The late Al Adamson looms tall among the illustrious figures of the ’70s drive-in heydays. As the son of Hollywood’s Victor Adamson (a.k.a. Denver Dixon) and Delores Booth he was literally born into show business. But it wasn’t until his early 30s that Adamson began to make his mark as an independent filmmaker. During those early days he partnered with friend Samuel M. Sherman and together they hopscotched through the popular genres of the moment. Making movies to entertain the nation’s then thriving drive-in audiences. Biker films like Satan’s Sadists and Angels’ Wild Women. Mad-scientist pictures like Brain of Blood and Dracula vs. Frankenstein. Sexploitation movies like Blazing Stewardesses and Nurse Sherri. These were flicks designed for profit, but produced with tangible skill and style. Which is why the director of more than 25 B-films was a lasting success.
Adamson married his favorite starlet Regina Carrol and they shared 20 happy years together before she succumbed to cancer in 1992. Three years later, tragedy struck again, when Adamson was murdered and entombed beneath his hot tub by an employee who then attempted to assume the filmmaker’s financial life. Adamson was 66. He is well remembered by his many friends and by fans the world over.
Satan’s Sadists
Widely declared the Citizen Kane of biker flicks and deservedly so. Ordinary folk are brutalized by a gang of seven riders who’ve named themselves after the Prince of Darkness and try their darndest to live up to the rep. First, they rob a guy and take turns diddling his girlfriend, although she doesn’t seem to MIND all that much. After killing them both, it’s time for dinner, so the gang rumbles into a secluded roadside cafe to fill their stomachs and raise even more hell. In so doing, the gang’s malevolent leader Anchor (subtly acted by Russ Tamblyn) executes two diners and the owner for sassing him. The cafe’s dingy waitress (Jackie Taylor) and her Marine hero (Scott Brady) are able to overpower their attackers and escape into the desert where they’re hunted by the homicidal motorcycle maniacs for the rest of the picture.
Notables: Four breasts. 15 corpses. Waitress licking. Reefer madness. Scalding coffee to the face. Force feeding. Rattlesnake necktie. Russian roulette.
Quotables: Tracy has goals, "I don’t want to be a waitress all my life. I want to be somebody … I’ve got to get to a big city and meet somebody important and get married." Anchor knows how to let a gal down easy, "Love? What do you know about love? You’re good for one thing and one thing only. And you know something, now that I think about it, you’re not even so good for that anymore. You ain’t nothing anymore to me baby … you’re just nothing but a piece of dead meat."
Time codes: Acid reads from "Pot: How to Plant, Cultivate, Harvest, Cure, Prepare — Enjoy" (8:42). Fallen biker babe Gina (Regina Carrol) tries to seduce her man with a table dance (23:55). Anchor gets heavy, man (32:35). "We secretly laced their coffee with LSD" (1:07:10).
Dracula vs. Frankenstein
How’s THAT for a title!? If only the flick were as interesting. Still, it’s the swan song of screen legends Lon Chaney Jr. and J. Carrol Naish who both went on to their final casting call upstairs. Naish is Dr. Durea, a descendent of the infamous Dr. Frankenstein, who secretly experiments with human blood for dubious reasons — while also running a carnival sideshow in his spare time. Chaney is the doctor’s mute assistant Groton (think Of Mice & Men‘s Lenny) who serves as both lab rat and specimen procurer. Meanwhile, a costume-jewelry obsessed Count Dracula (Zandor Vorkov) digs up the original Frankenstein monster and offers it to Durea as part of some convoluted plot to rule the world. It’s all very confusing, especially when Cleavage Queen Regina Carrol comes looking for her missing sister (procured with an axe by Groton), but winds up tripping out on LSD and falling for a slimy beach slug played by Anthony Eisley. Yes, there IS a battle royal as the title so sheepishly implies, which should be especially amusing to fans of Monty Python and the Holy Grail. That is if you can SEE anything, because the scene’s so dark it looks like Adamson forgot to take the lense cap off. Keep an eye peeled for the legendary Forrest J. Ackerman as doomed Dr. Beaumont.
Notables: Two breasts. 18 corpses. Neck chomping. Hippie protesters. Surfing montage. Hypnotic stares. Gratuitous time-lapse sequence. Angry midget (the incomparable Angelo Rossitto).
Quotables: Bad news spreads quickly, "They found a guy chopped up down at Rocky Point. He was all bloody in bits and pieces. They never found his girlfriend, though. A guy can’t make out in peace anymore! Man, it’s a real bummer." When he isn’t trying to score, Mike can be downright philosophical, "How do you recognize madness? Of all the aspects of a man, madness can be the most impossible to observe."
Time codes: Babe gets head lopped off with axe (5:40). Mr. Adamson’s cameo (8:00). Russ Tamblyn serves up more trippy coffee (28:30). "IT’S ALIVE!!!" (34:30). Cop runs out of bullets and uses pistol as club (55:35). Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1:15:50).
Blood of Ghastly Horror
OK, pay attention. This one’s tricky. In 1964, Adamson made a jewelry heist picture called Echo of Terror that was soon recut into Psycho a Go-Go (1965) as a star vehicle for aspiring singer Tracey Robbins. Years later, as part of a television deal, Adamson shot additional footage and The Man with the Synthetic Brain was excreted. Having gone to all that trouble, the flick was also released in theaters as — drumroll, please — Blood of Ghastly Horror. How it works is this, we open with a zombie snapping necks like Pixy Stix and some homicide detectives who try to sort out the mess. One of the detectives rubs his chin thoughtfully, and we flashback to Echo of Terror for 20 minutes. Somewhere in the middle, we flashback even further for some mad scientist stuff with the immortal John Carradine who puts a transistor radio, or some such, into a catatonic Vietnam vet’s brainpan. As a result, Roy Morton tragically loses his personality and slides into an electronic crush, kill and destroy mode. He becomes a crime world enforcer where we eventually catch back up with him at that jewelry heist where the bag of loot gets lost and he starts turning people inside out (literally) to find the goods. But don’t get too comfortable with him, because we flash forward again and a revenge plot boils up to make sense of that zombie junk from the first of the flick. Sorta.
Notables: No breasts. 15 corpses. Gratuitous ransom note. Message written in blood. Severed head in a box. Scissor murder.
Quotables: Joe’s one mean dude, "Look, you don’t know this guy! He gets his kicks out of HURTING people!"
Time codes: Shot of the Jerry Lewis restaurant (10:48). Adamson gets gunned down (11:50). Carradine’s big mad-scientist scene (26:30). Regina Carrol zombies out (1:20:20).
Angels’ Wild Women
This promises to be a rough and tumble look at biker babes, but Adamson really never delivers the goods. But that may have never been his intention, as he’s got the soulful leader of a motorcycle gang (Ross Hagen) fist fighting with his brother over a chick, which is then followed by a love montage. Things get somewhat more interesting when all the boy bikers leave their women folk behind to blaze off and play drinking games, race cycles and whiz on each other. The gals pass the time by whupping up on a pair of rapists, and later reverse roles and force themselves on a man. They also manage to run amiss with Johnny Law. But it’s when they wander into a commune run by a hippie named King (William Bonner) that all the peace and love turns deadly. Seems King is actually running a marijuana farm and he’ll slaughter everyone he has to in order to keep his secret — including our starlets.
Notables: Six breasts. Six corpses. Gratuitous Nazis. Multiple brawls. Cigarette burn to the hand. Motorcycle acrobatics. The ol’ handful-of-sand to the eyes gag. Gratuitous urination.
Quotables: He doth protest too much, "Poontang is Poontang, but these sex orgies is unnatural!" This gal is stoned, "Look at those eyes. She didn’t get that from reading her Bible."
Time codes: Wait a minute, is that Charles Napier as Rapist #2 (2:40)!? Terri has her way with a farm boy, while her friends hold him down (28:40). Adamson liked to put objects — like bushes, fences, trees — between the actors and his camera (53:15). An homage to Hell’s Angels ’69 (1:21:05).
The Naughty Stewardesses
When Debbie (Connie Hoffman) arrives in free-lovin’ California from Smallville, she’s revolted by the brazen ways of her stewardess roomies. Like blue-eyed sexpot Margie (Donna Desmond) who is way ahead of her time with some progressive grooming habits. And the very first night the girls throw a hedonistic birthday bash complete with cold-cut sandwiches and a nekkid dude slathered in whipped cream in place of the traditional cake and candles routine. The birthday girl DOES blow something out, however. Nothing much happens, but sorta does, not unlike a fruitless foray into reality TV. Debbie gets herself mixed up with a photographer named Cal (Richard Smedley) who apparently moonlights as a creepazoid stalker. This drives our heroine into the arms of geezer playboy Ben Brewster (Robert Livingston) who pretends — poorly — he ain’t angling toward getting into her drawers. By then, though, she’s loosened up quite a bit anyway. After a foray into the burgeoning porn scene via the set of "Locked Loins," the picture jerks its wheel in an all-new, bizarro direction with an ill-conceived kidnapping, self-affirming rape sequence and other wackiness. CineSchlockers should stay tuned for Retro-Seduction Cinema’s Blazing Stewardesses release. No word, though, on Stewardess School, the 1987 reemergence of the genre starring Ralph Malph of "Happy Days."
Notables: Eight breasts. Two corpses. Hitchhiking. Gratuitous shower scene. Knitting. Budding romance montage. Road rage. Gratuitous food fight. Nekkid photo session. Pool-side striptease. Hare Krishnas. One foot chase. Bimbo tossing.
Quotables: The sexual liberation of Debbie … "How small town can I be? Imagine! I’m so provincial that the thought of making love to a naked man in front of strangers just makes me sick!" … later … "I feel so free. Perhaps by taking off my clothes I took my mask off too" … and finally … "Your hands are warm and I can feel what’s on your mind. You’ve got wild ideas." In contrast, Maggie’s always been at peace with her sexuality, "Life to me is one big orgasm. Getting stronger and stronger. I guess that’s why I meet so many men."
Time codes: Crew member’s kid gets an eyeful (6:55). Maggie has her nethers shaved by a gal pal before a night on the town (15:00). Originator of the Blue Man group (31:08). Shutterbugs get all the girls (46:30). Glimpse into the seedy world of underground porn (58:08).
I Spit on Your Corpse
Originally conceived as Girls for Rent — a thematic sequel to Women for Sale — this film roared from script to screen in just 60 days. Pornstar Georgina Spelvin stars as Sandra, a ruthless con busted out of a Mexican prison by the syndicate to murder a politician who’s outlived his usefulness. She dupes the geezer’s mistress into poisoning him mid-diddle. Horrified by what’s happened, Donna (the oh-so gorgeous Susan McIve) skedaddles for Mexico in her Pinto. She’s pursued into the desert by Sandra and fellow hit-gal Erica (Rosalind Miles) who must silence the no longer trustworthy witness. We slide into very rewarding cat-and-mouse territory, with the killers just steps behind lovely Donna while she endures further torments like having her car stolen and being kidnapped by rednecks. Spelvin’s character is truly sadistic, which is shockingly evidenced in a scene toward the end of the flick where she brutally redefines coitus interruptus.
Notables: Eight breasts. Eight corpses. Cat fighting. Topless kung fu. Multiple diddling. Star gazing. Car chase with explosion. Multiple foot chases.
Quotables: Dirty ol’ H.R. (Robert Livingston) wants Donna to, ahem, date his boy, "You’ve been around lady. I can tell. After all, what’s one more loaf in the oven?" Sandra quizzes Ben on the facts of life, "Don’t you know what you’ve got down there in those pants, honey?" Donna’s story overwhelms Chuck, "Murder and prostitution!? That’s a lot to lay on a guy!"
Time codes: Members of female chain gang attempt to scratch each other’s eyes out (6:15). Mikel James appears as the deep-tissue masseuse (15:38). Regina Carrol‘s leggy cameo (20:46). Donna attempts to coax Ben into manhood (53:00). Sandra has better luck with the kid (1:08:30).
Black Heat
Surely the most pedestrian of drive-in king Al Adamson‘s dalliances in blaxploitation. This meandering crime story chronicles an international drugs-for-guns scheme seasoned by sleazy Vegas hijinks and NFL running back Timothy Brown‘s quest, as bare-knuckled copper Kicks Carter, to avenge his partner’s gangland murder. Doesn’t get more stock than that, but with typical Adamson panache, there’s a grittier subplot featuring Jana Bellan as an addicted gambler who bets her bod, loses and is gang raped by a rough bunch of her poker cronies.
Notables: Two breasts. 14 corpses. Gratuitous rooftop shootout. Skinny dipping. One Regina Carrol piano solo. Hiney biting. Mini-sledge to the gut. Hand hacking. Gratuitous Flip Wilson reference.
Quotable: Al Richardson shines as an undercover brother, "Low profile? I’ll turn sideways, Jack, and you won’t even see my black ass!"
Nurse Sherri
A religious cult has gathered in the California desert to fast and pray over the body of a decaying brother at the behest of Reanhauer their kooky spiritual leader (Bill Roy). After days of futile attempts to summon a miracle, Reanhauer clutches his heart and collapses in front of his flock of mouth-breathers. He’s rushed into surgery where he croaks on the operating table surrounded by soon-to-be-doomed doctors. Reany’s malevolent spirit then takes a fancy to Nurse Sherri (Jill Jacobson) and follows her home where she diddles away the stress of the day with doctor boyfriend Peter (Geoffrey Land). But when the doc’s called away, Sherri is left to her nekkid slumber, and things get especially wacky. A primitive green glob animated by Bob LeBar spills into the room, slimes its way onto the bed, engulfs Sherri’s supple body and has its way with her while she writhes in terror. Through this lustful act, the evil Reanhauer possesses Sherri and begins using her bod to exact his revenge against the know-it-all doctors who’d laughed off his refusal of their treatment. Her boyfriend gets all huffy and slightly suspicious when she takes to using a guttural speaking voice, but being a bit of a chauvinist, he tries to dismiss her as merely having hysterical "female" problems. Reanhauer’s con buddy (J.C. Wells) is really the first to figure out what’s going on, which spawns a lot of zany FX scenes like when the ghost flings objects around Stevens’ apartment until its completely trashed. CineSchlockers may have encountered this sucker under one of its many other aliases including Black Voodoo — meant to capitalize on the blaxpolitation craze. The poster art even gave Sherri an afro makeover. Now THAT’S scary!
Notables: Two breasts. Six corpses. One bat. Football talk. Pitch fork to the back. Grave robbing. Boozing. Sponge bath. Car chase with explosion. Gratuitous double-exposure effects. Bodies hurled into a furnace.
Quotables: Cultists chant over rotting corpse, "Rise! William! Rise!" Street-smart thug won’t be hustled, "Don’t try and be showing any of that crap to me, Reanhauer. You can fool your high-class Beverly Hills bitches with astrological chants and seances, but as far as I’m concerned, you can take your pentagrams and SHOVE IT!" Sherri tries to cool Dr. Romeo, "Go take a shower in formaldehyde." Peter attempts to quiz an overly friendly nurse, "Beth, you want to put Ed’s stethoscope back in his pants? I’d like to talk to you for a minute." Weirdo cult leader knows how the woo the babes, "Don’t be afraid. Take my hand, come with me, Sherri. I’ll introduce you to the bliss that lies beyond the borders of hell."
Time codes: First appearance of Sherri Martin (14:42). Animated evil spirit enters our starlet’s body through wholly carnal means (20:15). Sherri speaks in a growling man’s voice (42:42). Hand pops out of the ground like a certain other film (1:20:15). An ode to Norman Bates (1:27:05).