Blast-Off Girls (1967)

A sleazy record promotor tries to make it big with a local Chicago garage band and plans to make them famous while keeping the profits for himself.

Director:

Herschell Gordon Lewis

Writer:

Herschell Gordon Lewis

Stars:

Dan Conway, Ray Sager, Tom Tyrell

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Dan Conway	...	Boojie Baker
Ray Sager	...	Gordie
Tom Tyrell	...	Tom, Big Blast band member
Ron Liace	...	Ron, Big Blast band member
Dennis Hickey	...	Dennis, Big Blast band member
Ralph Mullin	...	Ralph, Big Bast band member
Chris Wolski	...	Chris, Big Blast band member
Lawrence J. Aberwood	...	Marty Dunn
Neil Julien	...	Lieutenant Kronsky
Don Logay	...	Michael Blake
Jack Horner	...	Mr. Roswell
Steve White	...	'Charlie' band member
Tom Eppolito	...	'Charlie' band member
Bob Compton	...	'Charlie' band member
Ray Barry	...	'Charlie' band member

Storyline

Sleazy music promoter Boojie Baker convinces a pop band to come work for him. He arranges play dates, publicity, record contracts, and the band's loyalty by getting his hired girls to exercise their feminine charms on all who stand in his way. Thus he creates the new music sensation, The Big Blast, but the band is unhappy about Boojie keeping most of the money. When they try to leave, Boojie sets them up for trouble with the law, but offers to bail them out if they sign the contract. Can't anyone stop this scum bucket?

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Plot Keywords:

garage band | bribery | psychotronic | teen | rock 'n' roll | 

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Taglines:

It's What's Happening, Baby!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy | Drama | Music

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

5 October 1967 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Creative Film Enterprises Inc.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When the kids play outside a Col. Sanders Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, the old gentleman with the bucket of chicken who comes out and dances with them really is Col. Harland Sanders.

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Quotes

Gordie: Hey, man. Do you serve fried chicken?
Harland Sanders: Do we serve fried chicken? Whoo-wee! We DO serve fried chicken!
Gordie: I got five hungry musicians in the parking lot wanting five buckets of fried chicken.
Harland Sanders: Musicians you say? Hey, I love music! If you let them play some music outside, I'll let you have lunch for free.
Gordie: You got yourself a deal, buddy!

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Connections

Featured in Extra Weird (2003)

User Reviews

Boojie Baker says "Have a blast!"

For me, H.G. Lewis movies have always been a mixed bag. Sometimes they're a lot of fun and sometimes they are excruciating. This would fall in the latter category.

The story involves a sheisty band manager (and "whitey mack" wannabe), Boojie Baker (played by Dan Conway), who goes from one garage band to the next, forming them into a profit for himself. The type of manager who believes in taking as much credit and percentage as possible and leaving his band with virtually nothing. Conway turns in a good performance, yet considering the repetitive nature of the plot and several other elements, it becomes grating.

Boojie's first group gets the hint right away, when he tries to screw them out of their earnings, and they proceed to take a hike. He bounces back and hits the jackpot, with his next anti-stellar group of morons. A group that continues to get conned over and over by Boojie's transparent tactics, until 10 minutes towards the end of the picture when they finally discover an escape clause (an escape clause being a metaphor for a small rock on the same gravel road they've been traveling on all along).

H.G. Lewis' films were never known for great music, and this one might have the worst. If you thought the theme from "JUST FOR THE HELL OF IT" sounded like "White Rabbit" performed by an orchard of adam's apples liquefied in a blender, then you ain't heard nothin' yet. Wait until you hear Boojie's band, The Big Blast, pump out the same song over and over and over and over. Not even a song really, just a chorus that's sung so many times that it literally sounds like a broken record. Here's a taste... "The next time that you want me, I won't run to you. The next time that you need me, I'll tell you that we're through. The next time, the next time, the next time that we're through(?!)" Just imagine hearing that same jam session in nearly every other scene. Not since Jean-Luc Godard's "SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL", have I seen a film that thrives on such lyrical overkill.

What's even more grating is that the band members never truly gel with one another and the music suffers because of it. At times, it seems as if each member is singing different lyrics to the same chorus, all at once. For example, when they're singing "...the next time...", it sometimes sounds like "...run and hide...". And, in a more interesting number, "Go BLANK Yourself, My Friend", some of them sing "Go BLANK Yourself, A Friend". My initial thoughts were that this was a band of non-actors attempting to perform music, when in fact, according to the credits, this was a real band. Ugghh.

In conclusion, if you want a far out ride that contains little emphasis on girls and couldn't provide a spark with a dry match in a hay barn, then "THE BLAST-OFF GIRLS" is for you! Otherwise, I'd recommend Arch Hall, Jr's "WILD GUITAR", which deals in the same subject manner and is a lot more fun to watch.