Traite des blanches

I have to agree with the other reviewers on here that I would probably like this more if I had not seen Vice Squad before this. Streetwalking is very similar to Vice Squad, but is not as gripping or as well done. The guy who plays the pimp Duke in this film is soft compared to Ram Rod. I must admit though that Wings Hauser's performance as Ram Rod is hard to beat. Even so, this film is definitely not bad at all and is pretty good for what it is. This Roger Corman production is pretty realistic and gritty and is a pretty downbeat depiction of the life of a prostitute. I thought the leading lady Melissa Leo was stunning and sympathetic as the ill fated cookie and her performance was pretty good. Actually the actiing was fairly good across the board. Anthony Fargas had a small, but very memorable role as a pimp. In my opinion, he should have had a bigger part, but made the best of the limited screen time he had here. Overall Streetwalking is a pretty decent watch, but is missing something that could have made this great.

A forgotten gem. Melissa Leo is awesome. And Leon is the smoothest pimp ever put on screen.

If you're looking for a film about "the life" -- there are better.

But if you're looking for a moody piece that will make you feel nostalgic for 80's NYC, I can't think of many better.

This movie is a good depiction of life on the streets as prostitution is often glorified in other movies (eg Pretty Woman). This movie shows the grim reality and gruesomeness of a street walking prostitute. It shows the rough relationship between Pimp and Hooker. There are many scences in this movie that are funny too! One scene is where the pimp Duke comes back to the apartment looking for Cookie who got him abducted. Here in the apartment he rips the whole place apart and acts like a madman - quite funny! Then another scene shows Cookie and another prostitute forcing a client to act like a cow as they humiliate him. All in All, not a movie of the modern day, but still worth a watch. The action packed chase at the end is really adrenalizing as you feel as if you are in the movie too! Not to forget lots of violence in this film.

The film isn't bad. The problem is you've seen it all before. "Vice Squad" (1982), "Angel" (1984), "Boulevard" (1994). Nothing new here. On top of being a rehash of every pimps and ho's movie out there, Dale Midkiff as the pimp comes across as a "lite" version of Wings Hauser's "Ramrod" in "Vice Squad". One big plus for "Streetwalkin" is Julie Newmar being cast as the street wise matron hooker. Other than that, the movie follows the standard script, new girl comes to town, meets mister charming, gets sucked into the "life', finds out the reality, reacts to the brutality. If you haven't seen "Vice Squad" then you might appreciate "Streetwalkin" a bit more, otherwise this is pretty tame stuff compared to "Wings" outrageous portrayal as the brutal pimp "Ramrod". - MERK

This starts off like a movie of the week, then turns into a pimp slasher movie. It's a bit all over the place, with some over the top acting, but it's trashy and weird enough that it's worth a watch. Julie Newmar seems to be on a different planet though.