A mid-seventies drive-in flick from producer Roger Corman that wouldn't likely warrant much notice but for the fact it's the second feature from director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs).
Typical story of the exploitation genre, begins decades earlier with family patriarch shot while being evicted from his farm in Arkansas. Flash forward to the 50's and Melba (Cloris Leachman) the farmer's daughter along with her mother (Ann Sothern) and daughter (Linda Purl) are evicted from their beauty parlor in California. Melba with family and hangers on (Stuart Whitman, Don Most) in tow decides they will return to the family farm and buy it back by initiating a cross country crime spree more in keeping with the 30's than the 50's.
There are elements here that hint at a talented director in the making but the budget and the material with which the film is saddled really keep this from being any more than a cheap exploitation flick intended for the drive- in's.
The film manages some of the sex and violence that one would associate with this kind of film but strangely they are both somewhat subdued by the odd decision to make this film for a PG rating. The laughs were not forth coming for me, perhaps the low brow approach would be more effective in an accommodating theater or drive-in. Either that or its directed to a different audience than I represent or its just outdated.
Typical story of the exploitation genre, begins decades earlier with family patriarch shot while being evicted from his farm in Arkansas. Flash forward to the 50's and Melba (Cloris Leachman) the farmer's daughter along with her mother (Ann Sothern) and daughter (Linda Purl) are evicted from their beauty parlor in California. Melba with family and hangers on (Stuart Whitman, Don Most) in tow decides they will return to the family farm and buy it back by initiating a cross country crime spree more in keeping with the 30's than the 50's.
There are elements here that hint at a talented director in the making but the budget and the material with which the film is saddled really keep this from being any more than a cheap exploitation flick intended for the drive- in's.
The film manages some of the sex and violence that one would associate with this kind of film but strangely they are both somewhat subdued by the odd decision to make this film for a PG rating. The laughs were not forth coming for me, perhaps the low brow approach would be more effective in an accommodating theater or drive-in. Either that or its directed to a different audience than I represent or its just outdated.