Satan in High Heels

The movie is well enough done, and for what it was, a kind of cinema noire sexploitation, one of the better ones, even though it is now distributed by odd-ball outlets . Myles is a very competent actress,but her generous figure has been her worst enemy , as far as being taken seriously. She got a similar rap in 'The Phoenix City Story". But Myes forte is as a sensuous singer and she can hold her own with O'Day and the rest. The most interesting thing about this movie is the liberal use fetishism. An alternate title was straight out of Sacher-Masoch, " Venus in Furs" Meg Myles has a shapely foot and the director and the cameraman know it and pander to the fetish in several scenes. and the skillful Sado Masochistic leather slant is handled nicely, as well.; I've seen it bungled badly in some recent high budget stuff of recent years. I think the supporting cast was good, and credible with special kudos for Grayson Hall. I knew the club scene in Baltimore and NY in the 50 's and this flick captures it better than most.

Released by the "Something Weird Video" DVD label and promoted as a campy (s)exploitation flick, "Satan In High Heels" turns out to be, in reality, a slow, talky drama with touches of film noir (especially at the end) and a generally low-key tone apart from the musical numbers. Meg Myles is attractive (although she looks somewhat older than her age - 28 at the time) and has a throaty voice that makes her a good choice for the role of a cynical, sarcastic femme fatale: she clearly knows and enjoys her power over men, but when she meets one whom she is actually beginning to develop honest feelings for, will she be able to get him? All the performances are fair-to-good, and Sabrina, in a minor role, has a figure that will make your eyes pop out. The film has some lingerie shots and even some nudity, but it's very discreet and if you want more explicit stuff you can find it in the DVD extras! Not something I would watch twice in its entirety, but an interesting experiment nonetheless. (**)

Satan IN HIGH HEELS treads the same "noirish" territory as Beverly Michaels' 1953 WICKED WOMAN -so much so it could be considered an unintended upscale remake. Stacey Kane ruthlessly uses men and women alike to rise from Midwest carnival burlesque queen to Manhattan jazz club diva but, like BLAST OF SILENCE's Frankie Bono (made the same year on location in NYC), a semblance of tender feelings can prove disastrous. Tired of bumping and grinding on the midway, Stacey steals her junkie ex-husband's bankroll and heads for New York and a new lease on life. On the plane she seduces a man who introduces her to the lesbian manager of a Greenwich Village jazz club where she's hired on the spot after a smoky audition and the voluptuous vixen wastes no time ensnaring the club's wealthy owner in her sexual web as well. Things get complicated when his teenage son also falls for her but Stacey, forced to choose between love and money, sees a way to have it all when her hell-bent for revenge ex-husband reappears brandishing a knife...

The early 60s NYC jazz club scene provides an atmospheric background for the rise and fall of a wicked woman with the lesbian club manager (Grayson Hall from DARK SHADOWS fame) and gay pianist lending an air of "adult" authenticity. Pneumatic pin-up queen Meg Myles as the predatory Stacey makes a memorable sociopath and gets to growl "Deadlier Than The Male" decked out in leather breeches and riding crop. As a compliment to the breast and leather fetishes, British sexbomb Sabrina is also on hand as the club's star attraction and she warbles as well. What's not to like?

Del Tenney fans MUST see this depiction of early-60's club life in which he plays Paul, a bisexual pianist (!). It's pretty hard to believe that this suave leading man later directed THE HORROR OF PARTY BEACH and I EAT YOUR SKIN. The main character though is Stacey, played to the bitchiest by sexy, husky-voiced Meg Myles. Stacey moves inner-city with her junky boyfriend and gets a job as a burlesque entertainer. There, she gets catty with Pepe (Grayson Hall), her female boss for wanting her own way and becomes involved in a romantic triangle with Pepe's son and husband.

The music was by jazz composer, Mundell Lowe who's album TV ACTION JAZZ has become a rare collector's item over the years. One of the songs from that album (a nice version of 'Naked City') as been issued on to CRIME JAZZ, a CD compilation avalible from Rhino. The music in SATAN IN HIGH HEELS is pretty mundane jazzamaspazz but I'm after the the original soundtrack (from Parker Records) just for one great song sung by Meg Myles (in leather clothes and a whip!), 'More Deadly Than the Male'. Also starring in the film is Sabrina, something of a poor man's Jane Mansfield, who sings a really bad number before Stacey's act. I was amazed to know that Sabrina was a real sensation down here in Oz! She was down here regularly starring in television commercials (one was for Amcal oil-cubes!) and was featured in lots of newsreel footage (always holding her poodle, just like Jane) and magazines. I even found reference to her in Peter Doyle's AMAZE YOU FRIENDS, a crime novel set in Sydney during the 1950's.

Aside from all these fascinating facts, SATAN IN HIGH HEELS is a fairly enjoyable little film with lots of class. It also remains a decent examination of sleazy, smokey inner-city burlesque clubs which will never again be seen or experieced.

Gritty, glum, moody, downbeat, depressing---all the elements that make black & white 60's sexploitation films based in New York City so much fun on a rainy afternoon. Superstacked sexbomb model and singer Meg Myles is perfect. Grayson Hall is great. Why Hollywood never utilized Myles' talents always puzzled me. Intrator lucked out casting her as a bitchy, cold-blooded user who gives an inch and takes a mile from everyone. He did a good job although his camera focuses more on Myles' feet than her famous 42-inches. Through sheer happenstance, she winds up at a Manhattan cabaret that's inhabited by a nest of spidery characters as jaded, rotten and nasty as she is. They try to mold her to their specifications. Her rebellion is futile because she wants to become the star of the club. Another 50's-60's bullet-bra icon, British blonde Sabrina, makes a rare film appearance as another club entertainer.