Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)

Director:

Russ Meyer

Writers:

Jack Moran (screenplay)
Russ Meyer (from an original story by)

Release Date:

6 August 1965 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

Russ Meyer's ode to the violence in women

Plot:

Three strippers seeking thrills encounter a young couple in the desert. After dispatching the boyfriend...

Plot Keywords:

Desert | Murder | Battle Of The Sexes | Train | Car Race

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

Also Known As:

Faster Pussycat! Wham! Bang! (USA) (bowdlerized title)
Faster, Pussycat! Go! Go! (USA) (bowdlerized title)
Pussycat
The Leather Girls
The Mankillers

Runtime:

83 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | France:-12 (DVD rating) | France:-18 (1985 release) | Finland:K-15 (2006) | West Germany:18 | USA:TV-14 | Canada:14A (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PG (Manitoba) | France:-16 | UK:18 | USA:Unrated (unrated version)

Filming Locations:

California, USA

Company:

Eve Productions

Trivia:

The film did not receive a UK certificate until 1980.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Billie and Rosie are fighting in the dirt after being in the lake, Billie's hair appears much shorter than it does in other scenes.

Quotes:

Gas Station Attendant: [staring at Varla's chest as he pumps gas] Just passing through, huh? Boy, that motor's sure hot! You gals really must have been moving on these little machines. Yessir, the thrill of the open road. New places, new people, new sights of interest. Now that's what I believe in, seeing America first!
Varla: You won't find it down there, Columbus!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)

Soundtrack:

Faster Pussycat

"The point is of no return, and you've reached it!"

From the beginning, you know that this monochrome Meyerama is going to be incredible--an Outer Limits-style voice-over pontificating on the violence of women, followed by incredible shots of three luscious go-go girls doing the Watusi as the Bostweeds' wild theme song blasts from the jukebox. Then things move to the barren California desert for drag races, catfights, murders, straining blouses, and a lot of torrid action and satirically overwrought melodrama.

Tura Satana, Haji, and Lori Williams have terrific screen presence as the three tough-as-nails villainesses. They're the kind of deliciously over-the-top antagonists that you root for, especially since the nominal heroine (Sue Bernard) is a ridiculous dimwit who couldn't act her way out of a paper bra--I mean, bag. Highest honors go to the amazing Satana, shouting most of her lines and dropping sexual innuendos while resting her boobs on the dinner table.

As usual, Russ Meyer fills the screen with sharp dialogue ("Breast or thigh, darlin'?") and sharp camerawork. There is no nudity, since Meyer was trying to circumvent the censors in 1966, but there are some incredibly sexy scenes all the same. Excitement and laughs abound in this straight-faced send-up of action-flick conventions. This celebrated cult classic is one big-breasted Gothic melodrama-satire that really...um...stands out!