The Centerfold Girls

The Centerfold Girls is a low budget thriller about a serial killer who hunts down women. Not exactly an original idea but the lead performance of Andrew Prine gives the film a bit more merit. In fact, the cast is full of B and Z rated actors (like Aldo Ray who plays an incredibly nasty character) which make things a bit more interesting. What's unusual about the filmn is it's harsh tone. Some of the things that take place on screen are pretty brutal even by today's standards. One wonders what audiences thought of the movie back in 1974. This is one film that women's groups have a right to protest about.

This is the Grindhouse feature that Quentin Tarantino tried to make but failed.

Director John Peyser had a solid filmography for episodic television going back to the 1950s.

Here he turns is hand on a low budget sleazy horror thriller with equal aplomb. He just knew to give the audience lots of bare breasted women.

Andrew Prine is tall creepy Clement Dunne a religious fanatic who is turned on by the naked women who pose for men's magazine but also repulsed by these brazen hussies. Dunne wants to help these centrefolds out which means slashing their throats.

The film has three chapters each featuring a centerfold of the month. The women disrobe easily. The men are all scumbags willing to rape at the drop of a hat.

It has all the ingredients of 1970s Grindhouse but Peyser brings an artistic quality based on his production experience. The acting is better and there is a great scene at the end as Dunne gets his comeuppance.

I really enjoyed Arthur Marks' drive-in movie "Bonnie's Kids", so I decided to take a look at the movie he did right after it, "The Centerfold Girls". While I would not label the movie a drive-in classic like "Bonnie's Kids", I have to admit that the movie does deliver a lot of nice sleaze. The women in the movie are always taking off their clothes, and there are a number of sexual situations. The movie does have some additional interest. Andrew Prine does well as the serial killer, coming across as believably deranged and awkward like I think many crazy people are in real life. Also interesting is that the movie isn't one story, but three stories connected by Prine's character. This was a wise choice I think, because I think if any of the stories been feature length there would have been some dull spots. As they are, they all feel at an appropriate length. Well worth a look if you are interested in 1970s sleazy drive-in cinema.

This is a special exploitation film. There are no possible doubt around the intention of the creators (you have as much sleaze and nudity as you could ask for), but still the film manages to stand out from other similar works thanks to: fist, being a kind of anthology movie, with the common threat of a serial killer that prays on beautiful and successful women, but showing the story of each woman kind of independently. The other thing that makes the movie quite attractive in this subgenre, is its low budget and naturalistic attitude, that the natural grittiness of 70s cinema enhanced even more. From the first sequence of the burial of a body without any music or dialogues, the mood sets in immediately.

A puritanical psycho (Andrew Prine) targets women on the coast of the Los Angeles area who have appeared as centerfold models (Jaime Lyn Bauer, Jennifer Ashley and Tiffany Bolling), as well as anyone who gets in the way.

"The Centerfold Girls" (1974) is a crime thriller in the tradition of "Corruption" (1968) with the first act borrowing from "Psycho." The soon-to-come "The Toolbox Murders" was obviously inspired by it; "Island of Blood" (1982) as well. Needless to say, it was a precursor to the slasher genre and innovatively features the final girl trope.

There are several lovely ladies with quite a bit of top nudity (so stay away if that offends you). While everyone has their favorites, I favor Janet Wood (Linda) and Ruthy Ross (Glory), as far as looks go. Speaking of which, Francine York is a sharp redhead, but her character (Melissa) is such a cold biyatch, it's impossible to warm up to her. Blonde Kitty Carl (Sandi) is worth a mention.

The three-act structure is taken to the extreme with each act introducing a new set of characters linked to the prey, except for the antagonist, of course. The theme is depressing in that there are no noble men in SoCal with every male being motivated by either lust or misogyny. If a guy APPEARS good, it's just a pretense; and his lower nature will soon manifest.

The movie runs about 1 hour, 32 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles (Aloha Apts. & Topanga Canyon) and Malibu (Paradise Cove & Pacific Coast Highway).

GRADE: B-