Cinq filles de rue

Jack Hill's 'Switchblade Sisters' is a wild ride that will have you hooked from the get go! It's everything I hoped Ted V. Mikels disappointing 'The Doll Squad' was going to be - a trashy, campy slice of 1970s exploitation that manages to be self-parodic AND take its subject matter seriously simultaneously. Happily, 'Switchblade Sisters' is so good you'd think you'd dreamed it yourself.

Robbie Lee plays Lace the Debs' leader, and fulfills all the promise she showed in Roger Corman's 'Big Bad Mama' the previous year. She's cute but deadly, and why she never became a major star is hard to fathom. Most of the other girls, particularly gang newcomer Maggie (Joanne Nail), and Lace's former second in command Patch (Monica Gayle), are also sexy and dangerous, but none show the sheer charisma of Lee's Lace, surely up there with Tura Satana, Pam Grier or Raven de la Croix as a proto-feminist icon of the drive-in era.

'Switchblade Sister' is trash par excellence. You will both laugh at and laugh with the Dagger Debs and their rival gang, the disco-dudded Crabs, who could easily walk off this movie and straight into 'The Warriors', another surreal gang movie, directed by another Hill, Walter. Both Hill's deserve their place in psychotronic history!

This glorious slice of seventies exploitation is reputed to be one of Quentin Tarantino's favourite films and it's easy to see why though even Tarantino would be hard-pressed to come up with anything this mad or this subversive; it even manages to bring Maoist politics into the mix. It also manages to transcend the 'so-bad-it's-good' concept to exist in a netherworld all of its own. As you might guess from the title, this is a feminist gang-movie with the boys taking very much a back seat. Of course, 'acting' is non-existent but director Jack Hill seems to relish his casts limitations, wracking everything up to a Spinal Tap 11. Okay, it's certainly not for everyone but for those who can take it this is perversely enjoyable.

The inner-city, prone to violence, crime, drugs, even sex. The top gang that rules the area are the Silver Daggers. With them are their female counterparts, the Dagger Debs lead by Lace (Robbie Lee). One day, they meet a loner name Maggie (Joanne Nail), who holds her own. After a night in juvenile hall, Maggie joins the ranks and gains the trust of Lace. However, Lace's friend Patch is suspicious of Maggie. As Maggie began to to know the ways of the Dagger Debs, she makes a move on Lace's boyfriend Dominic (Asher Brauner), who would not take the role of a father when he hears about Lace's pregnancy. More to it, Maggie would take in the reins of leading the Dagger Debs following a failed ambush at a roller rink. The men are ousted by Maggie, and they go form the Dagger Debs, to the Jezebels. They even join a militant gang to help boost the power of the group. When Lace re cooperates from her attack, she joins the group, only to suspect Maggie as a traitor. I like the scene where Lace beats up Maggie, and tortures her by sticking a cigarette butt in her bellybutton. Then came the showdown. Classic scene. The gang gains a new leader, while Patch is left behind. Goes to show there is no loyalty among gangs. Power shifts, and questionable leadership can destroy an organization. The Jezebels have not only ousted the men, but Lace as well, without her knowledge. They consider her a weak link in the gang. 4 out of 5 stars.

This film is pretty much a second-rate Russ Meyer film (in fact, it was written by a F.X. Maier...coincidence??;) The dialogue isn't as clever, nor as tongue-in-cheek, and the acting is definitely second best. but on the other hand, Quentin Tarantino (who re-released it in '97 through Rolling Thunder Pictures) was right when he said in USA Today `There's more action is Sisters than in Twister…' The film is fast-paced, full of thrills (gotta love those low-budget, campy 70s films where everyone loses their shirt eventually...) and most of all, fun! Aside from the few scenes that just seem utterly pointless, and aside from Robbie Lee's incessant whining, it's a great film to watch; full of giggles and smiles.

As long as one doesn't take this film seriously, or compare it too closely to Faster Pussycat of Ultra-Vixens, it will be enjoyable to anyone looking for a cheezy laugh or three. And the prison scene is *priceless*.If I were to take it seriously it wouldn't rate higher than a five, but all things considered, 7/10.

As in all thing's this was not made for everyone, it was intended to latch onto a genre that makes money, however, I think Jack Hill has done some great work with this, if one has an open mind, they just cant help but feel for the characters as the story develops, it's interesting the whole way thru, with lots of humor violence & sex involved.