The Girls from Thunder Strip (1966)

User Rating:

5.2/10   

Director:

David L. Hewitt

Writer:

Pat Boyette (writer)

Genre:

Action | Drama

Tagline:

Dynamite action... Souped up cars, illegal whiskey, wild women and souped up thrills!

Plot:

A vicious gang of murderous bikers goes up against a trio of beautiful bootlegging sisters. |

Plot Keywords:

Independent Film

Cast

Maray Ayres
William Bonner	...	Animal
Lindsay Crosby
John F. Goff	...	Deputy Orville (as Bruce Kimball)
Gary Graver
Casey Kasem
Gary Kent	...	Teach
Bruce Kimball	...	Deputy Orville
Jody McCrea	...	Pike
Mick Mehas
Jack Starrett	...	Sheriff
Megan Timothy	...	Jessie

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

USA:X

Company:

Borealis

impressive yet little-known 60s biker-revenge rural melodrama

Director David Hewitt is best-known for his sci-fi work such as WIZARD OF MARS and JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF TIME, as well as the unclassifiable THE MIGHTY GORGA, which I've seen about ten times! This little-known biker/rural-revenge flick (shot in Texas?) was written by the great comic artist Pat Boyette, photographed beautifully in widescreen techniscope by the reliable Gary Graver (who also edited and has a brief cameo), and acted by an impressive troupe including Gary Kent (you want to see his character killed after spending ten minutes with him!), Jack Starrett as the sheriff (perfect for the role, and he has some nice comic scenes with Casey Kasem), the lovely Megan Timothy, and in one of his last films, Jody McCrea. With a hippie-bluegrass score, fine rural locations, a grim unwashed look to the characters and the production, a nice widescreen transfer on the VHS tape, and the above-mentioned acting/directing/photography, GIRLS FROM THUNDER STRIP is a lost classic that will surely attract more attention in future years.

Now, if only I can find a copy of the Hewitt's OTHER biker film, the patchwork HELL'S CHOSEN FEW (the bikers in this film wear Hell's Chosen Few jackets, by the way!). This is a film worth finding. 1960s independent films such as this take a lot of chances and are able to do so much on so little money. Too many of today's "independent films" are either pretentious film-school swill or shot-on-video predictable garbage or self-consciously "camp" or "decadent" bore-fests. Hewitt/Graver/Kent and crew were in the right place at the right time with the right talents and with the desire to CREATE. Thankfully, the drive-ins of the day provided an outlet for their work...work which we can enjoy today through the magic of video. By the way, this film would look GREAT on the big screen,although I can't imagine ever having a chance to see that happen in my lifetime...