Bad Girls Go to Hell (1965)

User Rating:

5.5/10   

Director:

Doris Wishman

Writer:

Doris Wishman (writer)

Release Date:

16 May 1969 (West Germany)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Possessed with sex, they know no shame!

Plot:

After hubby Ted goes to work, Ellen putters around the apartment in her nightgown cleaning up. When she takes the trash out...

Plot Keywords:

Rape | Janitor | Female Director | Prostitution | Roughie

Cast

Gigi Darlene	...	Meg Kelton / Ellen Green
George La Rocque	...	Husband who rapes Meg
Sam Stewart	...	Ed Bains
Gertrude Cross	...	Mrs. Thorne (as Sandee Norman)
Alan Feinstein	...	Ted Kelton (as Alan Yorke)
Barnard L. Sackett	...	Tom (as Bernard L. Sankett)
Darlene Bennett	...	Tracy / Della
Marlene Starr	...	Wife who rents Meg's room
Harold Key	...	Janitor

Runtime:

65 min | USA:71 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

West Germany:18

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Juri Productions

Goofs:

Continuity: When Meg is walking down the staircase to see the janitor, she is wearing open-toed heels. However, she is wearing closed-toe heels in the janitor's apartment.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Bad Girls in the Movies (1986)

A rarity, an exploitation flick as good as it's title!

Many drive-in films of the 50s and 60s had great titles but dull films attached to them (i.e. "Billy the Kid vs. Dracula", Wishman's own "Nudes on the Moon"). However, not only does "Bad Girls Go to Hell" live up to its title, its one of the best b-movies of the decade. Doris Wishman is often ridiculed for lack of film-making talent and inept traits present in every film of her's (such as focusing on random objects whenever there is dialog). However, these traits actually help this film create a seedy and grimy atmosphere.

The plot is simple enough. An absolutely gorgeous Gigi Darlene plays housewife Meg, who gets raped by her apartment's janitor after her hubby leaves for work. She kills him and than flees the apartment making her a fugitive from the law. Along the way she meets various characters who seem friendly enough at first meet but only proceed to take advantage of this vulnerable girl. In the end it turns out "it was only a dream", but when she walks into the apartment hallway she runs into the nefarious janitor (!).

Many trademarks of grindhouse film-making are present. Post-dubbed dialog, grainy and shaky camera-work, and an incredibly sleazy cool-jazz / go-go score. Hell, only "Last House on Dead End Street" and "Blast of Silence" are better when it comes to this film-making style. Darlene is fantastic, but the rest of the acting is uneven. However, that only adds to the fever dream atmosphere of the film. Doris Wishman is often viewed as being an incompetent director, and most of her works certainly suggest this. However, she shows some amount of skill here. Kudos to Something Weird Video for bringing this forgotten gem to the masses. (7/10)