Shanty Tramp

Shanty Tramp_720p(480P)

source: Shanty Tramp

Moviecut—Shanty Tramp

source: Shanty Tramp

Degeneracy is baked in this script and filmed to reflect that. A religious con man and the rubes who throw money at him. Racist cops and townies. Outlaw bikers. The handbag swinging town bad girl who repeatedly stabs her disgusting father after he beats her and tries to rape her. Guess who wins in the end. Low-brow entertainment at its finest. It must have sold loads of tickets at the drive-ins and downtown theaters.

As a director Charles Laughton made only one film, "The Night of the Hunter" and it's one of the greatest films ever made. Just over 10 years later Jose G. Pietro directed his only film, "Shanty Tramp" and it's ... well, let's just say it's "Shanty Tramp", (the title really does say it all). It's a tale of sex, violence, race and religion but mostly sex and it will fit very nicely into any volume on trash movies. It is very cheaply made and very, very badly acted and yet you could say it was remarkably bold for its time. The hero is a young African-American, the villain, or at least one of them, a crooked preacher and it's 'heroine', the shanty tramp of its title and I loved every sordid, glorious minute of it. As a first feature it was hardly "Citizen Kane", (more like "Titties and Cane"), and as a piece of cheap exploitation it was hardly likely to bring Pietro to the attention of the major studios but neither is it negligible and it certainly deserves its cult status.

There was a big market for films with sex and violence at their center in the 1960s. One can't blame the filmmakers for taking advantage of that. One also can't blame the filmmakers for not having much money and using not totally professional actors and actresses. On the other hand, there's a lot to like about the film. It is surprisingly realistic, thoughtful, and competently shot and edited. It manages to capture a lot of the attitudes and morals of the 1960s, showing both the racism and hypocrisy that was common in the South of this time period. It isn't a great film, but certainly holds your attention and is worth seeing for its historical value. If you want to see what the pre-civil rights South in America was like, this will give you a good idea.

This is really an unbelievably offensive movie, and fans of exploitation or trash cinema will just eat it up. There is something here to offend everyone. The main character is basically just a trashy chick who uses everyone around her. Every character in the movie is basically a really awful stereotype, and the main character is so reprehensible that it's literally amazing to behold. The sets and so forth are incredibly cheap. Basically this movie defines "sleaze" because it is so debased, you will almost want to just hate the human race after seeing this movie. A quality picture for laughs, not something you want to see for social commentary.

Exploitative story of a day (mostly night) in the life of a shanty tramp, southern slang for prostitute. What does this movie have but every cliché you might imagine people think about when they use the phrase 'white trash'. On this one hot summer night, there's prostitution, religious hypocrisy, misogyny, drunkenness, fistfights, bigotry, interracial sex, biker gangs, incest, lynching, moonshine, a car chase with explosive results, nudity, murder, and even an instance of walking out on the restaurant tab! There's more than can be listed. All presented in stereotyped characterizations, but the lead female, Lee Holland, does an admirable job in her only film role ever, as does the fellow playing the lecherous preacher, a Paul Newman look-alike. Also nice is the fact that all scenery are actual locations, making for a realistic setting. Most likely someplace in Florida, as the accents are not too deep south, more typical for Florida, and the producer K Gordon Murray worked out of a facility in Coral Gables. One of the more enjoyable exploitation trash films I've seen.

The end credits reveal that the original print was burned in a fire and the film was digitally remastered in 2018. It is noticeable with the choppy editing quality and one hour and twelve minute running time. In spite of those issues, this black and white curiosity is quite entertaining. Eleanor Vaill is Emily, the title character and she is very good here. Miss Vaill must be a ghost because an internet search reveals no biographical information on the actress other than a listing of two other roles in 1967. A holy roller Joel Osteen type of BS preacher rolls into town and cons the locals into handing over their cash. He spots Emily in the crowd and arranges a hookup with the siren. In the meantime, a Black man has the misfortune of running into the tramp and he and Emily do not live happily ever after in the deep South of the 1960's. Do not expect Elmer Gantry but for a quickie low budget effort, Shanty Tramp is worth a viewing.