Night Call Nurses

Classic 70's low budget with very witty writing. Armitage is a genius. Very much ahead of its time in terms of the dialog concerning politics, pharmaceuticals and personal psychology. A cult classic in that sense. The character Barbara is gorgeous and the opening sequence was ripped off and used in Constantine, the latest Keanu Reeves quasi occult film. If you can get past the 70's cheese, there is a very clever and rewarding piece of writing underneath, if you don't think much or cant read between lines you'll concur with the other review. The film moves all over the place and one of the main story lines seams to get resolved in a flash. There is a classic use of voice overs to cut around a lame blonde beauty performance, but it works and is a good lesson in salvage editing for the student. The strength is in the writing of this film, seems there may have been some fluff added by the others involved and if you get the DVD, the original trailers will have you rolling on the floor.

You have 3 friends who work at a psych ward in a hospital. One deals with a trucker who has a trip out, one who wants to help out a revolutionary, and one who gets to be a guinea pig. They have a close bond working in the hospital. Each one that have a dream of their own. No one says no to what needs to be done. They work without a strife. Lots of sexual encounters and the energy is played out in the film. It's like a skin flick, with a little bit of eroticism. Just tame. A classic for the collection. 2.5 out of 5 stars

Just recently started to view some of the work of the classic Roger Corman B movies and I must say that this 70's flick "Night Call Nurses" is plenty of fun. And true this is not your typical hospital of helping caring nurses, that is in the way you would think. As these gals are the type that will bend over backwards and break the rules to have a feel good fun time. These ladies help the desperate and deranged it's like giving into all of their patients intensive needs. You name it this film has it all from car chases, prison escapes,explosions, to strange late night love making scenes. These are the type of nurses that any man would want to check into the hospital for! Roger was clearly different a rule breaker a guy who made film for fun and with this picture it shows! Overall this is one feel good guilt pleasure flick.

Sure, "Night Call Nurses" is essentially a relic of the typical product thrust upon drive-in theatres in the 1970s. There isn't much of a plot, just a whole lot of nonsense about three nurses and their exploits. There is a lot of nudity, a little humor, some slasher-film elements and a truck driver who does psychedelic drugs. Pretty ridiculous stuff overall, but not without some amusing parts. (I was scratching my head, however, with the "human machine" segment; it was interesting yet pointless).

"Night Call Nurses" was merely one entry in the New World Films "Nurses" cycle which included "Candy Stripe Nurses" and the original "Student Nurses." While those films had a more coherent plot than this one, it is difficult to criticize this one for being so episodic and meandering because the film delivers what it promises: nude women. There are plenty here, no complaints in that category.

And George Armitage, who went on to make the cult classic "Miami Blues," infused some wit and social commentary into the script which are also present in his own foray as writer-director into the "Nurses" cycle, "Private Duty Nurses."

The music is all pseudo-rock and gutter-guitar blues.

Overall, "Night Call Nurses" is a mindless time-waster, but as far as time-wasting goes you could do far worse.

This very episodic little exploitation flick from the '70's has three nurses of the psych ward of a local hospital as they go about their duties which revolve around dealing with flashers, suicides, horny drug-taking cowboys, ex-con black prisoners, and death threats among other things. Competently directed by Jonathan Kaplan (whom would go on to direct one of the best Blacksploitation films of the era, with "Truck Turner), this is not tightly plotted in the least bit and feels more of an excuse to get the ladies topless, which is not a detriment to the movie in the least. If you're a fan of the kitchy '70s and mostly innocent exploitation then you could do a lot worse than this mindless fluff.

My Grade: C

DVD Extras: Theatrical Trailer; and Trailers for "the Young Nurses" & "Student Nurses" (the latter two featuring nudity)

Eye Candy: Patty Byrne, Mittie Lawrence, Lynne Guthrie, Dixie Peabody, & Alana Stewart all get topless; Barbara Keene supplies the T&A