Are You Missing Some Good Old Fashioned “Hillbilly” Cinema?
I know what you are thinking: with award season upon us, this is certainly an Oscar contender! And it has a rich past – with other classic “hillbilly” movies like this!
Child Brides In The Ozarks!
OK then, this is one crazy genre of film! Don’t worry, the “child brides” are clearly of legal age – but in the early days of exploitation, this was racy stuff! Here are some classic examples of “hicksploitation!”
Welcome To Hicksploitation!
I love this definition! Hicksploitation is “a genre of exploitation film relying on stereotypical depictions of rural whites of the American South and Appalachia”!
In an era when “Deliverance” made everyone afraid to go in the woods, these movies exploited a sub-culture full of “gorgeous girls that set the Ozarks on fire!”
Let’s look at this classic poster again:
“See How They Live! See How They Love!”
Well, I just might take you up on that! How can you misunderstand the intent of this movie? Take a look at the trailer:
And it’s in “Flaming Hillbilly Color!”
“Flaming Hillbilly Color!” What’s NOT to love? In an era of “Hillbilly Handfishing” and “Honey Boo Boo’s family situation, there seems to be a Hillbilly revival!
Here are some more classics from that era:
“Country Cuzzins!” A VERY Close Family!
No way to misunderstand what they are saying here – just look at the poster!
There’s a strong “Farmer’s Daughter” vibe going through all of these films: the innocent farm girl who is ready to be “tainted” by a big city feller!
And this might be the “Citizen Kane” of hicksploitaiton!
Sassy Sue!
See what I mean? Come on down to the farm for some fun! Producer Harry Novak was a legend for his lowest-common denominator approach to film making, which resulted in movies like these playing in drive-in theaters all over the country to an audience of very “excitable” teen boys!
Sharon Kelly is a drive-in movie Queen, and where she is take an outdoor nude bath with a friend, or just taking her clothes off for the entire film, she is mesmerizing!
And if Sue wasn’t “Sassy” enough, then it’s time to meet “The Pigkeepers Daughter!”
She Brought A New Meaning To The Phrase “Driving A Hard Bargain!”
I find these movie posters fascinating – see how lewd they are, with obvious come ons and double entendres – literally anything they could think of is included – these films played drive-ins all across the country – again, for teenage boys willing to part with their allowance for a chance to glimpse a naked girl!
Here is the VERY “NSFW” trailer for “The Pigkeepers Daughter!”
Peggy Church lets it all hang out in this wild wild movie!
This genre of “sexploitation” has been captured for us to enjoy forever thanks to the great work by SomethingWeird Video, which lovingly restores and releases these movies to a nation eager to “head down south!”
Here are some other funny looking titles that jumped on the “hicksploitation” bandwagon:
“Gator Bait” Indeed!
One of the genre’s most popular entries was “Gator Bait!” Claudia Jennings starred in this classic hicksploitaiton film – Jennings was Playboy Magazine’s Playmate Of The Year in 1970…
and she parlayed that into an acting career, including “Gator Bait” – shot in ten days!
In general, you needed scantily-clad women who could kick ass! And there were plenty of films that could offer that up, like this one, also starring Jennings!
Eager movie Producers took advantage of whatever genre of film was popular at the time, which is how you got movies like this!
Yes, when haunted houses were the rage, why not throw in a few hillbillies? Hilarious, and hilariously BAD!
And it wasn’t all naked women: there was a decade full of “good ‘ol boy” action films as well, with many starring Burt Reynolds!
Check out some of his classics of the genre by clicking on my story here:
You can't take the Scotland out of a girl... Reel entertainment reviews and more from that Darlin Husband’s wee Scottish, square-eyed and film-mad wife living in Finland.
johnrieber 
Genius. Always a great read.
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Thanks for reading and posting a comment! Hicksploitation forever!
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