The Swinging Cheerleaders (1974) User Reviews

Disposable Fluff

[gavin6942 · 5/10 · 28 June 2016]

In order to write an expose on how cheer-leading demeans women, a reporter for a college newspaper (Jo Johnston in her only role) infiltrates the cheer-leading squad.

By 1974, Jack Hill was looking to escape being typecast as a "blaxploitation director" after making "Coffy" and "Foxy Brown" for AIP. They were pleased by the success and gave him a script called "Rape Squad", which he turned down. This film was given to him with financing attached, although he was only given a title and had to develop the script from scratch (with help from David Kidd, who ironically also re-wrote "Rape Squad").

According to co-writer / director Hill, the film had a 12-day shoot, which meant every inch of film shot ended up in the final product. They started work on the script at the end of January 1974 and the movie was in theaters by May (at other times he says February and June, but the idea remains the same). The original title of the script was "Stand Up and Holler" so actresses would not think the film was about cheerleaders.

I do love Jack Hill, and the fact he is called an "exploitation auteur" really sums him up. But this has to be one of his few misfires. The primary plot of the undercover cheerleader is not very interesting, though the booking subplot makes up for it to a point. You might expect this to be nothing more than an excuse for cheerleaders to get naked, but even in that department it is arguably tame compared to many 80s comedies. This more or less amounts to a cheesy made-for-TV movie that probably was never shown on TV.

Arrow Video offers up a deluxe 2k restored blu-ray of the film. While the movie itself is not great (sorry), the Arrow Video version is worth picking up simply for all the extras, because it's always good when we have Jack Hill doing new interviews and providing new commentary. If he hasn't already, he really ought to write a memoir, because he is full of stories about Roger Corman, Francis Ford Coppola and many others. (The disc also has a 2006 archive interview with DP Alfred Taylor, archive interview with Johnny Legend, and a Q&A with Hill, Colleen Camp and Rosanne Katon recorded at the New Beverly Cinema in 2012.)

Wasn't Nearly as Graphic as I Initially Thought

[Uriah43 · 5/10 · 23 February 2014]

Needing another member for the cheerleading squad at Mesa State College the cheerleaders open tryouts for anyone who might be interested. As it so happens a student by the name of "Kate Corie" (Jo Johnston) auditions and is accepted even though the head cheerleader "Mary Ann Putnam" (Colleen Camp) is jealous of her for flirting with her boyfriend "Buck Larsen" (Ron Hajak) who happens to be the star quarterback. What nobody knows however is that Kate only wants to join the squad to dig up some dirt for her journalism term paper. And in the course of her work she discovers a lot more than people fully realize. Anyway, rather than divulge any more of the plot and risk spoiling the movie for those who haven't seen it I will just say that this particular film had a reputation for being somewhat sleazy when it first came out. However, while it certainly had some nudity and scenes of a sexual nature, it wasn't nearly as graphic as I had initially thought back then. Likewise, although it was definitely a low-budget drive-in type of movie that one would find back in the mid-70's, it had a fairly interesting plot which managed to keep my attention for the most part. At any rate, while it certainly wasn't a blockbuster film by any means it wasn't that terribly bad either. Accordingly, I give it an average rating.

Better than it should be

[roberthaynes · 6/10 · 18 September 2011]

So I sat down to watch this expecting a waste of 90 minutes of my life. Surprisingly I found myself actually enjoying this seedy little mid seventies sexsploitation piece.

The plot is nothing to speak of - journalism major decides to do a piece on swinging cheerleaders and their jock boyfriends.

Where the film surprises is in it's scripting - surprisingly liberated considering this was 1974 and somewhat witty with a bevy of interesting performances from a game cast, this turned out to be far more entertaining than expected.

Fun seventies drive-in fair and somewhat more layered than you may think. A solid six out of ten.

Swingin' women in a swingin' film

[silentgmusic · 29 August 2002]

Perhaps Tarantino has started the trend of justifying the legitimate place for trash-films in serious movie history. Jack Hill is definitely a one-of-a-kind filmmaker, an obvious maverick who managed to squeeze as many entertaining moments as he could out of his tight budgets (the fact that Roger Corman fired him more than once shows that Hill was a handful, but never seemed to let up). SWITCHBLADE SISTERS is a hoot, as is FOXY BROWN and THE BIG BIRD CAGE. This film, THE SWINGING CHEERLEADERS, while not as good as other Hill films, has some of the touches that made his previous films successful.

The cast is great. Hill was good at finding attractive women to embody his screen characters, and the knockouts here include Colleen Camp and Cheryl (Rainbeaux) Smith. The plot is some silliness about a female reporter infiltrating the cheerleadering squad at Mesa University to get the scoop. Her boyfriend turns out to be a real jerk, and the eventual outcome is a confrontation with the snooty Camp and some pretty ridiculous bad guys.

The film copies some of Corman's nurses movies (political conscious, making sure the token African-American character is there.)Yet, the film also seems to be parodying these more serious-minded New World pictures. SWINGING CHEERLEADERS is fun, and a reminder of what drive-in films were like (most exploitation films nowadays are not this fun).

Jack Hill---the man, the movies...

"Porky's" without the benefit of a clever script.

[mdm-11 · 3/10 · 1 October 2004]

For adolescent boys with limited outlets, this may be a chance to get an eyeful of T&A. Anyone looking for a clever comedy, this isn't it. Totally High School, reminiscent of 70's "Mr. Microphone" cruising for "chicks". Were these cheesy tease-movies really necessary? A few episodes of "Charlie's Angels" or "Bay Watch" would be a better time investment. "Swinging Cheerleaders" looks and sounds as though it was "created" as they went along. Devoid of plot or memorable lines, this film is flat as dead Pepsi (or should I say TAB?). I give minimal crdit for the camp-quality and the occasional ha-ha scene. Serious or experienced film buffs need not waste their time.

A high school outing for cult director Jack Hill

[Leofwine_draca · 5/10 · 21 December 2017]

THE SWINGING CHEERLEADERS is something of a tame enterprise for exploitation director Jack Hill, best known for his cult and gang culture movies. This one's more of a high school sex comedy, with a female reporter going undercover in a cheerleading team in order to uncover some murky corruption involving those at the top. It's mostly an excuse for lots of sex talk and scenarios involving relationships and characters bedding one another. Tragic starlet Cheryl 'Rainbeaux' Smith has a good if minor part as a virginal cheerleader while the unknown Jo Johnston - for whom this was the sole acting credit - is excellent as the undercover protagonist. There's not much in the way of action or violence, except at the climax, but the requisite nudity and sleazy characters keep it mildly entertaining.

Where's the fun?

[hmservant · 5/10 · 28 April 2020]

The second of three "Cheerleaders" movies in an ersatz trilogy from the 1970s, "The Swinging Cheerleaders" boasts direction by B-movie legend Jack Hill. His other efforts, notably "Switchblade Sisters" and various blaxploitation flicks, offer serious-minded, sometimes hard-edged looks at American life in the seventies. "The Swinging Cheerleaders" follows in a similar vein. For whatever reason, Hill wrote the script under the alias "Jane Witherspoon," which I suppose makes any perceivable objectification of women somehow forgivable. He and co-writer David Kidd (writing as "Betty Conkin"), however, went out of their way to make this film less like its predecessor in that the titular cheerleaders are given personalities resembling actual human beings. Kate (Jo Johnston) sets out write an expose of cheerleader life as a dissertation for a college class. She changes her mind when she realizes not only are the cheerleaders unexpectedly sweet, but the football players are all a real swell bunch as well! To add insult to injury, it turns out her former love interest, Ron (Ian Sander), is a real slimeball who calls his friends over for a group assault of cheerleader Andrea (the sublime Cheryl Smith). Gee, I guess the "campus radical" (there's only ONE?! Isn't this the 1970s?!) isn't such a peace-loving idealist after all! I guess Hill and Kidd really didn't like hippies for some reason. Anyway, I found this film to be too heavy on plot and WAY too light on humor. In fact, "The Swinging Cheerleaders" simply isn't much fun (at least not until the last five or ten minutes). That isn't to say it is a bad movie, but it just isn't what one would expect from one with this title. 5 out of 10 stars

Likable, light exploitation feature.

[Hey_Sweden · 7/10 · 10 August 2016]

"The Swinging Cheerleaders" may not be one of cult filmmaker Jack Hills' best, but it's still a solidly engaging film of its type. It probably won't be nearly trashy enough for some people, but for others it should prove to be an agreeable way to spend just over an hour and a half.

Hill and David Kidd wrote the story (using female pseudonyms), about the cheerleading squad for a college football team. Their newest recruit is an uptight gal named Kate (Jo Johnston), who initially is only becoming a cheerleader so she can get inside information for an expose that she wants to write. Among other story threads, the coach (Jack Denton), an alumnus (George Wallace), and a stats professor (Jason Sommers) are lured by the prospect of big winnings and begin to bet on the outcomes of the games.

Once again, Hill does understand that there are requirements for this sort of entertainment, and some of the lovely young ladies do take off their tops. The yarn that he and Kidd spin here is actually pretty straightforward and enjoyable, and things never, ever get overly serious. Not that characters come out unscathed, however, as the virginal Andrea (ever adorable Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith) is taken advantage of by lowlife guys, to use one example.

The performances are uniformly solid from the whole cast. Of the main cheerleader performers, sexy blonde Colleen Camp (playing the catty Mary Ann) went on to what is easily the most notable mainstream career of any of them. Future Playboy Playmate Rosanne Katon rounds out this foursome. Ron Hajak and Ric Carrott are fine as personable jocks Buck and Ross, Ian Sander is perfectly odious as creepy and arrogant campus radical Ron, John Quade and stunt coordinator Bob Minor are good as nasty security guards Belski and Ryan, and Mae Mercer is memorable as Professor Thorpes' scary wife.

An amiable if somewhat mild example of 70s sleaze.

Seven out of 10.

Thread bare crap, porno production with no porn

[HEFILM · 1/10 · 24 January 2007]

The commercial success of this lead to Jack Hill getting to make the much more fun,though maybe even more poorly made and much worse acted, Switchblade Sisters right after this. So something good, or well, better came out of this film getting made.

The budget for this films is just too low to even have the cheerleaders do any full routine. The credit sequence of them is all you get to see, though you get to see those same shots and same stock footage football footage over and over again. Very little T and A for a plot that is a set up for a porn movie that never takes place. Smith was pregnant when she made the film and one fan of hers told me the appeal is that her breasts are huge. Well they are and her armpits are unshaved. Can humor still be found in her being excited about being gang banged as a way to lose her virginity? That's up to you. Why bring this up? Well that's about all that's worth noting. This is an exploitation film without much exploitation and by the time this was made the stakes were pretty high on exploitation. This is almost like a 1950's B and W nudie movie only it's in color and made almost 20 years after that was the style for these things.

The girls give decent performances, considering the crap material, most of the male cast members are awful and it just goes no where for a long time. Only real highlight is a confrontation scene with the wife of a teacher who confronts one of the cheerleaders and threaten's to "carve her name into one of the cheerleaders tits so when she flops them out for him he'll know she knows." Or words to that effect. What the movie needs is more outrageousness like this, the plot is too thin to be taken seriously but sort of is and really it just seems like the story is on life support until it can finally quietly die.

Flatly made by the usually flat director Hill. He can't be blamed for the lack of money that is heavily in evidence, but shows no real imagination in getting around those problems the way other better directors of the era did.

The film is dated but not enough so for it to be fun on that level either,though perhaps the way it depicts men is actually more dated than the way it depicts women. Look elsewhere for something entertainingly trashy not here.

Way better than expected

[BandSAboutMovies · 7/10 · 12 June 2021]

The fact that a movie called The Swinging Cheerleaders (AKA Locker Room Girls and H. O. T. S. II) is so good rests on the fortune that this was co-written and directed by Jack Hill. It's a movie that promises cheerleaders and sex. Sure, it delivers that. It also gives you a crime story, a tale of journalism and a wife so enraged by her husband's infidelity that the one scene she shows up for is volcanic, ending with her screaming that she plans on carving her name into a girl's anatomy.

Kate (Jo Johnston in her one-and-done role) is writing an article for the college newspaper about how cheerleading demeans women, so she joins the squad. Yet she soon finds herself bonding with the girls.

There's Mary Ann (Colleen Camp), who wants her boyfriend Buck to stop sleeping around and marry her. Lisa (Rosanne Katon) is the one having an affair with a married professor. And Andrea (Rainbeaux Smith!) just can't go all the way.

But there are bigger problems. All of the adults are betting on the football games, including the dean, the coach and Mary Ann's dad, a local businessman. They're willing to do anything it takes to keep their scam going, too.

Strangely enough, when this movie and The Student Body played a Dallas drive-in, Randall Adams and David Harris were in attendance and used the film as an alibi when they were investigated in the murder of Dallas police officer Robert W. Wood. When Adams said that he had to leave as he didn't feel comfortable with the content, it led to his conviction. You can learn more in the documentary The Thin Blue Line.

I saw someone on Letterboxd say that "If Beyond the Valley of the Dolls was about college cheerleading, this would be that movie." What a great way to explain this.

It's totally not the teen sex romp you think it is, yet it has a scene where multiple people in a row all punch a security guard in the face, which should be a moment in every film.

The Boring Cheerleaders

[jfgibson73 · 2/10 · 25 December 2010]

A feminist type writer goes undercover to expose what goes on in the cheerleading squad, but ends up siding with the group.

I didn't really like this movie. I didn't like the characters or the story. I think the one subplot that interested me was the student having an affair with a professor, but it got the least time.

I did like the fact that the newspaper editor who was supposed to be progressive was actually slimy, while the football player who was supposed to be dumb was actually a nice guy. I don't really remember how it ended, but it probably had to do with the administrator and coach getting busted for trying to rig the big game for their own benefit.

Uninteresting and forgettable. And the people in the movie were really ugly, too.

not Jack Hill's best, nor his worst

[movieman_kev · 8/10 · 23 October 2003]

In order to get an expose, an aspiring reporter (Jo Johnston), joins the cheerleading squad only to learn not to pre-judge people. Of the 3 movies in Anchor Bay's Cheerleader set (the Cheerleaders, Revenge of the Cheerleaders, & the swinging Cheerleaders), this one feels most like a movie. Yea, nearly all the cheerleaders shed their clothes at one point or another, but there's a little helping of social commentary to go with the exploitation. It's a bit easy to see that this is a Jack Hill directed picture and it's better because of it.

My Grade: B-

DVD Extras: Commentary; 2 TV spots, Jack Hill Bio

Vintage B-movie classic!

[jfm3 · 7/10 · 7 April 1999]

The last time I saw this movie was in 1991 on USA "Up All Night" and I haven't seen it since. I first saw it in 1983 on cable when I was 12 years old,I had to sneak downstairs in the middle of the night to watch it,because it was a "dirty movie". Those were the days. It may be cheesy as hell,but I like it. I noticed that Colleen Camp is in this,and no, there are no nude shots of her. One thing I've wondered about this is what type of movie this is: Comedy? Drama? Action? I think it's all three. I miss this movie and I wish it was available on VHS. I see SWITCHBLADE SISTERS is! Why isn't this one?! SWINGING CHEERLEADERS is way better than SWITCHBLADE SISTERS!

Minimal budget, and it shows

[smatysia · 3/10 · 8 July 2019]

This film is what made-for-cable movies were in the Eighties. I suppose it played in drive-ins and maybe the "midnight movie" in theaters. The budget was obviously minimal, so it's hard to blame the director. The acting was mostly pretty bad, especially ALL of the male characters. The one unexpected bright spot was the lead actress, Jo Johnston, who was winsome and engaging. Unfortunately, she never seemed to have acted again.

Too many subplots, amateurish performances and writing ruin'Swinging Cheerleaders'

[Michael_Pilkington · 14 February 2004]

A feminist reporter (Jo Johnston) who wants to write an exposé on how cheerleading degrades women decides to infiltrate the cheerleading squad. Once accepted, she realizes that the cheerleaders aren't bad and finds out that the football games are rigged. She also falls for the team's quarterback (Ron Hajek), and this does not sit well with his girlfriend - the head cheerleader (Colleen Camp).

Semi follow-up to 1973's "The Cheerleaders" is a disappointment. Too many subplots, amateurish performances and writing ruin this loser. Directed by Jack Hill ("Coffy," "Foxy Brown"). My evaluation: * out of ****.

I really missed the characters from the original.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 4/10 · 23 November 2011]

It's amazing how this movie made me realize how fond I actually was of the first movie "The Cheerleaders". It was trash but really entertaining and fun trash. I just can't say the same about this sequel.

I just never really had any fun with this movie. It doesn't really has comedy in it, or at least not of the funny kind. It just isn't as fun or clever written as the first movie. As a matter of fact, you could even say that this movie is bit overwritten, as strange as that perhaps might sound. With that I mean, is that the movie takes itself and its story a bit too serious. This movie didn't needed to have a main plot line in it! It should had been about silly teenagers, doing silly teenagers stuff, all sex related.

But you can't even really call this a sexploitation flick. Really, it has far too little sex and nudity in it for that. Like I said, it's just too heavy on its story, which does not suit the genre at all.

Another reason why I really wasn't taken by this movie was because it was lacking some good, or likable enough, characters in it. This is something the first movie did really right! Every character had a very distinctive personality and was often very likable because of that. In this movie I still can't tell you who is who in it. All I remember is that one of the guy's name was Bucky Larson.

It's not exactly the worst movie I have ever seen, also not within its genre but it's still a very lacking- and a just not fun enough movie. Just stick with the original!

4/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Didn't Stick The Landing.

[twonebody · 2/10 · 28 October 2021]

The movie started well but coming down to the ending it was rushed and storylines felt incomplete except for Lisa and the teacher. They could have written what happened to all the characters at the end.

Good clean fun

[Falconeer · 7/10 · 30 October 2017]

I had this movie confused with another one called "The Cheerleaders," which was basically a raunchy exploit flick that looked like a hardcore movie, with the hardcore cut out. But "The Swinging Cheerleaders" is surprising in that it has a plot; several interlacing dramatic stories actually, and it's truly a fun movie. And the "Raincoat crowd" will be disappointed in the fact that this is VERY tame in the sex department. I searched this out because I'm a devoted Cheryl Rainbeaux Smith fan, and she is her usual sweet, beautiful self here, as the last cheerleader to lose her virginity, which she does in a sad way. Yes there is actually some good drama here to accompany the comic elements, and it's all really tasteful. So check out this early 70's time capsule; it's one of the good ones. I'm excited to see the sequel. "Revenge of the Cheerleaders."

The Swinging Cheerleaders

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 30 August 2009]

The prolific Jack Hill directs an exploitation feature this time focusing on cheerleaders and a football scandal..now this is what I seek out for my entertainment. The story-lines(..there are a series of plots focusing on certain cheerleaders and their love lives)aren't that challenging, just simple basic scenarios wrapped up in a tiny bow at the conclusion.

Mesa College Dean, Head Football Coach, and a Math Professor all take part in a betting scheme, fixing numbers in regards to scoring during football games since the team is so talented. An underground college reporter, working on a major assignment for her term paper, decides to join the cheerleader squad to find dirt for it. Joe Johnston is Kate, the sexually liberated reporter who finds herself befriending her fellow cheerleaders, falling in love with the All American quarterback stud, Buck Larson(Ron Hajek) in the process. Buck is the boyfriend of head cheerleader Mary Ann(Colleen Camp), the prim, proper(..and quite naive)daughter of Mesa's Dean. Mary Ann doesn't have a clue that her man is banging all kinds of chicks on campus. Other sub-plots include virginal Andrea(Cheryl Smith)giving her football wide receiver boyfriend a hard time with her sexual hang-ups and cheerleader Lisa(Rosanne Katon)conflicted due to her affair with her married Professor Thorpe(Jason Sommers). Kate must contend with her deteriorating relationship with a campus radical who gets revenge on her, exposing the ditched article on cheerleader exploitation, raising the ire of her colleagues.

I admittedly enjoy this kind of 70's drive-in fare, and as expected Hill understands how to deliver for this market. While the stories are soap opera in college kind of material, at least there was an effort to incorporate social themes reflecting that period of time. There's plenty of crude sex comedy humor throughout which means Hill done his homework. Hill mentions on the audio commentary that he hated football and didn't know that much about it, but I commend his ability to evoke the atmosphere of this particular setting, establishing how the sport could be used for behind-the-scenes crooked activities. Johnston(..I'm quite shocked this was her only performance)is quite appealing as the central character who stirs the pot and Cheryl Smith is beautiful / vulnerable as the dim bulb Andrea without a clue regarding the methods of passionate love-making. I love me some Colleen Camp and she's a fox, looking mighty fetching in her cheerleader uniform. There's some nudity sprinkled throughout, but Hill cuts away before sex commences.

Jack Hill's slyly subversive 70's cheerleader comedy treat

[Woodyanders · 9/10 · 18 September 2006]

Special credit must go to the ever-surprising and enterprising Jack Hill for making the single most wickedly subversive film in the popular 70's cheerleader sub-genre. Sure, it certainly delivers the prerequisite ample doses of silly slapstick humor and tasty sex and gratuitous nudity, but along with that sleazy stuff we also have a remarkably astute critique of gender roles and sexual stereotypes as well as a deliciously sly and playful sense of anarchic humor.

Sassy Mesa University underground newspaper reporter Kate (winningly played by lovely brunette sprite Jo Johnston) decides to pose as a cheerleader in order to get the straight dope for an article on "female exploitation in contemporary society." Kate soon discovers that there's much more to being a cheerleader than just sexy short skirts and fluffy pom-poms. They're actually troubled individuals with serious issues: Sweet Rainbeaux Smith is a frustrated virgin who's eager to learn more about sex, Colleeen Camp is a snotty, stuck-up rich bitch who always gets what she wants, and Rosanne Katon ("Playboy" 's September '78 Playmate of the Month) is having an affair with a married college professor. The seemingly cocky and sexist star football player turns out to be a nice, sensitive guy and the allegedly radical hippie college newspaper editor ultimately gets exposed as a hypocritical misogynistic phony. Moreover, both the shady campus dean and the duplicitous football coach are involved in a numbers racket. Wow, talk about campus unrest! Besides the unusually sound plot and provocative political subtext (both very rare and welcome qualities in the often schlocky and strictly superficial cheerleader sub-genre), "The Swinging Cheerleaders" further boasts a wonderfully lush'n'plush look, uniformly solid acting, nifty policeman bits by crusty character actor John Quade and veteran Hollywood stuntman Bob Minor (who also popped up in "Coffy," "Foxy Brown" and "Switchblade Sistors" for Jack Hill), and a hilariously wild'n'wacky slapstick finale. Clips from this gem are featured in the acclaimed Errol Morris documentary "The Thin Blue Line."

Surprising Quality For the Genre

[Falconeer · 7/10 · 31 December 2019]

Those familiar with this series will probably expect this installment to be more of the same, mindless slapstick, sex jokes and wall to wall T&A and sex..especially if you happened to see "Revenge of the Cheerleaders" first, which is pretty worthless junk. But this one, rather than going the expected route, offers some fairly compelling drama, and very little nudity and NO sex at all. Of course it isn't deep, but some serious issues are dealt with, such as loyalty among friends, jealousy, rape, (in the movie's saddest part with Cheryl Smith) as well as the damaging effects that can arise from casual affairs. Self-proclaimed feminist Kate initially joins the cheerleading squad to secretly do research for a term paper about the sexism and objectification of women involved in being a cheerleader. She thinks she won't be able to relate to such silly girls, but to her surprise she strikes up genuine friendships with them and changes her mind about writing the article, but they find out anyway, which leads to some dramatic situations. Meanwhile each girl has her own story; Cheryl Smith's Andrea is a virgin, afraid to go all the way with her boyfriend. He eventually becomes frustrated and leaves her, and that causes her to do something very stupid and self destructive. Lisa is having an affair with her math teacher, but she doesn't stop to think of what it is doing to the guy's wife, who confronts Lisa in the film's most dramatic scene. Finally Mary Ann (Colleen Camp) has her delusions shattered when she finds out her father is not the great guy she thinks he is. At the center of it all is the illegal gambling ring involving the team coach and a couple faculty members, in which they are rigging the football games in hoping of becoming rich on a crooked betting scheme. Maybe the fact that Jack Hill is at the helm is the reason that this one is so much more polished and respectable than the other 'Cheerleader' movies, with it's glossy production values and cast that is very beautiful rather than cheap and slutty looking like in the other movies, but this is quite a fun movie that is more intelligent than most of the films of this genre. And for fans of the Great Cheryl Rainbeaoux Smith, this is a must-see film, as she is so good in it, and is quite believable as the virgin who is afraid of sex. Out of the series I can only recommend this one and "The Pom Pom Girls." The rest of them are pretty bad.

The Swinging Cheerleaders was a wonderful surprise of a drive-in movie type

[tavm · 7/10 · 12 September 2014]

Okay, this is my second cheerleader movie in a row I'm reviewing having previously commented on The Cheerleaders. In this one, Jo Johnson is Kate, an aspiring reporter who joins the college cheer team to expose them for their sexual hijinks but ends up finding out about a corrupt fix involving the football games. Ms. Johnson is quite a sexy brunette here surrounded by a blonde Colleen Camp as Mary Ann, another blonde Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith as Andrea, and a female of color Rosanne Katon as Lisa. Yes, there's some sex scenes with the requisite nudity and some funny lines and sequences but there's also some nice dramatic ones concerning much of the plot I mentioned. If I hadn't read the credits on Wikipedia and this site, I would have been fooled this was actually written by two women but it's actually two men as one of them is really director Jack Hill (as "Jane Witherspoon"!). Still, it sometimes felt like there was a feminist spin in some of the scenes and I liked the way the tone changed partly on a dime. So on that note, I recommend The Swinging Cheerleaders.

Social dynamics & corruptions at a SoCal university in the early 70s

[Wuchakk · 7/10 · 7 April 2023]

A student journalist (Jo Johnston) gets on the cheerleading squad intending to expose female exploitation, but discovers more than she bargained for.

"The Swinging Cheerleaders" (1974) is a low-budget examination of the social workings of any American university of the time period, including the good, the bad and the ugly. It only took 12 days to shoot with the script started in late January and the movie released in May(!). Interestingly, it was originally said to be titled "Stand Up and Holler," but changed to the more exploitive title for obvious reasons. Some of the female cast members said they wouldn't have signed on had they known this.

There's the criticism that the film tries to be too many things: Is it a sexploitation flick? A serious drama about male mistreatment of young women at college? A morality tale of the drawbacks of the loose sex lifestyle? A commentary on gambling and the corresponding rigged football games? Or just a campy quicky about cheerleaders saving the day?

Yes, it ambitiously features all of these angles, but surprisingly works, despite the micro-budget and no-name actors. True, three of the actresses appear top nude for brief flashes, but this is way more than a one-dimensional sleaze flick. Everything it includes are realities at institutions of higher learning, back then and today.

Cheryl "Rainbeaux" Smith (Andrea) and Colleen Camp (Mary Ann) stand out in the feminine department. Colleen was 20 during shooting and went on to play the squaw playmate in "Apocalypse Now" (1979) and the French maid in "Clue" (1985), not to mention the mother in "Valley Girl" (1983). This is the best movie to see her in her early years since her part is fairly big.

The lovely "Rainbeaux" Smith was only 18 during shooting and in the early stages of pregnancy with her son Justin. She had a genuine innocent quality, appearing in many 'B' flicks throughout the 70s & early 80s. Unfortunately, she fell prey to hard drugs and contracted hepatitis, which ultimately killed her by the too-young age of 47 in 2002.

The film runs 1 hour, 31 minutes, and was shot in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles (football field), and areas nearby, like Playa Del Rey (Kate flees after the police bust), Carthay Studios (interiors) and West Los Angeles (the Putnam residence).

GRADE: B.

Worth a look!

[willandcharlenebrown · 6/10 · 16 January 2021]

Not too bad with a lot of familiar faces. My favorite of course being the nurse from Clue. Colleen Camp.

Better Than I Remembered

[kirbylee70-599-526179 · 7/10 · 14 September 2016]

I'm not sure that I actually saw this film at the drive-in, where movies like this were a constant staple, but I did see a few like it. All of them seemed to have on goal in mind, to take the tops off of eager young women. At least that's the only thing I thought they were about back then. I found most poorly made and boring. But in watching this one I was surprised that there was actually a decent movie here although one made with a nearly non-existent budget.

The story here revolves around the cheerleading squad at Mesa State. Kate (Jo Johnston) is the reporter for an underground newspaper on campus (face it all universities had them in the late 60s/early 70s). To get the gritty on the cheerleaders and how they are being taken advantage of by the team and alumni she goes undercover and becomes one of them. What she doesn't count on is discovering that they are just normal young women like here and that not all of the jocks are the jerks she assumed they were.

She also didn't consider the fact she might find love with star quarterback Buck Larson (Ron Hajek). Buck is already involved with the head cheerleader Mary Ann (Colleen Camp) whose father is the most influential member of the alumni around. To cross her might mean the end of his scholarship. But this isn't the worst of the problems faced here.

There is cheerleader Lisa who is romantically involved with her Professor Thorpe, her math teacher. They two plan to run off together as soon as he divorces his wife. Then there is Andrea, a virginal young cheerleader who can't quite seem to commit to a sexual involvement with her boyfriend who she dearly loves. We are also presented with a problem involving Thorpe, Mary Ann's father and the coach who are gambling on the team to make big bucks, so much so that the coach is willing to throw the game to advance their position.

Kate's editor is a pot smoking radical who wants to do nothing less that stick it to "the man". When she begins to see that things aren't what they thought he doesn't take kindly to her new viewpoint. When Andrea goes to the newspaper's office to talk to her she's not there but he is. Taking out his frustration he rapes Andrea.

The feminist viewpoints on display here, the sexual revolution that discusses both end of the scale from random sex to commitment, the discovery that the "straights" aren't as straight as thought and the "radicals" aren't nearly as progressive as they pain themselves all combine here to make an honest to goodness movie rather than a simple T&A drive-in flick. Yes, some of the jokes fall flat and are corny, yes the sets leave much to be desired at times, yes the acting ranges from solid to ludicrous but in the end the movie ends up being, well, a decent little movie. It has an actual story even if it is dropped down the most simplistic possible. But when you're shooting a movie in 12 days intended to do more than titillate teens what do you expect? That something good came from that is the most amazing thing.

The Arrow Video release of this film is jam packed with goodies, like almost everything they are bringing out on blu-ray these days. I've hailed them for their quality product time and again and this time is no different. The movie looks beautiful on screen using the best possible print they could find. Extras include an audio commentary track with director Jack Hill made just for this release, a brand new interview with director Jack Hill, an archive interview with cinematographer Alfred Taylor, an archive interview with Jack Hill and Johnny Legend, a Q&A with Hill and actors Colleen Camp and Roseanne Katon recorded at the New Beverly Cinema in 2012, TV spots and a reversible sleeve featuring artwork by Graham Humphreys.

If you have fond memories of going to the drive-in then by all means you'll want to add this one to your collection. It turns out to be more fun than you would expect and a better movie than most in the genre offer.