The Night Hustlers

The Night Hustlers (1968)

** (out of 4)

The best thing about this Florida lensed sexploitation picture is the fact that it clocks in at just 57-minutes. The plot has a cop talking to a couple writers about his various missions out in the field where he took on everything from hippies to low junkies.

THE NIGHT HUSTLERS really doesn't have too much going for it because of how stupid is. The "plot" is just downright stupid but it doesn't stop there because none of it makes very much sense including why French accents are sometimes used throughout the picture. It also doesn't make much sense why we get a lounge act towards the end of the movie. Did the director really feel that men in raincoats would want to watch a poorly filmed and performed lounge act? If you're mainly looking for nudity then you're going to find some but I'd say, considering the genre, there's really not too much here. The highlight of the film is a blonde who gets invited to do a dance by a group of men who then fight over her. THE NIGHT HUSTLERS is a pretty boring film even though it lasts under a hour.

THE NIGHT HUSTLERS is only worth watching if you like low budget US oddities of the late '60s. This is a film that has production values on par with the output of H. G. Lewis from the decade, although it has far less plot and impact than that director's work. On the plus side it only clocks in at a little over an hour so it doesn't outstay its welcome too long.

The story involves a novelist with a horrendous French accent seeking inspiration for his latest work. To this end, a couple of vice cops sit at a table and we're treated to flashbacks from some of their more outlandish cases. The viewer is 'treated' to various story lines involving go-go dancers, buff guys trying to climb greased poles, transvestites, undercover female cops, and plenty more besides. There's even a song or two added to the mix.

The production values here are virtually non-existent and the whole film is simply a vehicle to get a number of young actresses naked. Whole minutes at a time are made up of a topless woman writhing with a telephone on a bed. There's a lot of naked dancing, a lot of wooden acting, and it's all very tame and harmless by modern standards. I watch these films to get a sense of the era in which they were made but THE NIGHT HUSTLERS doesn't really give much away.