Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)

Three go-go dancers holding a young girl hostage come across a crippled old man living with his two sons in the desert. After learning he's hiding a sum of cash around, the women start scheming on him.

Director:

Russ Meyer

Writers:

Jackie Moran (screenplay) (as Jack Moran), Russ Meyer (original story)

Stars:

Tura Satana, Haji, Lori Williams

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Tura Satana	...	Varla
Haji	...	Rosie
Lori Williams	...	Billie
Ray Barlow	...	Tommy
Sue Bernard	...	Linda (as Susan Bernard)
Michael Finn	...	Gas Station Attendant (as Mickey Foxx)
Dennis Busch	...	The Vegetable
Stuart Lancaster	...	The Old Man
Paul Trinka	...	Kirk

Storyline

Three strippers seeking thrills encounter a young couple in the desert. After dispatching the boyfriend, they take the girl hostage and begin scheming on a crippled old man living with his two sons in the desert, reputedly hiding a tidy sum of cash. They become houseguests of the old man and try and seduce the sons in an attempt to locate the money, not realizing that the old man has a few sinister intentions of his own.

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Plot Keywords:

large breasts | go go dancer | cleavage | cult film | repetition in title | 

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Taglines:

Russ Meyer's ode to the violence in women

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Genres:

Action | Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 August 1965 (USA)

Also Known As:

Faster, Pussycat! Go! Go!

Filming Locations:

Mojave Desert, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$45,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eve Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

"Entertainment Weekly" ranked this #16 on its "Guilty Pleasures: Testosterone Edition" list in its March 30, 2007, issue.

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Goofs

When the vegetable drops the knife at the side of Rosie's dead body she blinks.

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Quotes

The Old Man: Honey, you - uh - what you eat seems to settle in the right places. But then you look to me like a girl with a big appetite for everything.
Varla: I try to think big!

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Alternate Versions

Available in an Unrated version on DVD.

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Connections

Spoofed in Pee-wee's Big Holiday (2016)

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Soundtracks

Faster Pussycat
Sung by The Bostweeds
Lyrics by Rick Jarrard
Music by Paul Sawtell and Bert Shefter

User Reviews

Repeated Viewings Recommended

The tendency to dismiss Russ Meyer's "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" (1965) as just a cult classic is probably due to the most memorable feature of the film, the girls. First there are the two quintessential Meyer women, Tura Satana and Haji, towering brunettes with enormous breasts who dominate all the men around them; or at least Satana does, Haji's character (with a strange Italian-Mexican accent?) is more focused on Satana than on men. They actually come across as a feminist empowerment fantasy, which is consistent with Meyer's almost exclusive career focus on situations in which women wreak their will upon men.

If they are too extreme for your tastes there is blonde free spirit Lori Williams and air-headed sweet young thing Susan Bernard. While arguably the two prettiest women to have ever graced a film, there is no argument that William's character is the sexiest of all time. Interestingly, it was the sweet-faced Bernard who became a Playboy centerfold just a few months after the movie (December 1966).

But "Pussycat's" greatness comes from the visceral power of Meyer's unusual images (can you say Fellini). Add to this abundant humor, inventive camera angles, fast pacing, clever editing, violence, and a generally amoral cast of characters.

The film gets even better with subsequent viewings, you connect better with the twisted dialogue and the wry humor.