The Roommates

It's a shame that Arthur Marks' THE ROOMMATES is for the most part verrrrry hard to come by because it's one of his best! It's a hell of a lot better than CENTERFOLD GIRLS, that's for sure, and while it's no BONNIE'S KIDS, it is a unique blend of beautiful girls and 70s drive-in elements. While the four leading ladies only share one or two scenes together, this is typical of the four-independent-and-beautiful-twentysomethings subgenre of the drive-in. New World's NURSES and TEACHERS films, as well as THE STEWARDESSES and Al Adamson's rip-offs, featured beautiful girls who were friends, but their individual stories were followed more closely. The social politics of the time (the sexual revolution, women's lib) also play heavily in character development, as in the aforementioned films.

Marki Bey, who would soon become SUGAR HILL before becoming a featured player on "Starsky and Hutch", gives probably her finest performance as a smirking librarian who makes no apologies when she jumps from one man to another who catches her fancy. Pat Woodell, besides contributing a little nudity in a shower scene, is given little to do despite her star billing. She was the only established star of the cast, yet she's obviously not the character Marks was most interested in. Laurie Rose had the most varied career of the girls, from David Friedman skinflicks (ADULT VERSION OF JEKYLL AND HIDE) to Lee Frost sleaze (POLICEWOMEN) to Filipino action pics (THE HOT BOX). Here she is given probably her most interesting and sensitive character. Today she is a professional bellydancer and doesn't look on her past too highly, but she should at least be proud of her work in this film. Roberta Collins is the most vivacious of the quartet, and as evident in most of her films, is an adept comedienne who totally endears herself to the audience. How could anyone watching her films NOT fall in love with her? One of the strongest actresses of the 70s drive-in, she also handles dramatic scenes astonishingly well. Unbelievably, she never graduated to the bigger and better Hollywood roles she so richly deserved.

Also on-hand are two more popular drive-in beauties. Christina Hart (THE STEWARDESSES, JOHNNY FIRECLOUD) is a seemingly innocent cousin of Woodell's who turns out to be a conniving little sexpot who plans on having the swingingest summer of her life. Connie Strickland, the blonde bombshell from BUMMER!, appears in a small role as a vacationing water-skier who is the killer's first victim. Strickland didn't get to star in too many films, usually in small character roles; Marks would use her again in CENTERFOLD GIRLS. Look fast for Uschi Digart in an orgy scene and Albert Cole (THE INCREDIBLE TWO-HEADED TRANSPLANT) as a biker!! ROOMMATES is a little slow-going. The first 15 minutes set-up the four best friends, who have lots of dialogue discussing their personal politics and establishing the two goofball comediennes (Marki Bey and Roberta Collins) and the more serious lasses (Pat Woodell and Laurie Rose). Following a wild party where Rose beats a jock in a sit-up contest, the girls take off for their summer vacation at a lovely resort. And all of a sudden, a charming comedy in the vein of SUMMER SCHOOL TEACHERS becomes a twisted killing-spree-whodunit with beautiful girls falling dead left and right (very much like the Sebastians' THE SINGLE GIRLS from the same year, or New World's NIGHT CALL NURSES and STUDENT TEACHERS). All four gals manage to pair up with respective male partners in-between the murders, and the film successfully jumps back and forth between these two very different parts.

I think The Hoyk's review below is a little off; Tarantino probably never saw this film (which was never available on home video and is still near impossible to find) so its influence on him is zero. Hopefully some DVD company will come along to rescue this one from obscurity and release it with appreciative extras with Marks and the six featured actresses and the tender loving care it deserves. It's not a four-star, solid 10 exploitation feature, but there is still plenty here to keep fans of 70s drive-in fare happy.

Okay, right off the bat, this is not one of the better exploitation movies, even by the reliable standards of Arthur Marks as director. (See DETROIT 9000 or BONNIE'S KIDS or his numerous TV show episodes for evidence of his good work) But it's strangely endearing, despite the fact that it takes nearly half an hour for the actual plot of the movie to begin. Four very lovely, vivacious, and unrealistically loquacious college girls (five, if you count the visiting cousin) are off to their summer jobs. Despite the title, we rarely see any actual footage of any of these girls co-habitating. Then again, Bette Davis loved to point out that there were no whales in THE WHALES OF AUGUST, so what's in a title? And naturally, since this is the swingin' '70's, all those jobs put them in the vicinity of eligible men. So for the first half hour, it plays like a reasonably harmless, fluffy, "what I did last summer" romp. Then, two reels in, things take a curve, because people start getting killed. And by the rigid movie law governing murder mysteries, somebody, be it one of the babes or one of the beaus, is responsible. Of course, that little detail doesn't get in the way of the girls' continuing drive to party. In short, by our standards of irony, this movie is review-proof: you're going to be watching this for hot girls and archaic sexual mores, and you'll get 'em. I kinda wonder if Quentin Tarantino has seen this film and is a fan of it. He did acquire Marks' DETROIT 9000 for reissue, and his script for FROM DUSK TILL DAWN also starts out as one kind of movie and changes into another. I wouldn't be surprised if my hunch turned out correct.

I mostly agree with The Hoyt's review except where he says initially that "this is not a very good movie" and that Arthur Marks had "low standards." Marks was, IMO, an underrated exploitation master and "The Roommates," while perhaps not as good overall as "Bonnie's Kids" or some of his other films, is nonetheless a great, lost drive-in classic that screams the 70's.

The 70s hair. The clothes. The beauty. The music. The drama. The sex. The murder. The comedy.

It's all there, in ample proportions. If only my summer jobs during college were half as exciting (LOL).

Entertaining and worth seeking out at any cost for fans of the genre.

Carla (Marki Bey), Heather (Pat Woodell), Beth (Roberta Collins), and Brea (Laurie Rose) are four absolutely lovely young co-eds who head to the community of Lake Arrowhead for some R & R. The story mostly consists of their amorous adventures, while the activities of a psycho on the prowl form a major subplot.

Written by director Arthur Marks and actor John Durren (who plays the small role of Socks the biker), this is good, straightforward exploitation entertainment that has its cake and eats it too. By that, this viewer means that Marks & Durren combine some enlightened sexual politics - the four main characters are independent women who know their own minds - with diversions of the far more lurid kind. The script has some surprising wit going for it, although there are some pretty silly lines as well. The assets of the female cast are stressed whenever the opportunity presents itself. Also, our actresses are engaging and intelligent as well as being fine eye candy. Bey, in particular, shines.

Many of the men in this series of episodes are not exactly portrayed in the most flattering light. Lee (Ben Pfeiffer) is especially sleazy, the kind of guy who has no more need for a woman once he's gotten what he wants from her. David Moses is very likable as Mike, the rural cop who becomes instantly smitten with Carla (you can't blame him).

This is a very nicely shot movie that is simply gorgeous in more ways than one; Harry J. May performed the cinematography duties.

Look for appearances by Connie Strickland as a victim of the killer, and Juanita Brown & Uschi Digard in the orgy scene.

Seven out of 10.

I came across a blu ray double feature with this and A Woman For All Men (havent watched that 1 yet) and went in without knowing anything about the film, outside of the description on the back of the box. Overall the film looks remarkable, with vibrant colors, and good cinematography. Cast is all adequate-good as well. The plot is where things stumble, with a general incoherent sense about it, and far too many long takes of girls just awkwardly dancing to the 70s tunes (the music itself, while cheesy, was fun). Once things pick up, at about an hour in, it is definitely a fun ride, and sadly the violent finale is somewhat more poignant today, however the film as a whole was entertaining, and thus I give it a passable 6/10.

Tl:dr: looks good, cast is quality, jiggling ladies, and a wack ass story. Thumbs up, recommended.