The Student Nurses

In about 1984 this movie was re-released under the name Young L.A. Nurses. It's the same movie with the title changed.

This movie is rated at about 5 our of 10. I think the people doing the rating are being very generous. It's pretty bad.

Still, the girls are pretty. And I guess there is somewhat of a story.

First off, nope, this NOT any type of sexploitation movie. And it's not a feminist film neither. It's a is a movie from the female perspective, refreshing, since it doesn't feature women as accessories to Men-Dealing-With-Stuff, as most films still are. Secondly, the acting and production values are above par, as can be seen in the crowd shots of Barbara Leigh. Thirdly, the moments of nudity are very sparse and modest, so this is a great seventies movie, from the first high quality period of American film making, in the vein of "Lolly-Madonna", "They shoot horses don't they?", Butch Cassidy", "The Parallax View" and "Zabriskie Point". It was like the director thought: "I wanna tell a story from the female PoV, bút it's still a man's world, so it'll only happen if I can lure them in with a sexploitative title.....hence "The Student Nurses" The plot is simply the life and times of four young women, at a turning point in their life's. It's also very contemporary, so you will get a good idea of how life was back then. It seems police brutality was even worse back then, but the police wasn't militarized yet.

8/10 The Melancholic Alcoholic.

As usual, I only bought this film off ebay because Richard Rust is in it...as Les, the motorcycle vegan drug dealer, which makes not much sense, but one of the characters asked him how he can be a drug dealer AND a vegan and he had a pretty good answer. I was not disappointed, once again AS USUAL because he was not only HANDSOME but interesting in this movie, which although not an excellent film, is mildly amusing. I'm pretty sure I DID see it in the drive in, and was not surprised to see it called a Drive In Movie here and there on the internet. I have to admit I laughed out loud a few times. That's worth something! And truthfully, since there were a lot of movies like this one at that time, it has to be considered a genre! I would actually recommend this movie to some people.

This first movie in a set of five "Nurses" films, starts with four young women living together and working at a local hospital with the expectation of becoming nurses in the near future. Even though "Lynn" (Brioni Farrell) is almost raped by a patient she maintains her compassionate attitude towards those less fortunate and as a result eventually becomes involved with a militant activist which seriously threatens her career. "Sharon" (Elaine Giftos) also has great empathy and this leads her to develop feelings for a terminally ill patient. "Phred" (Karen Carlson) on the other hand is more self-involved and knows exactly what she wants. Unfortunately, she has a strict set of rules which may tend to cause obstacles for her. Last, but not least, is "Priscilla" (Barbara Leigh) who I think is the prettiest of them all but unlike Phred seems much more Bohemian and as a result she finds herself getting mixed up with a drug dealer who cares only about himself. This causes problems, not just for her, but for her three roommates as well. At any rate, rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was an interesting "sexploitation film" which manages to portray a period in American history which was both odd and short-lived. Additionally, although it may have been marketed as being a bit risqué when it first came out the fact is that, while there is certainly some nudity, this film is relatively tame by today's standards. Now that's not to say that this film is appropriate for a general television audience by any means. However, those expecting something really explicit or on the cutting edge may be somewhat disappointed. I rate it as about average and recommend it to those who enjoy films related to the counter-culture movement during the 60's or drive-in exploitation films in general. Followed a year later by "Private Duty Nurses".

I was in Grade 9 when this movie came out in 1970. I always remembered it, as the ads in the local paper featured a pouty young nurse with her uniform falling off her shoulders. Pretty hot stuff for a junior high school student in Western Canada in 1970! Naturally, I couldn't go see it, as it was rated "restricted adult", and in the years after the ardour faded and I never got around to viewing it until recently.

Thanks to good ol' cable and their willingness to screen almost anything, I finally got a chance to view this 'hot' artifact of my adolesence. The result, a chance to drift down memory lane and view a classic early 70's youth flic.

The plot needs not be repeated here, as the title basically says it all. The student nurses are young, attractive, rebellious, and, of course, sexually liberated. Various turgid plot devices keep things going between romps in bed. Sundry nude scenes help remind us how actresses looked prior to the era of breast implants. Everybody is groovy, everything is cool, except when 'the man' representing adult authority rears his ugly head.

In spite of the above, though, I couldn't help but like this film. Perhaps it's my age, but it personifies an era that seems so much more innocent and fun than the slasher flics or hard edged teenage exploitation films of today. Soft drugs, unprotected sex, and a basic 'nice' approach to life personifies the earnest strivings of the Student Nurses, and captures a side of the late '60's and early '70's that actually did exist for a few years. I was too young to participate, but I witnessed it, and like many boomers, I mourn it's passing.

See the flic if you get a chance. If you're over 40, it'll bring back memories. If you're under 30, you'll get a chance to see the warmer, softer side of the 60's that your parents remember.

5 out of 10 for nostalgia.