Psychotronic Movie of the Week: Fugitive Girls (1974, A.C. Stephen)

Fugitive Girls (1974, aka 'Five Loose Women')

AFPI/SCA  Distributors

D/P: A.C. Stephen (Stephen C. Apostolof) 

S: Apostolof/Ed Wood

Starring: Jabie Abercrombe, Rene Bond,Tallie Cochrane, Donna Young, Margie Lanier, Harvey Shain, Nicolle Riddell, Douglas Frey

Michael J. Weldon's review from Psychotronic Video #2, 1989: 

From the time he wrote ORGY OF THE DEAD (see PV #1) until his death in 1978, cult figure Ed Wood (a forgotten man at the time) worked (often uncredited) on nudie films made by Stephen C. Apostolof (A.C. Stephen). He wrote this one and appears as "Pop," running a remote gas station. This film was rated X and has soft core sex scenes (which would earn it an R today). An R-rated, softer version was called FIVE LOOSE WOMEN. After a sex scene with badly dubbed in "Oooh Aah Ooh Aah,...," the guy, with long thick sideburns, decides to hold up a liquor store, shoots the owner, and leaves Dee, the cliche women's prison victim/star (Jabie Abercrombe) to take the rap. Her cellmates at the minimum security farm are nudie (and porn) star Rene Bond as a bank embezzler with a thick southern accent - "There's only two things worthwhile for a girl - men and money!" Cap, a manic, short haired dyke who killed her husband - "His mistake was, he turned me on to women and I dug it!" and a black woman who trades insults with the Southern "Dirty white trash!" Cap says "I'm getting sick and tired of this rainbow trip!" After Cap forces Dee into a long lesbian scene, they all escape and stay with camping, organic hippies until Cap says "They all smell like freaks!" A hippie goes "Good Christ, a lesbian!" and a chain fight starts. In a scene Ed borrowed from his script for THE VIOLENT YEARS ('56), the women steal a guy's car and rape him - "Leave me alone!" They also ambush some bikers, fight them using martial arts, then take over the home of a paralyzed Nam vet. FUGITIVE GIRLS is too dark most of the time, but has a funny recurring Hammond organ theme, and enough Wood touches to make it a must for fans who can't get enough. 

Psychotronic Movie of the Week: Orgy of the Dead (1965, A. C. Stephen)

Orgy of the Dead (1965)

Arsta Productions/SCA Distributors

D/P: A.C. Stephen (Stephen C. Apostolof)

S: Ed Wood

Starring Criswell, Fawn Silver, Pat Barrington (as Pat Barringer), William Bates, Bunny Glaser, John Andrews, Louis Ojena, Texas Starr, Nadejda Dobrev, Stephanie Jones,  Barbara Nordin, 

Dene Starnes, Rene De Beau

Michael J. Weldon's review in Psychotronic Video #1, 1989:

Back in Cleveland, there used to be an unbelievable three story used book store called Kay's. I was about 16 when I bought a heavily illustrated paperback book (with no cover) called ORGY OF THE DEAD and liked it so much that I cut the pictures out (bad move). I had to wait years to see the "adults only" movie based on the obscure book by the prolific Ed Wood Jr. - but that wait was worth it. Some people (O.K., lots of people) don't like ORGY OF THE DEAD, but to me this is surreal, it's art - or at least the ultimate ambient tape. Who wants a burning fireplace or a fish in a tank, when you can have sexy professional strippers, dancing in a graveyard?? Perfect for any party or watching alone. 

The "star" is Criswell, who rises from his coffin and rants about "monsters to be pittied, monsters to be despised," a line lifted from Wood's NIGHT OF THE GHOULS. A horror novelist and his red haired girlfriend drive and have a typical awkward autobiographical Wood conversation. Outside it changes from night to day to night to day,... After the car crashes, they find themselves captives of the undead Criswell and Fawn Silver as the Black Ghoul (the real inspiration for Elvira?), a mummy and a howling werewolf. For the record, the eternally damned women who have to perform, each have their own bizarre musical theme and are, in order: The Indian ("she died in flames"), Streetwalker, Gold Girl (she dances to Martin Denny style music while two men in striped skirts watch, they pour gold coins on her, then dip her in gold), Cat Woman (she wears a great leopard costume with holes for her breasts, dances to really silly music, claws at tombstones and is whipped by an indifferent man), Slave (she gets whipped too, and rolls around on the ground in her G string), Mexican (dances around, fondles, and kisses a skull), Hawaiian (does a bump and grind to bongo music and is interrupted by grainy stock footage of a snake), "Skeleton" (a woman takes off her wedding dress and does the swim and the jerk to rock music in front of the skeleton of the husband she killed), and Zombie (does a very slow zombie dance). Criswell warns, "You may join us soon!"

In-between each inspirational performance, the other characters read dialogue worthy of your favorite Ed Wood directed movie. By this time, Wood's feature directing days were over, but he wrote one more filmed screenplay, THE FUGITIVE GIRLS ('73), also directed by nudie specialist Apostoloff (A.K.A. A.C. Stephen). Details on that one next issue.