Scum of the Earth

"Sandy Sinclair" (Sandra Sinclair) is a pretty blonde who, for unspecified reasons, feels forced to model in the nude for a photographer named "Harmon Johnson" (William Kerwin). Likewise, Harmon also feels somewhat trapped into photographing her because another man by the name of "Ajax" (Craig Maudslay Jr.) has threatened to destroy his studio if he doesn't cooperate. However, since both Sandy and Harmon are getting paid for their efforts, they reluctantly continue. Then one day, Sandy is told by the overall boss, "Mr. Lang" (Lawrence J. Aberwood), that she can essentially retire provided that she finds her replacement. She then recommends an attractive teenager by the name of "Kim Sherwood" (Allison Louise Downe) who is currently in high school but needs money for college in the fall. At first, she is told that the pictures will be relatively modest. However, as she continues, each session becomes more and more risqué to the point that she soon finds herself being blackmailed by another accomplice named "Larry" (Mal Arnold) to pose entirely nude. Fearing that her father might find out, she does as she is told, which then results in even further degradation from both Larry and Ajax. Now, rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it, I will just say that this was a relatively mild "exploitation" picture which leaves much to the imagination. Of course, the fact that this was produced in the early '60s probably has much to do with that. The acting was okay, but in any case, this was a very basic type of film which certainly won't appeal to all viewers. That said, I recommend it for mature audiences only.

One of the earliest of "roughie" films of the 60s, this cheap Florida film about how nudie photographers lure innocent cuties to shed their clothes and morals is pretty dull with only brief flashes of H.G. Lewis' brand of low-grade brilliance. Acting that ranges from overwrought to amateurish plus static direction keeps this from being a good film but a vicious belt-whipping scene keeps it from being too timid with its seedy subject matter. Look for much of the cast of Lewis' classic film BLOOD FEAST in this.

An innocent girl Kim (Allison Louise Downe) is forced to pose topless to pay for her college tuition.

The script is actually pretty good (except for a few clunky lines) and the direction is VERY good--for Herschell Gordon Lewis. The man made a lot of infamous blood and gore films of the 1960s--they were badly acted, directed and scripted but the plentiful gore kept you watching. But with this film something happened--he photographed in B&W and he actually wrote a fairly good script. Also there are a few competently directed sequences. Still it's really a bad film because of one thing--the acting. It's just AWFUL!!!!! It's just beyond belief how bad everybody is in the film (especially Downe). Also, despite the subject matter, there is no nudity. They come close but this would probably get by with a PG-13 rating today. So, a pretty good script and direction ruined by lousy acting. I'm sure some people are reading this and thinking I've lost my mind but seriously--HG Lewis made a fairly serious, good film!

One hilarious mistake--at one point Kim gets a letter addressed to her in Detroit MI--yet all the exterior shots show palm trees that only grow in CA!!!!

A naive and innocent teenage girl (Allison Louise Downe) is blackmailed into modeling in the nude for a photographer who is in league with a teenage gang whose boss illegally sells photos of teenage girls being abused and degraded.

First of all, let's get it out of the way: the father (Edward Mann) is possibly the worst actor who ever lived. Downe, on the other hand, does a great job, and it is interesting that she transitioned from nude victim to one of Lewis' longest collaborators.

Allmovie wrote, "Unintentionally funny and poorly photographed, this film certainly has its moments for connoisseurs of bad cinema, but others will find it tawdry and dull." This may be true, but to put it in the context of H. G. Lewis, it is actually one of his better-made movies and the film quality has held up well. Most of his films have awful prints, but not this one. Even the score seems pretty decent.

Scum Of The Earth, is about a young girl named Kim, who is asked to do portraits for a photographer named Harmon. Kim, finds out how much she will be making and it will be enough to send her to college so she agrees to model for Harmon. Soon Harmon tells her that he wants her to pose topless for the photos and that she will be paid more than double what she was making before. Kim, is scared but agrees to do it. Kim, then releases she doesn't like what she has gotten into and the boss of these photo shoots named Lang, won't let her leave and soon Kim, finds out she is in for a lot of trouble. Scum Of The Earth, is written and directed by cult filmmaker Herschell Gordon Lewis, who is best known for his gory horror films such as Blood Feast (and this film stars a lot of the cast of Blood Feast) but this film is not a horror. It instead is a drama about an illegal pornography ring. I'am a big fan of Herschell Gordon Lewis's low budget B horror films and I like his non horror movies as well. They aren't the best looking or acted films but they are always guaranteed to entertain and Scum Of The Earth does that. The film is compelling and I wanted to see how the story would turn out and the film got more intriguing as it went along. I would've preferred if the film were perhaps a little longer but I did like what I saw and was entertained. Another entertaining B film from the master of gore Herschell Gordon Lewis.