Girls on the Road (1973)

Director:

Thomas J. Schmidt

Writers:

Larry Bischof (writer)
Gloria Goldsmith (screenplay)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Free, happy and beautiful... until Death rode as their companion!

Plot Keywords:

Serial Killer | Hippie | Hitchhiking | Vietnam | Meditation

Cast

Dianne Hull	...	Karen
Michael Ontkean	...	Will
Kathleen Cody	...	Debbie
Ralph Waite	...	John
John McMurtry	...	The Maker
Pamela Serpe	...	Frances
Richard Grayling	...	Motor Cop
Michael Kopsche	...	Psychiatrist
Charlie Picerni	...	Pool Player #1
Bob Bass	...	Pool Player #2
Rigg Kennedy	...	Chip
Sylvia Hayes	...	Lady at Hamburger Stand
Elizabeth Saxon	...	Mrs. Rae
Paul Sorensen	...	Mr. Rae
Ruth Warshawsky	...	Store Keeper

Also Known As:

Hot Summer Week (USA)

Runtime:

80 min | UK:76 min | Australia:75 min

Country:

USA | Canada

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono | Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | Norway:15 (video premiere) | USA:PG | West Germany:16

Filming Locations:

Big Sur, California, USA

Company:

Fanfare Corporation, The

Movie Connections:

Featured in Dusk to Dawn Drive-In Trash-o-Rama Show Vol. 3 (1996) (V)

I don't know why, but I kind of liked this

I'm not sure why, but I kind of liked this. It's very tame--aside from some brief nudity it could have been a TV movie. (The presence of sexploitation star Uschi Digardt might suggest a much racier movie, but she is literally only in a single brief shot in the opening credits). The plot is randomly weird, and the ending is infuriatingly ambiguous. Then there is the title song which. . . well, let me put it this way: if you went up to anybody on the street and asked them to make up a 70's-style song on the spot and sing it a capella, it would probably sound better than the one in this movie.

Two girls who have just graduated from high school take a trip out to the California beach. After causing an accident by flashing a passing motorist and getting rousted by the police, they pick up a hitch-hiker (Michael Ontkean) who is suffering from traumatic flashbacks caused by his time in Vietnam. The hitchhiker brings them to a commune headed by a guru (played by the guy who went on to become TV's "Papa Walton")and a drug-addled crazy who calls himself "the Creator". Meanwhile, someone is going around strangling young women. . .

This movie manages to capture some of the strange ambiance of this era, but not in the annoyingly self-reflexive way most later movies would (the music may be terrible, but at least it's not the usual overused cues for collective Baby-Boomer nostalgia). The two girls are pretty and appealing, and surprisingly innocent--this may be the first movie where young protagonists vow to lose their virginity and then completely fail to do so. (The brunette ALMOST gets it on with Papa Walton, which in itself is worth the price of admission). This is not very good, but it's an interesting time-capsule piece from the era kind of like "Last Summer", "Runaway, Runaway", "The Todd Killings", or "Welcome to Arrow Beach"