First thing to warn you about: not ALL movies are meant to be Oscar winners…
Swinging Stewardesses!
Fly “first class”, indeed! In case you missed this movie when it came out, the majesty of home video has given you the chance to fly these friendly skies again! No deep serious drama here, no award acceptance speeches, just classic movie wackiness…
Swinging Cheerleaders!
Time to to return to the more innocent days of college, when cheerleaders were the epitome of class and decorum…like this Elizabethan drama that explored the complicated relationship between the English classes…NOT!
It was an era of PBS-style dramas that explored little known conflicts among the classes – OK, who is kidding WHO? This was all classic sexploitation! It was a time when grindhouses existed just to showcase films like this…and with classic sexploitation posters like this one, how could they miss?
Let take a look at three classics of a bygone era…
The Naughty Stewardesses!
Yes, it’s EXACTLY the kind of film you expect – this wild look at the sex lives of women who fly for a living! Here is the trailer:
“The Naughty Stewardesses” was a classic 70’s-style sexploitation picture. Here is great trivia, courtesy of IMDB:
After seeing the huge profits that Hemisphere Pictures were making with the softporn German import “The Swinging Stewardesses”, producer Sam Sherman set out to find another like-minded foreign import. He was unable to find anything similar, so he produced “Naughty Stewardesses” with his longtime associate Al Adamson.
It was a huge hit, but the filming was anything but smooth. Star Richard Smedley’s then-wife Lana Wood furiously barged onto the film set when she believed that he was taking part in a porn film! Yes, that is Natalie Wood’s sister!
But this kind of movie was meant to be shown at drive-ins around the country, so it was all R-rated fun, with flahes of nudity and implied sexual situations…just enough sexy fun to stay on the right side of the law!
And while some of these films were sex comedies, here’s a film that featured lots of beautiful women – and one madman!
THE CENTERFOLD GIRLS!
You get the idea: here were the world’s most beautiful women all featured in one motion picture…
Yes, they are “The Centerfold Girls!” This classic film one originally had the tagline:
“The most beautiful girls in the world… Some are for loving… Some are for killing!”
Here’s the plot: A thin, geeky man wearing saddle shoes and an ill-fitting suit drags the nude body of a young woman along an otherwise empty beach. Soon a number of other beautiful women turn up dead. Nurses, students, stewardesses… what’s the common thread?
All were centerfold models for a popular men’s magazine, prey to a bloodthirsty psychotic with a straight razor – but in this kind of movie, what else would you expect!
This was a thriller that actually had strong performances and an interesting plot – a well done slasher film where the women eventually prevail – in fact, all of these movies delivered on their promise of flesh and fun…and also showcased female empowerment – even if some of it was naked – like this classic:
“The Swinging Cheerleaders!”
Classic Exploitation Director Jack Hill delivers again! Hill was a master at films that had beautiful women and tons of kick ass action, with a twisted sense of humor as well!
Here’s a quick summation of the plot: In order to write an article on how cheerleading demeans women, a reporter for a college newspaper infiltrates the cheerleading squad. While doing so, she uncovers unscrupulous dealings!
Cheryl ‘Rainbeaux’ Smith starred in this film – a young Actress who had a sad life and died too young…she also starred in Jack Hill’s sexploitation classic “Caged Heat”…
Director Hill also made a number of classic exploitation films, like “Foxy Brown” and “Coffy”, and you can read all about those classics right here!
https://johnrieber.com/2014/01/02/foxy-brown-cleopatra-jones-blaxploitations-kick-ass-women/
Even though these films were sold on tons of female nudity, all of the women were able to kick ass and overcome obnoxious men, so let’s celebrate a little female empowerment – high flying style!
Categories: 70's Cinema, Action Films, Blaxploitation!, Books / Media, Comedy Movies, Director Martin Scorsese, Exploitation films, Film Noir, Great Films, Grindhouse, Independent Cinema, London, Movies, Obscure Movies, Revenge Movies, Sexploitation Movies, Talent/Celebrities, Travel, Travel Adventures, Uncategorized
johnrieber 
I am a fan of Andrew Prine’s 70s horror movies but had not heard of The Centerfold Girls. Will have to track it down.
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A classic 70’s slasher film with strong performances and a surprisingly good direction for the genre! Thanks for the note!
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