. That's all it was really meant to be. If that's alright for you, it's worth watching. I, myself, prefer some kind of cool story to go along with it to explain the nudity. Otherwise, the makers can just go ahead and make it a full-on porn film. I'm not that much of a letch. I like sex WITH a good story and some passable acting.
The Horrors of Spider Island (1960)- A cheapie sexploitation movie that tries to pass itself off as a horror movie, and fails at both. This movie is pretty bad, but at least the girls are hot. However, the best-looking girl, Helga Franck, is the one that shows the least skin! What the heck! Alex D'Arcy and Helga Franck act well enough for the material given to them, but the large part of the movie's acting is terrible. The dubbing is a bit too obvious, and the "effects" were not even good for that time. Plus, the movie just kind of drags along, without much horror or sexuality. It's a missed opportunity. Just a few little additions would have made this more watchable. I recommend it if you're only paying one or two dollars for the DVD and you have some spare time, but nothing more.
Cast:
Alexander D'Arcy as Gary Webster [credited as Alex d'Arcy]
Helga Franck as Georgia
Harald Maresch as Joe [credited as Temple Foster]
Rainer Brandt as Bobby [credited as Allen Turner]
Barbara Valentin as Babs [credited as Barbara Valentine]
Elfie Wagner as Linda [credited as Donna Ulsike]
Dorothee Parker as Gladys [credited as Norma Townes]
Helga Neuner as Ann
Eva Schauland as Millie
Gerry Sammer as May
Helma Vandenberg as Kate [credited as Helma van den Berg]
Walter Faber as Mike Blackwood
Robert Raglan as Radio Man [uncredited]
Director- Fritz Bottger [credited as Jaime Nolan]
Writers- Fritz Bottger, Eldon Howard, Albert G. Miller.
Alternate Titles:
- Body in the Web [US]
- A Corpse Hangs in the Web [International; actual English title]
- Ein Toter hing im Netz [West Germany; actual title]
- Girls of Spider Island [US; video title]
- It's Hot in Paradise [US]
- The Spider's Web [US]
- This movie is a West Germany/Yugoslavia joint production. It was filmed in Nicola, Yugoslavia.
- Although made in 1960, this film was not released in America until 1962. At that point, it still had its nude scenes and was released as "It's Hot in Paradise" as an adults-only movie. Three years later, in 1965, this movie was trimmed of all its nudity and passed off as a horror/sci-fi movie called "The Horrors of Spider Island". Although a better title, it was not wise to take the nudity out of it, as this movie gives us little else to watch.
- This movie offers us little in eroticism, but there's one good catfight between Babs and Millie (Barbara Valentin and Eva Schauland, respectively).
- Although the promotion for this movie makes it sound like a lot of people get killed (i.e. a "slasher" flick), there are few people that actually die. The professor that is found in the web died offscreen by a large spider. Linda is killed by the spider-man Gary Webster. Bobby is killed by spider-Gary, but Gladys merely walks off a cliff while avoiding the monster. Gary, himself, is killed when he is led into a quicksand pit. In truth, Gary as the spider-monster killed only two people in this movie. Only five people were killed off in this movie.
- Barbara Valentin got a rather large build-up for this movie, although her character was of maybe fifth importance. This movie claims to "introduce" her, but she previously starred in the German movie, "Die Nackte und der Satan" in 1959. This was actually her second film.
- This is the only credit, film or otherwise, for Elfie Wagner (Linda).
- Helga Franck (Georgia) was only 29 years old when she died in 1963. She fell from a 5th floor apartment when she was trying to get some fresh air, tripped, and fell out the window. A true shame, as she looked great, seemed to be a competent actress, and acted in only six films.
- Of all the girls in this film, Barbara Valentin became the most accomplished in film. She is called the "German Jayne Mansfield". Although straight, she is an icon of the gay community. She died of a stroke at age 61 in 2002. Since the 1980s she had been an advocate for the fight against HIV and even lived with rock star Freddie Mercury.
Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973)- William Smith is the hero. Anitra Ford is the villainess. Victoria Vetri is the love interest to Smith and beautiful, damsel-in-distress. I like William Smith. There aren't too many actors who do equally well at hero and villain parts, but Smith is one of them. Men are being "loved" to death by murderous women. William Smith, a government inspector, comes to investigate. Anitra Ford, as far as we know, is some sort of alien; a hybrid between human and queen bee. She has the technology to turn human women into bee-like sexual predators. The only thing we never know is the motivation behind this killing spree. This movie has an excellent cast, and it's one of the few times I think nudity is as legitimate in a film as it is fun. You can't really have a movie like this without nudity, believe it or not. The premise of the movie is interesting enough, but it seems like the writer got too bored to explain the background of Anitra Ford's character, or give us a reason for why this was all going on. What did the Bee Girls hope to accomplish? Still, this is an entertaining, watchable movie and I hope it gets a remake with a more elaborate script. Special mention must go to Victoria Vetri, who I find most impressive in character and figure.
Return to Savage Beach (1998)- So bad. Ridiculously bad, even under the auspices that it's a T&A flick. It's another Andy Sidaris-directed film. The story is bad, and the acting is bad. At least the women look hot, and the movie is well-filmed. Those are the good points. All the women are great, but Carrie Westcott as blonde Sophia seems to be the standout in this movie. What's this movie all about? I doubt if the filmmakers even know. Main idea: A bunch of chesty babes called L.E.T.H.A.L. Force goes after bad guys. That's about it. Also starring Julie Strain, Julie K. Smith, Shae Marks, and Ava Cardell. One of the two creators of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Kevin Eastman, has a part as good guy Harry The Cat. He's the real-life husband of Julie Strain.
Slaves in Bondage (1937)- Lona Andre plays heroine Dona Lee. This is an early prototype of what would become, thirty-some years later, the "sexploitation" film. At this time, movies like this were simply referred to as "exploitation" and usually contained a moral message about the pitfalls of wreckless sex, marijuana, cocaine abuse, and other "not nice" things. Here, the subject is just prostitution. There are also moments of lesbian-ism. For the time period, this movie was extremely avant-garde. Today, it's just bizarre. It's weird to see people in an old-time movie speak so bluntly about, not just sex, but prostitution...even "lezzies". It's made with what we would call today a PG sensibility, but at the time, if they had ratings, this probably would've been called XXX+. They really couldn't show skin, because it was tough enough to get these movies played in theaters. I found this movie dumb and nearly unwatchable by bad acting, lazy writing, and near uneventfulness, but it had a good enough plot idea. A crooked businessman and his female partner use a beauty salon as a front to recruit women as prostitutes for the man's roadhouse.
The Woman Hunt (1973)- I thought this movie was SO going to stink until I actually watched it. First off, I don't like the idea of "human hunting", an idea that's been overplayed in movies (especially in the 1990s decade). Second, I never like seeing women get killed in shows...certainly not good-looking women. I was really quite surprised by this movie. It's one of the many made-in-the-Phillippines, American sexploitation flicks that came out of the 70s. Surprisingly, this is probably more of an action movie than a sexploitation movie. The action sequences are done very well, even by today's standards. Yes, there is some female nudity to give the audience cheap thrills, but that's not the only thing the movie has going for it. This movie tells us something we need to know. Slavery was alive and well in the 1970s, as it is today. Some people in undeveloped countries DO prey on women for sex slaves. In addition, there are some people who like to kill other people for sport. This movie simply puts those two terrible vices together.
John Ashley plays Tony, one of the kidnappers who decides to turn on his boss and free the current female prisoners. The story is very plain and simple and doesn't try to do anything that time, talent, or budget won't allow. As a matter of fact, the film movies very quickly. Because of its fast pace, there is no such thing as character development, although the personalities of some of the characters are quite entertaining. Ashley's character doesn't really have much of a personality beyond the fact that he's a reformed bad guy. He does a decent job of acting, though. Sid Haig, as Silas, is probably the coolest man of the cast. He's totally into the abduction and demeaning of women, and has the best sense of humor about it. He's a funny, wise-cracking a**hole! Silas is a bad guy, but he still has some scruples. He doesn't like to physically "hurt" the women, just humiliate them, and he's still kind of a buddy to Tony, even after he's turned. Silas doesn't, however, like Karp. Ken Metcalfe has an interesting, even cool character in Karp despite the fact that he's a total weirdo. Karp is easily the most violent of the three kidnappers, and he hates women. The wacky, red-haired hippie dude pretends that he's attracted to women, but it becomes pretty obvious to us that he's a homosexual. Silas' hatred of the "queenie" Karp is what ultimately leads to his end when Karp shoots him in the stomach. For some particular reason, Karp targets McGee (played by Pat Woodell).
Pat Woodell did a good job as McGee, the leader of the kidnapped girls. She has short hair in this movie, which is unusual to see. She also bares her breasts which is another unusual (although welcome) sight. Pat actually gives good delivery of her lines, which is not common to most sexploitation movies. The most quotable line is what she says to a Japanese businessman putting the make on her: "Why don't you take a running backflip and go f*** yourself." Charlene Jones as the black girl, Billie, was another cool character. She just had a good personality, and she was convincing. Laurie Rose as strawberry blonde, Lori, was cute, but she wasn't the most believable. I liked her in the movie, though. She didn't act terrible, but she doesn't really "wow" us with her words. Where McGee was targeted by Karp, and Billie was desired by Silas, Lori was pursued by Magda. Lisa Todd, best known as one of the "Hee Haw" girls, played bisexual beauty, Magda. Lisa is almost always drop-dead gorgeous in her film and TV appearances. In this movie, she was made up to look a bit strange. Her character was strange, so it worked. Magda was the henchwoman/lover of ultimate villain Spyros, played by Eddie Garcia. She was the overseer of the kidnapped girls; their keeper. Magda loves girls as much as she loves Spyros; and she was really fond of Lori. Luscious Lori is nearly molested by the powerful Magda twice! Lisa Todd, as Magda, still looks good, but in an offbeat way. Her hair is way big and she wears dark clothes with boobs pushed up-and-out to high heaven! Kind of like an evil version of Elvira!
The plot of this movie is not at all intricate, but there still IS one. It's a simple little 81-minute movie for guys that like TNA and shoot-em-up action. That's about it. There's nothing too involved. I thought this movie was going to be a lot sleazier than it was. Most low-budget sexploitation movies of this period ARE a lot sleazier. Heck, a lot of mainstream action movies today are sleazier than this. Don't pay too much attention to what egghead critics tell you. This is a fun little movie if you like the content. The filming and editing isn't the best, but you have to take that with films of this sort. It's still very watchable.
SPOILER ALERT!
Everyone in the movie gets killed off except Tony (John Ashley) and Lori (Laurie Rose).
Cast:
John Ashley as Tony
Pat Woodell as McGee
Charlene Jones as Billie
Laurie Rose as Lori
Lisa Todd as Magda
Sid Haig as Silas
Ken Metcalfe as Karp
Eddie Garcia as Spyros
Alona Alegre as Sam
Alternate Titles:
- Escape [UK]
- The Highest Bidder
- John Ashley and Pat Woodell get top billing in the cast. Although John Ashley is the "hero" of the picture, Pat Woodell's second-billing doesn't make much sense. Yes, she's the leader of the kidnapped girls, but she really isn't the "leading lady" of the movie. Nor is she the love interest of the hero. Laurie Rose would have been the more accurate choice for second-billing. Pat Woodell, however, was one of the better-known names in the cast at the time, which explains why her name was up high in the list.
- Laurie Rose is a longtime, professional belly dancer. Although her acting career started in 1972, she's had a much longer-lasting career in film and television than co-stars Charlene Jones, Lisa Todd, or Pat Woodell who, at that time, been acting for several years. Ironically, Lisa Todd and Pat Woodell are the women from this cast best-known to film fans.
- This movie was filmed and set in the Phillippines.