United States 1971
Reviewed By-Kit Gavin Directed by Don Schain Starring Cheri Caffaro, Duane Tucker, and Calvin Culver [a.k.a. Casey Donovan] Released through: Monterey Video Region 1 NTSC
The 1970’s were a great time for lovers of cinema exploitation. Much has been made of the obvious non-PC attitudes which were being enjoyed in Continental Europe, in countries such as Italy and Spain, where nudity, violence and sex were becoming popular in numerous B-movies, which soon after were dubbed into French, German and English and were sold to distribution houses such as the infamous Hallmark Releasing Corp. in the United States, and companies such as Target International and Miracle Films in the United Kingdom. Even in the relatively staid United Kingdom, horror films a-plenty were being made by companies such as Hammer and Tigon, however although the films had sexual ingredients in their make-up, the UK rarely strayed into the field of sexploitation itself. Yes there were cheapo porno films, starring actresses such as Mary Millington, or sex comedies by director such as Val Guest, but sexploitation per se was not touched upon. However come the 70’s, this was to take off in the United States in a big way in the drive-in circuit. Ginger, and it’s two sequels being prize examples of how sexploitation evolved in the United States.
The title character, and lead, Ginger – played by tall blonde attractive and one time Mrs Don Schain (the director), Cheri Caffaro, who, after the death of her parents, undertakes a mission, secret agent style to uncover and put a halt to a drugs and prostitution ring headed by a very camp, almost fey kingpin (or should that be queenpin) by the name of Rex Halsey (Duane Tucker). Halsey and his gang are currently involved in a drug smuggling operation involving a bag of hash (!!). Apparantly prior to Ginger taking up the assignment, two previous agents have disappeared. This however doesn’t daunt Ginger, armed with a briefcase of weapons, she is determined to bring Halsey and co to justice. Halsey’s gang consists mainly of prostitutes (including a man hating dyke called Cathy), a misogynist black guy who enjoys victimising WASPy women, and a prettyboy henchman by the name of Rodney (Culver), who went on, blond, to star with Lynn Lowry in Radley Metzger’s SCORE and in a host of gay porno films in the 70’s and 80’s.
To be honest, Caffaro doesn’t really live up to her kick ass secret agent character in the film. She is too much a mixture of bad actress and dumb blonde to be truly convincing. She can be nasty and aggressive, she seduces a character by engaging in a lesbian clinch, she has cat fights, and she castrates the naked Rodney (full frontal and all) on the bed, after considering sparing him, he calls her " a bitch" and she tightens the piano wire round his nuts and the result (and Rodney’s scream) is heard off-screen. The head of the drug smugglers and prostitution ring, is to be fair, a wimp, and to be honest when he and Rodney argue over something it sounds like a couple of effeminate gays fighting over what to wear. Culver, quite surprisingly for the time, appears full frontal nude on the bed, bearing all for the camera, which although not ususual for a latter day porn star, is unusual for the intended straight pre-dominantly male audience. However Culver comes across as being too fey to be convincing (like his other "straight" role in SCORE), and it errs on disbelief when he is seduced by Ginger when she does an exotic erotic dance number for him in order to infiltrate the gang.
Despite the reservations expressed above and the pretty bad acting in the film, not to mention the cheapo production values of the film, badly lit and resembling a rather tawdry porno film at times from quality of film NOT content, the film is still a rather enjoyable trek down memory lane for those who remember when the film came out – and was a minor hit, and for those starting out watching drive-in movies from the 1970’s it is actually not too bad as a starting point. Would a film like this be made today? No, sadly, those days are gone forever – so with releases like this, and through others, the most luminous in the field being Something Weird, it is well worth picking up sleazy little titles such as these before they are gone forever. Given better acting by the actors and better production values, the film would certainly have been more polished, but perhaps, just perhaps because of it’s trashy crudeness and low low budget, it actually has it’s charms which would be spoilt by adding an un-necessary and skin deep veneer to a product.
The DVD presentation is unexceptional sadly, it has not been re-mastered and the film looks like it has been taken from a VHS to be honest. It is quite clean albeit muted rather than crisp, and it’s presented in full frame format, whereas I am sure the original film was not presented this way. The sound is pretty bad as well sadly. I presume that the original elements or a good quality print was not easily available. Monterey have made very little effort with this one sadly and the extras are very very thin on the ground – a filmography for Cheri Caffaro and stills from the film, not even a trailer.
However, fortunately, Monterey has released the two companion pieces to the film, THE ABDUCTORS and GIRLS ARE FOR LOVING, separately and in a box set, which actually makes the film more something to look forward to – especially as it is the first part of a trashy trilogy. All the films are entertainingly sleazy and trashy, definitely entertainment, and ideal for slumping down in front of when there is nothing worth watching on TV, a big bucket and popcorn, and just to sit back and enjoy the spectacle. Not a classic by any stretch, but much like other drive-in movies, like DON’T LOOK IN THE BASEMENT, one you will probably want to come back and watch again every now and then. In conclusion, definitely for fans or initiates into American drive-in and/or sexploitation fare, just don’t expect a Blue Underground/Criterion Collection style release.
STORY: 3 BITCH SLAPS PICTURE: 3 BITCH SLAPS AUDIO: 3 BITCH SLAPS EXTRAS: 1 BITCH SLAP OVERALL: 3 BITCH SLAPS Discuss this DVD or film in our forum.
