Girls for Rent

Girls for Rent (1974)

** (out of 4)

Action flick from drive-in master Adamson about a crime boss (Kent Taylor) who breaks a woman (Georgina Spelvin) out of prison so that she can run his "girls for hire" business. The newly released woman sends a new girl out on a hit where she unknowingly kills a man, which scares her so she takes off running for Mexico. This leaves the boss and another woman (Rosalind Miles) to try and track her down. Considering some of the films Adamson made this one here actually isn't too bad and manages to be fairly well-made. The biggest problem is that it really lacks any good pacing or energy to make its 90-minute running time go by fast enough. There are many times throughout the film where you'll be watching a scene and wonder why you're watching it because it goes no where and in reality it adds nothing to the actual story. I'm going to guess that Adamson needed to expand the running time and this is the reason but no matter what the reason was it ends up hurting the film. The movie is pretty stupid from start to finish but there are enough silly moments to make it worth viewing. One such moment happens during a "high speed" car chase, which includes one of the cars being a Pinto. Another scene has Spelvin raping a retarded man before shooting him in the head. Being exploitation you can expect a fair amount of nudity by lovely young ladies who probably went to Hollywood expecting to become Monroe but instead find themselves being shown nude throughout the drive-ins in America. Spelvin is best known for her lead role in DEVIL IN MISS JONES and she isn't too bad here but then again she's not that good either. I will say she has one of the most non-threatening laughs in the history of bad guys giving disturbing laughs to look creepy. Miles was a pro at various blaxploitation flicks and she's without a question the most interesting thing here. This turned out to be Taylor's final film as he would retire from the business (or just simply got fed up that no one was offering him work except Adamson). GIRLS FROM RENT, on DVD as I SPIT ON YOUR CORPSE, isn't the greatest film ever made but it's certainly not as bad as some of the director's work. This movie wasn't made for the art crowd so only those wanting low-budget thrills should check it out.

Low-budget schlock director, Al Adamson & frequent collaborator, John D'Amato tell this story of Sandra Tate (adult movie star Georgina Spelvin of "Devil in Miss Jones" & "the Jade Pussycat" fame) a prisoner who escapes from custody during a cat-fight between the other female prisoners before she's picked up by Erica, a member of a crime syndicate who whisks her away to the head of said organization who promptly offers her a job which she promptly accepts. When the prostitute whom she hires to help eliminate her first assignment (a politician with a bad heart) bugs out and skips town for the border, Sandra & Erica are hot on her trail to tie up this loose end (no pun intended)

I'm not usually too found of Al Adamson helmed films (Doctor Dracula & Dracula Vs. Frankenstien are utterly abysmal), but compared to his other output, this picture is actually pretty good. Doesn't hurt that I like Georgina Spelvin and think she was an under-rated golden age adult star (speaking of which she plays a real piece of work here) The movie drags in parts and has some filler, but the dune buggy/car chase was pretty good and although the movie was far from perfect I didn't feel as if I wasted my time watching it.

Eye Candy: Sandy Carey & Tallie Cochrane get topless; Susan McIver and Georgina Spelvin both show T&A

My Grade: C-

Considering that the film has a score of 2.1 and it was made by Al Adamson, you'd expect the film to be a lot worse. Now I am NOT saying it was good--it really does suck. But the film isn't nearly as bad as I'd assume--and I definitely assume the worst when I see an Adamson film!! He definitely ranks in the top 10 of worst film directors of all time--along with such great "auteurs" as Ed Wood, Ted Mikels, Hershell Gordon Lewis, William Grefe, Ray Dennis Steckler and the like. If you don't believe me, try watching Adamson's Dracula VS. FRANKENSTEIN, HORROR OF THE BLOOD MONSTERS, HELL'S BLOODY DEVILS and FIVE BLOODY GRAVES (the only one I listed that I managed to rate as high as 2 and most of his films have overall ratings in the range of 1.5-2.5). He truly was a genius at creating garbage--and bad film fans like me enjoy laughing at the ineptitude of the man and his films. But, as I was saying, this film isn't nearly as bad as this list of dreck...though, naturally, it still is dreck! The film is about a team of two female assassins who use a prostitute to kill a man. THe prostitute has no idea she's being used when she slips a pill into the man's drink for the assassins. When the man then dies, the prostitute takes off for Mexico. But, the assassins' boss is a careful man and he orders the two to follow her and kill her--he wants no witnesses. The rest of the film is a cross-country journey to complete this hit.

At no point in the film is there any real excitement or thrills. The chases are amazingly low-speed, dull and filled with Ford Pinto vehicles (now THAT'S the perfect chase car!). As a result, the best the film can deliver is a mild break from the tedium. This break from the tedium also occurs when the ladies in the film inexplicably take off their clothes--often at the most inopportune and ridiculous moment. The worst example is the sick and degenerate scene involving one of the lady assassins raping a retarded guy and shooting him in the head during this! It's not funny but gross and even Adamson should have been ashamed of himself for this outrage. But, even with this sick touch, the film manages to entertain at times (particularly at the film's climax--no pun intended), though this is quite accidental. I'd score this one a 2 and because of the retarded rape scene, I DON'T recommend you see it--some things are better left unseen.

"Girls for Rent" is an example of sexploitation movies, so don't expect much from it. But still, one should not neglect the ill-conceived moves in the scenario. The film is full with illogical actions from every point of view. I'll save them for the viewer who will still want to watch the movie, but there's no way you try to shoot a stationary person from 30 yards, miss him, and then hit a speeding car and the man in it both times with two shots while driving along dirt road, barely staying in the bouncing car.

There are many other such moments in which you say to yourself "Ah, this is impossible!", "How did it turn out exactly like that?", "Is the hero really so stupid as to act so unwisely?", which spoils the impression of otherwise the good idea and the dynamic action.

Not being a tremendous fan of director Al Adamson, I watched this film for the first time and was pleasently surprised. The action is great, the sleaze-factor was high, and the three main women in the film are dynamite. And the ending! Man, what a shocker! Completley non-typical for this kind of drive-in movie. It's very surprising, and made my impression of the film even better.

The movie is cheesy, yes, but at a time when most movies made in Hollywood let you down, I SPIT ON YOUR CORPSE is a breath of fresh air. After all, the worst thing a movie can be is dull. And this movie certainly ain't.