The Centerfold Girls

source: The Centerfold Girls

I love these seventies movies that are so well made. The Killing Kind and Double Exposure are two that spring to mind here. Why does this film work so well? The fine performance of this excellent actor lead. He is so chilling and it's not just his looks. It's his tone of voice to character too, somewhat like a mislead child in one sense. I guess there's not many people familiar with Prines's work, e.g. Simon King Of The Witches, They're Playing With Fire, but he's an actor who f...in' acts. He's anti pornographic, killing off * centrefold models of every month, chronologically of course. Cause he's a religious nut, he totally finds this immoral and he's out to punish them. It starts off where he's dumping a body, his trademark after murdering these lovelies, is he plays this creepily ill fitting tune, totally unnerving to the listening viewer I thought. The tune sounds like something out Beyond The Valley Of The Dolls. What's different about this movie and it will come as a bit of annoyance to some people, who might just easily shut it off, is we spend a bit of time with each girl before their demise so we get to know em' a bit. I liked the aspect of that, cause even we may not care much about these girls, you still gotta remember they're human beings. With their screen time, we do tend to care a bit more about em' and in the climax we cheer on the lucky centrefold who outwits this psycho and gives Prine what he truly deserves, and what we've hungrily anticipated.

This film boasts a large cast of beautiful women in various states of undress. For some that may be plenty of inducement to watch. For others it might help to add that it is also the odessey of a serial killer in their midst, slitting throats where he can and extemporizing on other occasions. His motive, he says, is to help these women who have posed *, or at least topless, in a Playboy-like men's magazine as centerfold models. At a guess, he believes he is helping them abandon their evil ways, the visions of which must haunt his darkest dreams. Though his motive is never explained, his speech patterns, mannerisms, and expressions plainly bespeak a psychopath. Andrew Prine as Clement Dunne shows us quiet madness and menace in a perfect composite. Everything about him, including his wardrobe (black) and living quarters (white) whispers "absolutely unhinged." The film consists of three separate stories, each featuring a different centerfold girl, but all three are bound together by the presence of Dunne and his scalpel. The third and final story may be the most intense as it concludes with a confrontation in a horrible landscape of burnt hillsides and charred trees, a nightmare background against which the violence unfolds. Dunne's third victim, Vera, (Tiffany Bolling) fights back and nobody skates. A truly fine thriller

I really enjoyed Arthur Marks' drive-in movie "Bonnie's Kids", so I decided to take a look at the movie he did right after it, "The Centerfold Girls". While I would not label the movie a drive-in classic like "Bonnie's Kids", I have to admit that the movie does deliver a lot of nice sleaze. The women in the movie are always taking off their clothes, and there are a number of sexual situations. The movie does have some additional interest. Andrew Prine does well as the serial killer, coming across as believably deranged and awkward like I think many crazy people are in real life. Also interesting is that the movie isn't one story, but three stories connected by Prine's character. This was a wise choice I think, because I think if any of the stories been feature length there would have been some dull spots. As they are, they all feel at an appropriate length. Well worth a look if you are interested in 1970s sleazy drive-in cinema.

Superb exploitation nasty. I loved this one. Real dirty and gritty and fast moving. Well-directed with some nice performances. Andrew Prine is perfectly cast as a saddle-shoe-wearing nerd who is out to "save" all the calender/pin-up girls he can ("save" as in split their head open with a razor). And he really goes about his business. With his ultra-skinny physique and creepy/quirky demeanor he projects kind of a low-rent Norman Bates quality. Film has three (or is it four?) different stories, each following a girl that Prine is tracking down. The killing is ruthless and quick and somewhat unsettling. Also unsettling is that the girls bounce from one horrific situation to the other like pinballs (ALL the men in this movie are creeps - and most of the women, too!!!). If you get a chance, and if exploitation with a sharp-edge is your bag check this one out, you might like it.

Andrew Prine is consistently amusing in this notable 1970s exploitation feature, which is divided into three acts. In each act, he stalks a young woman; the intended victim in each case has posed for the same pin-up magazine. You see, our boy Andy, a bespectacled, dorky man with a priceless wardrobe, is one of those self-righteous moral crusader types who thinks that it's his job to rid the world of "filth". In act one, he pursues Jackie (future soap star Jaime Lyn Bauer), who makes a big mistake when she offers to help a seemingly harmless stranger named Linda (Janet Wood, "Foul Play"). Jackie is then hassled and terrorized by Lindas' creepy hippie friends. Act two: Andy targets Charly (Jennifer Ashley, "The Pom Pom Girls"), who's travelled to an isolated island to participate in a risqué photo shoot. He proceeds to decimate Charly's companions on his way to doing away with her. Finally, he aims to eliminate stewardess Vera (Tiffany Bolling, "The Candy Snatchers"), and it's here that he is actually presented with more of a challenge, since she's a tougher cookie than the others. Some viewers may be dismayed at the nasty, hard-edged, mean-spirited approach to this story, as female characters are often put through the ringer. Almost every male character is a disgusting piece of work, and there's no shortage of unappealing women, to boot. Some victims are more sympathetic than others. If you adore cinematic trash, you may be entertained by the story structure, and the graphic violence, but you'll especially be pleased by the abundance of female nudity. An impressive roster of familiar faces helps to lend some gravitas to these sleazy proceedings: Aldo Ray ("We're No Angels" '55), Teda Bracci ("C.C. & Company"), Tallie Cochrane ("The Candy Tangerine Man"), Ray Danton (director of "Psychic Killer" and "The Deathmaster"), Francine York ("The Doll Squad"), Jeremy Slate ("The Hooked Generation"), Mike Mazurki ("Donovan's Reef"), Janus Blythe ("The Hills Have Eyes" '77), Connie Strickland ("Act of Vengeance"), Anneka Di Lorenzo ("Dressed to Kill" '80), and Dan Seymour ("To Have and Have Not"). Prine is a hoot as he chastises his victims over the phone, uses his straight razor to cut pictures out of the magazine, and puts on his favourite record. Scripted by TV veteran Bob Peete ('Good Times'), and directed by John Peyser, whose credits were mostly in TV as well, this offers some twisted fun for any viewer who savours the trashy delights from this decade. Story by Arthur Marks, himself director of such things as "J.D.'s Revenge" and "Friday Foster". Seven out of 10.

This is the Grindhouse feature that Quentin Tarantino tried to make but failed. Director John Peyser had a solid filmography for episodic television going back to the 1950s. Here he turns is hand on a low budget sleazy horror thriller with equal aplomb. He just knew to give the audience lots of bare breasted women. Andrew Prine is tall creepy Clement Dunne a religious fanatic who is turned on by the naked women who pose for men's magazine but also repulsed by these brazen hussies. Dunne wants to help these centrefolds out which means slashing their throats. The film has three chapters each featuring a centerfold of the month. The women disrobe easily. The men are all scumbags willing to rape at the drop of a hat. It has all the ingredients of 1970s Grindhouse but Peyser brings an artistic quality based on his production experience. The acting is better and there is a great scene at the end as Dunne gets his comeuppance.

A men's magazine with beautiful women *... a deranged killer who fights in the name of modesty. What happens when he gets their names and traces their private numbers? As you can imagine, bloody mayhem. And this is all before the hippies and rapists show up... "Centerfold Girls" (known some places as "Girl Hunter") is a strange film... not visually strange, not strange in its telling... but strange in that the plot shifts in ways you will not expect it to at first. We seemingly follow Jackie, a nurse and former model, as she befriends Linda and stays lodged out of town... confronted by wild, rapist hippies (including one who wears a Coors box for a hat). But despite all this, Jackie is not the main character... we don't see much of her after the first half hour. This film has a style that is hard to dislike. The murders are simple but effective, with the killer being a truly likable character with horn-rimmed glasses and saddleback shoes. (Don't worry, I'm not giving away anything -- he stands in the open throughout the film.) And the cast and crew is largely unknown, at least today. You may have heard of Aldo Ray or Ray Danton, but I doubt this. The director (John Peyser, mostly known for television work) and writers (Bob Peete and Arthur Marks) are obviously talented, but not household names in the world of horror. Even the "star" (if one can call him that), is largely a television actor with bit parts. Andrew Prine, who plays killer Clement Dunne, is the glue that holds this entire movie together. Yet, as much as I loved him, I'm hard-pressed to name another movie he's in. Okay, that's not entirely true. The mid-70s saw him not only in "Centerfold Girls", but also in the now classic "Town That Dreaded Sundown" and "Crypt of the Living Dead" (directed by Ray Danton, and available in certain public domain horror collections). My one concern, and this has been raised by other reviewers, is the lack of background on Clement Dunne. What does he do for a living? What made him want to kill women, and why did he pick the particular magazine he did? How does he track down the addresses and phone numbers for his victims? This lack of information did not take away from the picture, but makes me wonder. A sequel would probably have worked well, but it's a bit late now. The box calls this a movie from the "sleazy" 1970s, an "exploitation" film in the "grindhouse" tradition. Now, I don't know if this is grindhouse, but they are dead-on with the exploitation and sleaze comments. Nudity abounds in this film, and if more than five minutes go by without someone getting topless (often for no reason), I'd be surprised. And then the (attempted and successful) rapes... not just one, but more like three. In one movie! Dark Sky Films offers a nice, crisp picture and sound on this disc, while still capturing the gritty quality of the original film. While the special features are somewhat lacking (an audio commentary would be nice), the 15-minute featurette "Making the Cut" offers a great look back and really puts the picture in perspective. That, and a "musical cues" feature, which makes sense to me since the music was very unique and apparent throughout the picture (next to Prine, the music of Mark Wolin is my favorite thing about this film -- and this was his only work). I would encourage anyone to give this title a fair chance.

It ain't easy being sleazy but this film tries its hardest and succeeds. Andrew Prine stars as a repressed young man who decides to "help" centerfold models by killing them. That is the entire plot! The film does do something interesting in that it is an anthology with three separate stalking stories. At the same time, this could easily be the poster child for anyone who belittles horror films and believes they are nothing more than young naked women being stalked and killed. Prine is the film's biggest asset, reminding me of a cross between Val Kilmer and Michael Palin. Also, the final showdown in a burned out patch of forest is quite impressive and surreal looking.

If anyone was to ask me who's my all-time favorite delightfully dweebish 70's B-horror flick actor, my answer would have to be the ineffably gauche, yet still bizarrely riveting Andrew Prine. With his tall, lanky, ungainly build, gaunt hangdog face, quivering voice, and often antsy, uneasy disposition, Andy was basically a poor man's Anthony Perkins for the Me Decade. Prine established himself as the early 70's twitchy psycho pic performer par excellence with his spot-on spaced-out portrayals of an evil, world-weary warlock in the trippy "Simon, King of the Witches" and a disgusting, desert-dwelling, mother-hating bargain basement misogynist Norman Bates-like oedipal wreck lunatic in the sublimely skanky "Barn of the Naked Dead." "The Centerfold Girls" finds our boy Andy in first-rate fidgety, fumbling, *beep*ed-in-the-head freakazoid form as Clement Dunne, an awkward, bespectacled, sexually repressed and thoroughly nerdy nutjob sporting a ghastly Beatles shag haircut, equally ugly rumpled leisure suits and unsightly two-tone Buster Brown shoes. The only thing worse than Dunne's hideous coiffure and horrendous wardrobe is his nasty murderous propensity for brutally carving up the assorted sinful scarlet harlots who've posed in the buff for the sleazy skin mag "Bachelor." Dunne's luscious lady victims are a veritable distaff who's who of 70's grindhouse cinema: the gorgeous Tiffany Bolling of "The Candy Snatchers" fame, "Bummer" 's Connie Strickland, Jennifer Ashley (who was previously terrorized by Prine in "Barn of the Naked Dead"), future "The Young and the Restless" daytime TV soap opera series regular Jaime Lyn Bauer, busty brunette Janet ("The G.I. Executioner," "Angels Hard As They Come") Wood, Talie ("The Love-Thrill Murders," "I Spit on Your Corpse") Cochrane, onetime "Penthouse" Pet Anneka di Lorenzo, and no-name lovelies Kitty Carl and Ruth Ross, most of whom do gratuitous * scenes before Andy bags 'em. The male supporting cast coughs up a similar roll call of down and out exploitation hack perennials: the ubiquitous Aldo Ray as a repulsive would-be rapist, Jeremy Slate as a crusty homicide detective, Ray Danton as a droll adult magazine publisher, huge, hulking, granite-faced veteran tough guy Mike Mazurki as a grouchy mansion grounds keeper, and fat guy character actor Dan Seymour as a motel manager. John Peyser's tight direction, the almost constant avalanche of bared female flesh, and the harsh, bloody violence add immensely to the deliciously deviant junky fun, while the minimal music, crude cinematography and grainy film stock give this trashy treat the irresistibly seedy aura of a scuzzy no-budget porno feature. Perhaps the film's oddest , most startling and notable aspect is its shockingly blunt, in-your-face vile, sneering and hostile misanthropy and mean-spiritedness: Practically every last character, especially the largely creepy and unpleasant guys, comes across as really hateful, antisocial and unsympathetic a**holes; even Bolling's much-abused stewardess heroine is a snippy, stuck-up bitch. As a result, Prine's wonderfully warped wacko inadvertently seems like more of a semi-justified anti-hero instead of a full-fledged villain. It's this latter alarmingly off-kilter element which truly makes this depraved drive-in dreck one to relish.