The Head Mistress

The Head Mistress (1968)

** (out of 4)

Marsha Jordan (under the name Vanessa Van Dyke) plays the title character, a strong-willed woman running a school for girls when she hires Mario (Victor Brandt) under the impression that he's deaf and dumb. Before long the mistress is seducing the young girls and she eventually finds out that Mario is doing the same.

THE HEAD MISTRESS comes from producer David F. Friedman and director Byron Mabe who has previously worked together on A SMELL OF HONEY, A SWALLOW OF BRINE, SHE FREAK and would later do SPACE THING and THE BIG SNATCH. They certainly made some interesting films together and this one could be called that as well. Look, if you're wanting some heavy drama or soapy melodrama then you're not going to find it here. This movie was produced to show off naked bodies in various sexual situations and on that level it's entertaining.

I thought Jordan was very good in the lead role. She doesn't have any dialogue as the film was shot silent so more times than not she's using her acting ability to show the toughness of this character. I thought she was quite good in the film and certainly looked quite nice. There are several young ladies who strip down so fans of sexploitation will enjoy that. There are some pretty campy scenes as well including a rape (?) scene where the mistress is attacked by a couple guys with one of them going straight for her feet!

THE HEAD MISTRESS isn't going to win any awards but if you're a fan of the genre then it's worth watching.