The Swinging Cheerleaders (1974)

“They’re not the only thing swinging in this picture!”

That could have been on the poster, couldn’t it? A mid-1970s tagline for a mid-1970s movie. Whether or not those words raise a smile or a frown will probably dictate whether or not you’re going to enjoy this, as Jack Hill strikes again with a jaunty piece of sexploitation from 1974, now released on UK Blu-ray and DVD by Arrow Films.

Intrepid reporter Kate (Jo Johnston) goes undercover as a cheerleader as research for an article she’s writing on the exploitation of women in contemporary culture. She uncovers a scheme to fix games, has a relationship with one of the footballers, and helps her cheerleading colleagues when they end up in all kinds of exploitation trouble. 

Perhaps needless to say in a film with a title like this, none of the plot elements get in the way of the abundant nudity and sensational situations. A bit like a cross between VALLEY OF THE DOLLS and CONFESSIONS OF A WINDOW CLEANER, THE SWINGING CHEERLEADERS involves its leads in numerous amorous / melodramatic / sleazy situations, with the outcomes ranging from grindhouse unpleasantness to almost slapstick comedy. 

The movie benefits immensely from Jack Hill’s direction, which does its best to keep everything light and bouncy (and it is, on the whole) while coming through with the action scenes. The screenplay is credited to Jane Witherspoon and Betty Conklin, but apparently that’s just Jack Hill again (as Jane), along with co-writer David Kidd as Betty. “Betty” also wrote Bob Kelljan’s ACT OF VENGEANCE the same year. 

Arrow’s transfer of THE SWINGING CHEERLEADERS gives it far less of a grindhouse look than this picture has probably had in the past. Extras include a new commentary track from Jack Hill, as well as a new interview with the director. There are also archive interviews with Alfred Taylor (the DP) and another with Hill and Johnny Legend. You also get a Q&A with Jack Hill and actresses Colleen Camp and Rosanne Katon recorded at the New Beverly Cinema in 2012. 

While perhaps not as interesting as PIT STOP, or as gloriously entertaining as BIG DOLL HOUSE or Hill’s Pam Grier pictures, THE SWINGING CHEERLEADERS is still a cheerfully entertaining slice of political incorrectness from a time sufficiently long ago that it can now be regarded with interest if not nostalgia.

Jack Hill's THE SWINGING CHEERLEADERS is out on UK DVD and Blu-ray from Arrow Films on Monday 4th July 2016 

Blood Bath (1966)

“A box set of four films...sort of”

Sort of indeed. Fans of the wild and crazy world of 1960s exploitation cinema are likely to be the main / only audience for this latest smartly-presented Arrow double-disc Blu-ray release, which gives you four black and white films (OPERATION TITIAN, PORTRAIT IN TERROR, BLOOD BATH and TRACK OF THE VAMPIRE) spread over two discs. The peculiar ‘gimmick’ if you like, is that each of these films has footage common to all of them, as well as footage specific to each individual one, resulting in four movies different enough to warrant separate presentations, while not being sufficiently different to warrant individual releases.

Does that make sense? If not there’s one of Arrow’s splendid ‘visual essays’ to explain it all, narrated by the extremely knowledgeable Tim Lucas and based on a series of articles from his excellent Video Watchdog magazine. Most of these essays on Arrow releases last about twenty minutes. Lucas’ piece runs for over eighty, which give you an idea of how much explaining needs to be done.

So I’m not going to even try. What I am going to suggest is that if you’re a horror fan you tuck into this set by starting off with the title film BLOOD BATH (on Disc 2), directed by Jack Hill and Stephanie Rothman (and some other people who don’t get credited). BLOOD BATH stars William Campbell as an artist who also happens to be a vampire haunted by the spirit of a girl his ancestor had burned. I think. The film doesn’t make a lot of (if any) sense but it does feature some stunningly atmospheric shots - including at least one splendidly weird bit on a beach that’s reminiscent of a similar shot in Rothman’s subsequent THE VELVET VAMPIRE (1971) - some scenes with ‘beat artists’ (including Sid Haig) that are immensely entertaining, and a weird climax of crumbly wax-covered corpses that’s worth the price of admission. Fans of Ronald Stein’s horror film scores (like me) will have fun spotting cuts from THE HAUNTED PALACE, PREMATURE BURIAL and others on the ‘library’ soundtrack. BLOOD BATH only runs for 61 minutes but if you like this sort of thing it’s well worth your time.

The other film on Disc 2 is TRACK OF THE VAMPIRE, which is kind of the TV version of BLOOD BATH. Some of the teasy nudity and bits of bloodiness have been cut but a lot of extra footage has been added which makes it the longer of the two films here, even if it’s not the more interesting. Disc two also has the extras, including talking head pieces with director Jack Hill and actor Sid Haig (is he wearing a hospital bracelet?) and the previously mentioned piece by Tim Lucas.

Disc 1 has OPERATION TITIAN, which is the film that started it all off. I mention it down here because it’s not terribly interesting, except to show you where a lot of BLOOD BATH’s footage originated. It’s a fairly anaemic crime thriller about picture smuggling with William Campbell and Patrick Magee (criminally not in BLOOD BATH except for a blink-and-you’ll-miss him bit right at the end). OPERATION TITIAN was recut and rescored to create PORTRAIT IN TERROR, which actually does move better and has an ending that’s hysterical enough to make it worth a watch. 

You also get a stills gallery, a fold-out poster, a reversible sleeve and a booklet with new writing on the film. I said above that Arrow’s BLOOD BATH package is really only for people who are going to be fascinated (as I was and still am) by how these four films came to be. That’s not to do it down, however. This is a fine and carefully put together package that archives for posterity a remarkable, and remarkably complex, slice of exploitation obscurity. Arrow absolutely deserve some sort of award for this one. 

BLOOD BATH and its three friends are out on Blu-ray in an Arrow box set on Monday 30th May 2016

Pit Stop (1967)

Arrow Films continues in its valuable work of resurrecting, dusting down and sprucing up neglected cult movies that are well worth the effort of watching with PIT STOP. Originally called THE WINNER (and that’s what we have on the title card here) the movie was renamed for the usual reasons - to avoid confusion with another, entirely different, bigger budget but similarly titled picture, and to ensure maximum exploitation value of the finished product.

I had never heard of PIT STOP before receiving this release. Its director, Jack Hill, is one of the great unsung heroes of American exploitation cinema, being responsible for quirky hits like the marvellous SPIDER BABY, and THE BIG DOLL HOUSE, which remains for some the ultimate Women In Prison film. He also ensured exploitation immortality for Pam Grier by knowing exactly what to do with her in her starring vehicles COFFY and FOXY BROWN.

PIT STOP is a movie about stock-car racing. As far as financier Roger Corman was concerned, that was all it really needed to be about - that, and the hero winning. What makes Hill such a treasure is that he agreed to that but decided that in his film the hero would win but lose his soul.

Which is exactly what happens. Rick Bowman (Richard Davalos, looking a bit like a mid-career Val Kilmer trying to impersonate James Dean) gets rescued from jail by sleazy racing car promoter Grant Willard (Brian Donlevy, not looking quite so the worse for martinis as he did in Don Sharp’s CURSE OF THE FLY two years earlier). Willard wants Bowman to drive in something called the Figure 8 - a lunatic, and obviously very real, race that involves the lanes crossing over one another at a crucial point. Oh, and Bowman’s main rival is going to be Sid Haig (playing Hawk Sidney). We all know anyone sane would run for the hills but Bowman has something to prove, even if it means he’s going to lose his friends, his girl (Beverly Washburn from SPIDER BABY) and his self respect doing it.

Arrow Films presents PIT STOP in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1. This new transfer was approved and supervised by the director and the image is bright and clean with minimal print damage. Extras include a brand new commentary track from Jack Hill moderated by Calum Waddell. Both acquit themselves admirably here - Waddell’s questioning style is pleasantly convivial and Hill responds accordingly, talking not just about PIT STOP but giving us an overview of his career at the time.

We also get three short featurettes, all talking head pieces featuring Jack Hill, Sid Haig and Roger Corman respectively talking about the making of the film. There’s a restoration demonstration so you can see what a great job Arrow has done with this, and the usual trailer, booklet and newly commissioned artwork.

PIT STOP belongs in that interesting sub-genre of race car pictures that try to do something a little more with the subject matter than just show vehicles banging into one another (although there’s plenty of that as well). It doesn’t blur the line between exploitation and art as effectively as movies like Monte Hellman’s TWO LANE BLACKTOP, but if you’re a fan of the slightly off-kilter, and especially if you're a fan of the work of Jack Hill, Arrow’s new Blu-ray transfer of PIT STOP is an essential purchase.

Arrow Films released Jack Hill's PIT STOP on double disc Blu-ray and DVD on 7th April 2014