The Swinging Barmaids

Four young women by the names of "Boo Boo" (Dyanne Thorne), "Marie" (Renie Radich), "Jenny" (Laura Hippe) and "Susie" (Katie Saylor) all work as waitresses at a club in downtown Los Angeles. One night a man named "Tom" (Bruce Watson) comes in and has a small argument with Boo Boo. Later that night he follows Boo Boo home and kills her. Afterward he takes pictures of his handiwork. When the police arrive "Lt. Harry White" (William Smith) is informed that similar murders have occurred in both Miami and Chicago and that it's probable that the killer isn't quite finished in Los Angeles either. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk ruining it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this was a fairly typical movie produced during the 70's. Although I liked the casting of William Smith as the detective in charge and the presence of the aforementioned ladies, I must admit that the characters themselves lacked sufficient development and seemed rather shallow. In any case, I thought the movie was certainly adequate and I have rated it accordingly.

This surprising little piece of trashy exploitation from Gus Trikonis (mainly known for his Baywatch & Hercules episodes) is a rare find but a really fun viewing !

The action takes place in L.A., during the seventies, as some "honest" and very busty girls struggle to survive while working in a crooked club called the "Swing-a-Ling". They walk around the place in bunny suits, serving drinks to the customers and getting their numerous exposed body parts grabbed-a-plenty. They complain a lot, but when they go home, their places don't look as if they were underpaid...

One evening some bearded guy comes in and does not like what he sees, being a highly moral and religious man. He decides it's his duty to wipe these nasty gals from the face of the earth and then proceeds to at least try. And the fun starts.

The fight scenes between "the killer" and the girls are effective and realistic, and always manage to rip their clothes in the right spots. The movie itself is pretty short, lacks moral and is overall a highly enjoyable ride if you like pointless violence and a bit of scenaristic nonsense. Dyanne Thorne, unforgettable as Ilsa, makes her appearance here, and she's right at home among the well endowed cast.

As usual, the word is see it... if you can find it !

"The Swinging Barmaids" is a prototypic example of a '70s drive-in exploitation movie that is considered pure & unwatchable amateur trash by 99% of cinema-loving audiences and sheer cult/grindhouse brilliance by the remaining 1% of weirdos. Usually I'm a proud and devoted member of the latter group, but I have to admit that this particular flick didn't quite work for me due to the enormously implausible script and the rather unpleasant depiction of nudity. To clarify, I dig bare and voluptuous breasts as much as every other healthy bloke, but the titular barmaids in this movie don't voluntarily expose them during their working hours but only involuntarily when their shirts are violently torn to pieces by the maniacal killer. Apart from the opening sequences, which take place in the girls' dressing room, they keep their tops on during their jobs as they are waitresses instead of strippers and the Swing-A- Ling club apparently isn't a sex club but an entertainment bar! I do understand the frustration of most customers, though, because all women in this bar are quite buxom and the stand- up comedy that is provided on stage is pretty weak. Still, one blond-haired and bearded customer thinks the whole place and its staff is too immoral and assaults waitress Boo-Boo. He also follows her home later that night and, even though Boo-Boo puts up quite a fight, kills her in her apartment. Poor Boo-Boo's misogynist death is quite the turning point in the film, for two reasons. First of all Boo-Boo is played by the one and only Dyanne Thorne of the infamous sleaze franchise Ilsa (She-Wolf of the SS, Harem Keeper of the Oil Sheiks, Tigress of Siberia and – unofficially – the Wicked Warden) and the film loses a lot of its cult charisma since she dies so early in the film. Secondly, and more importantly even, the script turns totally bonkers and inconceivable after the first murder. The killer, Tom, is caught in the act by no less than three of Boo-Boo's friends/roommates but still remains unidentified. Then, simply by shaving off his beard and dying his hair, he successfully applies for a job as bouncer in the Swing-A-Long and gets immediately included in the bar's circle of trust. In spite of having tough copper Harry White on his tail, Tom makes more victims, including the bar owner's wife (who apparently just has to wait like all the other girls) and becomes obsessed with the cute Jenny who works as a scantily clad waitress in a bar even though her fiancée is a successful doctor; another highly plausible plot detail. "The Swinging Barmaids" is very similar to the "The Centerfold Girls" released one year earlier, but the script and characters are a less compelling while the murders are more repulsive and vile. Director Gus Trikonis made a handful more and better exploitation/drive-in flicks, most notably "The Evil" and "Moonshine County Express", before settling with more regular TV-work like "Baywatch" and "Viper".

A psycho killer is stalking the waitresses of the "Swing-a-Ling Club". While his identity is no mystery to the viewers, the dense characters and the police are a different story. So will the killer run out of the stuck-up and nasty waitresses to murder and move on to the nice girl (Laura Hippe) about to marry her doctor boyfriend, or will the police catch him in time? (To tell you the truth, I've already forgotten). This movie is HIGHLY implausible. The deranged, moralistic killer starts out as a customer before following his first victim (Dyanne Thorne) home and killing her. He is caught in the act, however, by her three dimwitted co-worker/roommates (whose full names are subsequently reported on TV as witnesses to the crime!). So what does he do? Why, he shaves off his beard, dyes his hair black, and goes back to the SAME bar to work as a bartender/bounce, naturally--and NOBODY notices!

Okay, believability isn't necessarily all that important in a movie like this, but even as sexploitation this falls down. Even though all these actresses are VERY impressively built for the pre-silicone era, they're not actually strippers, but only very scantily clad "waitresses". The actual entertainment at the club is provided by an unfunny male comedian and one transvestite dancer(!). No wonder the poor male clientèle of the club can't keep their hands off the girls' boobs and bums. Bully for them I guess, but the problem for the viewer is that (with the exception of one lovemaking scene between the heroine and her boyfriend) pretty much all the female nudity occurs WHILE the various girls are being (pretty realistically) murdered. Of course, fans of these kinds of movies like sex and violence, but not necessarily for the same reason, and not at the EXACT same time. This was the first movie of the director, Gus Trikonis, and he would get a lot better in the future, but he really fumbles the exploitation elements here.

The murders are pretty harrowing at least. And the movie has a good 70's grindhouse feel to it (Quentin Tarantino is reportedly a fan). It would be a great companion piece to the similar "roughie" porno/proto-slasher film "The Centerfold Girls". The psychotic killer in this one isn't as good as Andrew Prine who starred in that flick (but then few 70's "psycho" actors were). You do get an early appearance from Dyanne "Ilsa" Thorne (who I can take or leave personally), and the leading cop is played by perennial 70's tough guy William Smith (even if it's far from his best role). This is a pretty flawed movie, but I still might recommend it to die-hard 70's trash aficionados.

Bruce Watson ('The Banana Splits Adventure Hour') is front and centre in this enjoyable trash offering, playing Tom, a pathetic, unhinged man who murders cocktail waitresses. Picking up his trail is a rumpled detective, Lt. White, played by the great screen tough guy William Smith.

Written by talented Roger Corman associate Charles Griffith ("The Little Shop of Horrors"), and directed by exploitation expert Gus Trikonis ("Moonshine County Express"), this is generally quite agreeable. It's an entertaining story with no filler, the expected amounts of sex (and nudity) and violence, and an array of solid performances. The attack scenes are pretty intense, and there's a reasonably exciting vehicle chase to cap off the film. (In his first outing as a killer, Tom is in disguise, and takes an assortment of photos of his victim. This aspect is dropped afterwards, presumably because our killer realizes that he can't continue with the same modus operandi.)

The movie benefits from engaging chemistry between our three appealing female leads - Laura Hippe ("Mausoleum") as the upbeat Jenny, Katie Taylor ("Invasion of the Bee Girls") as the sassy Susie, and Renie Radich ("Three the Hard Way") as the easygoing Marie. Top-billed Watson does quite well as the psycho, who puts up a "normal" front and even gets a job at the bar as dishwasher / bouncer, giving him increased access to potential victims. Co-starring are Dyanne "Ilsa" Thorne as an early victim, Zitto Kazann ("Waterworld") as bar owner Zitto, John Alderman ("New Years' Evil") as a detective, Milt Kogan ("Dr. Black, Mr. Hyde") as Jenny's dad, and Judith Roberts ("Eraserhead") as her mom. And Smith, of course, adds a touch of cool as the detective looking to solve these violent crimes.

Overall, this is quite absorbing and well worth a viewing for any fan of 70s trash.

Eight out of 10.