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:

desert | go go dancer | car race | cult film | woman murders a man | 

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Taglines:

Go-Go For a Wild Ride With the ACTION GIRLS!

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Genres:

Action | Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

According to the Rialto Report, some of the filming locations claimed in Jimmy McDonough's 2005 book "Big Bosoms and Square Jaws: The Biography of Russ Meyer, King of the Sex Film," are incorrect. Interviews with stars Tura Satana and Haji, as well as a few crew members, reveal that the Adobe Hotel was actually located in Mojave, 44 miles south of Johannesburg, which is closer to the location of the "Old Man's" house and the salt flats. As of February 2018, it is a Best Value Inn. The opening scenes at the club were not shot at the Pussycat Club in Van Nuys, but at the Pink Pussycat Club on Santa Monica Blvd. in Hollywood, which is now a restaurant named Delilah. Dry lake scenes were filmed at Rosamond Lake, a natural dry lake bed twenty miles south of the Adobe Motel. The gas station is in Randsburg, a desert gold mining town, 40 miles north of Mojave.

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Goofs

After Varla cuts the fence and gets back into her car, look at the rear side window. Crew member with hat is briefly visible in the reflection.

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Quotes

Varla: You're all shook up, aren't you, baby?

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Alternate Versions

Available in an Unrated version on DVD.

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Connections

Referenced in Enfant Terrible (2020)

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Soundtracks

Faster Pussycat
Written by Lynn Ready of the Bostweeds (uncredited)
Sung by Lynn Ready of the Bostweeds (uncredited)

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.

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