Still, this is not a bad 1950s flick, centering around the new girl in school (Yvonne Lime) who joins a female gang, the Hellcats. The Hellcats are led by Jana Lund, who forces Lime to undergo a series of initiations to prove herself. First, she convinces Lime that all the girls are going to wear slacks to school the next day. "But isn't that against the rules?" protests Lime. "I make the rules here," counters Lund. Oh yeah, baby, rule me with an iron hand. Naturally, Lime is the only one who shows up in health class wearing slacks and is called out for it. How traumatic. This reminds me of the days when any guy who wore white socks to school would get the crap kicked out of him. Lime runs out of school and into a coffee shop, where pretty boy Brett Halsey is working behind the counter. They quickly hit it off. Lime's next initiation is to steal about two dollars worth of stuff at a jewelry store. That's right, two dollars. Halsey gets wind of this and figures she is hanging out with the Hellcats. As her final initiation, Lime has to ask a guy named Rip (but not Torn) to a party. Lund is impressed that Lime has passed all her "tests," and starts considering Lime for the number two position in the Hellcats. This tees off the current number two, played by Suzanne Sydney. Sydney is moody, a little chubby, and unattractive; therefore, you know it's only a matter of time before she turns psycho.
The gang make themselves at home in a house while the owners are out of town. The party turns into a disaster when, during a stunt with the lights turned out, Lund goes tumbling down a flight of stairs and kicks off. The Rip person tells everybody to keep their mouths shut; incredibly, there is still half a movie to go.
When Lund is finally classified as missing, a police lieutenant shows up at school and questions the girls. They all give the same story, although Sydney looks like she is about to crack. When Lund's body is finally discovered, Halsey can't seem to put two and two together, even though Lime is a nervous wreck.
Sydney is convinced that Lime is going to squeal, so she arranges a meeting with her at the gang's hangout. Sydney confesses that she tossed Lund down the stairs, and now she is going to off Lime as well. Sydney pulls out her switchblade. The cops arrive just in time to spoil what could have been a good knife fight. Halsey brings Lime home to her parents. All is forgiven, except for various charges against Lime, like failing to report a dead body at a party.
This film has promise, but the dialogue generally stinks and is predictable. When a nerd substitute teacher asks the girls to "please take your seats," Lund responds with "well, where do you want us to take them, Teach?" Paging Sister Mary Elephant. Also, with a name like "Hellcats," you would think there would be some mayhem, but these chicks are way too tame. They should at least be knocking over a liquor store or sabotaging the senior prom. A few catfights with hair-pulling or dress-tearing would have helped, or at least a few good b-slaps. Even the babes in the horrendous "The Violent Years" were more menacing. Lund is not very threatening as the leader, but I have to admit that Sydney certainly weirded me out. Halsey, who usually seems wooden, does a decent job as the nice guy trying to help Lime. Lime's parents are the stereotypical 1950s mom and dad - that is to say, they are idiots.
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