Big Zapper (1973)

Director:

Lindsay Shonteff

Writer:

Hugh Brody (writer)

Release Date:

January 1974 (USA)

Genre:

Adventure

Plot:

A female private detective, Harriet Zapper, is hired by a rich old man to find his missing children, and becomes involved in counterfeiting and murder |

Plot Keywords:

Female Detective | Female Nudity | Independent Film

Cast

Linda Marlowe	...	Harriet Zapper
Richard Monette	...	Rock Hard
Gary Hope	...	Kono
Sean Hewitt	...	Fingers
Michael O'Malley	...	Strawberry Jim
Jack May	...	Jeremiah Horn
Penny Irving	...	Maggie
Stuart Lock	...	Septimus / Randy Horn
Bobbi Anne	...	Pandora Horn
Parnell McGarry	...	Lesbian Rose
William Ridoutt	...	Shawn Cobra
Graham Ashley	...	Mr. Cortina
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Marc Arnall	...	Kono's Boy
Robert Breen	...	Kono's Boy
Keith Britto	...	Kono's Boy
Raymond Brody	...	Kono's Boy
Gaylord Burr	...	Kono's henchman
Sonia Camara	...	Prostitute
Joseph Cheng	...	Kono's Boy
Hock Chuan	...	Samurai swordsman
Michael Crane	...	Cecil
Brian Davey	...	Kono's Boy
Gavin Douglas	...	Kono's Boy
Anthony Edwards	...	Kono's Boy
Carl Forgione	...	Kono's Boy
Hugh Halliday	...	Kono's Boy
Tony Hiew	...	Samurai swordsman
William Hootkins	...	Kono's henchman
Peter Kenton	...	Kono's Boy
Kristopher Kum	...	Samurai swordsman
Al Lampert	...	Kono's Boy
Nova Llewellyn	...	Prostitute
Bob Miller	...	Kono's Boy
Jo Peters	...	Prostitute
Michael Redfern	...	Kono's Boy
Anthony Rowlands	...	Kono's Boy
Jim Russell	...	Kono's Boy
John Salthouse	...	Kono's henchman
Leon Taggert	...	Kono's Boy
Alan Thompson	...	Kono's Boy
Paula Tinker	...	Prostitute
Rod Wilmott	...	Kono's Boy

Also Known As:

The Sex Life of a Female Private Eye

Runtime:

92 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:R | Finland:(Banned) (1973) | USA:R | UK:X | Iceland:16 | Germany:BPjM Restricted

Company:

Delta Film Company

Movie Connections:

Followed by The Swordsman (1974)

A nadir for the GB film industry

This has to mark a low point for the British film industry; it is cheap, slapdash, sleazy, painfully unfunny but, most unforgivably, totally dull. Most of the actors look embarrassed to be involved with the exception of Gary Hope, as Kono, who throws himself into the part with such vigour that he reaches a crescendo in the first scene and has nowhere to go from there. The tone lurches unevenly from one scene to the next: the film opens with the brutal murder of a young girl (naked, of course)after which we are treated to Zapper getting dressed, explaining in a monotonous Marlowe-style voiceover how her boyfriend, Rock Hard, keeps pestering her for a whipping session. From here on the violence is fairly comical, at least I assume the kung-fu scenes are supposed to be funny.

Naturally all this "action" is bogged down by shots of Zapper driving around London, so Shonteff tosses in gratuitous nudity every so often to perk up the interest. When we eventually reach the climax, so to speak, the ending is so abrupt as to be almost non-existent, thus denying those who have had the fortitude to sit through the whole thing the bonus of a payoff.

The concept of a female private eye, along with spoofing James Bond and so on, is a reasonable one; but what these films need more than anything else is a strong visual style and this effort is completely lacking in any style, visual or otherwise. The sets are dismal, as are the locations; the costumes are tacky and the theme music repeated throughout. I thought Shonteff's 'Devil Doll' was bad, but I suppose everything is relative.