Okay, right off the bat, this is not one of the better exploitation movies, even by the reliable standards of Arthur Marks as director. (See DETROIT 9000 or BONNIE'S KIDS or his numerous TV show episodes for evidence of his good work) But it's strangely endearing, despite the fact that it takes nearly half an hour for the actual plot of the movie to begin. Four very lovely, vivacious, and unrealistically loquacious college girls (five, if you count the visiting cousin) are off to their summer jobs. Despite the title, we rarely see any actual footage of any of these girls co-habitating. Then again, Bette Davis loved to point out that there were no whales in THE WHALES OF AUGUST, so what's in a title? And naturally, since this is the swingin' '70's, all those jobs put them in the vicinity of eligible men. So for the first half hour, it plays like a reasonably harmless, fluffy, "what I did last summer" romp. Then, two reels in, things take a curve, because people start getting killed. And by the rigid movie law governing murder mysteries, somebody, be it one of the babes or one of the beaus, is responsible. Of course, that little detail doesn't get in the way of the girls' continuing drive to party. In short, by our standards of irony, this movie is review-proof: you're going to be watching this for hot girls and archaic sexual mores, and you'll get 'em. I kinda wonder if Quentin Tarantino has seen this film and is a fan of it. He did acquire Marks' DETROIT 9000 for reissue, and his script for FROM DUSK TILL DAWN also starts out as one kind of movie and changes into another. I wouldn't be surprised if my hunch turned out correct.
15 Reviews
Roommates
BandSAboutMovies24 September 2023
Warning: Spoilers
Carla (Marki Bey, Sugar Hill herself!), Heather (Pat Woodell, The Big Doll House) Beth (Roberta Collins, Eaten Alive, Unholy Rollers), Brea (Laurie Rose AKA Misty Dawn, the wife of John Holmes) and Paula (Christina Hart, The Stewardesses) take a summer vacation together on Lake Arrowhead. This would seem to be a very Corman nurse movie from the surface, but the tagline - "Which will die in the class of '73?" - points to a very frightening story.
Is it too soon to talk about 1972?
Of course, all the men in this movie are horrible, like Martin (Ken Scott), the owner of the motel who sleeps with Heather and was the man who took her virginity when she should have been doing her driver's test. And then there's the death of Alice (Connie Strickland), stabbed a hundred times and left in the woods so close to where the girls sleep.
Whodunnit? Socks the biker (John Durren, who wrote the movie)? His girlfriend (Paula Shaw, The Centerfold Girls, Pamela Vorhees in Freddy vs. Jason)? Creepy Harold (Greg Mabrey)? Don the handyman (Kipp Whitman)? Just about any guy in this movie? And why would Heather throw a big party when, you know, there's been a murder?
I'm making this sound more like it has an actual story and less than a vehicle for female nudity, as each of the leads gets their clothes off as do the guest stars, which include Connie Strickland, Uschi Digard, Lindsay Bloom (H. O. T. S.), and Juanita Brown. When your movie starts with a medical school orgy, you know how it will go.
Arthur Marks also directed Detroit 9000, Bonnie's Kids, Linda Lovelace for President, the way better than any of those movies J. D.'s Revenge, Friday Foster and uncredited work on Solar Crisis. Durren also came up with the idea for the Mickey Rooney movie The Manipulator and wrote Devil Times Five.
I like the ramshackle narrative of this movie, but this one really shows you just how good Corman's crew was at making their girls movies.
Is it too soon to talk about 1972?
Of course, all the men in this movie are horrible, like Martin (Ken Scott), the owner of the motel who sleeps with Heather and was the man who took her virginity when she should have been doing her driver's test. And then there's the death of Alice (Connie Strickland), stabbed a hundred times and left in the woods so close to where the girls sleep.
Whodunnit? Socks the biker (John Durren, who wrote the movie)? His girlfriend (Paula Shaw, The Centerfold Girls, Pamela Vorhees in Freddy vs. Jason)? Creepy Harold (Greg Mabrey)? Don the handyman (Kipp Whitman)? Just about any guy in this movie? And why would Heather throw a big party when, you know, there's been a murder?
I'm making this sound more like it has an actual story and less than a vehicle for female nudity, as each of the leads gets their clothes off as do the guest stars, which include Connie Strickland, Uschi Digard, Lindsay Bloom (H. O. T. S.), and Juanita Brown. When your movie starts with a medical school orgy, you know how it will go.
Arthur Marks also directed Detroit 9000, Bonnie's Kids, Linda Lovelace for President, the way better than any of those movies J. D.'s Revenge, Friday Foster and uncredited work on Solar Crisis. Durren also came up with the idea for the Mickey Rooney movie The Manipulator and wrote Devil Times Five.
I like the ramshackle narrative of this movie, but this one really shows you just how good Corman's crew was at making their girls movies.
Whodunit with decorative padding
midbrowcontrarian10 November 2020
The first time I saw Roommates a few weeks ago I thought it without merit and deserved only a 3. Probably this was due to having seen the eye-popping (don't ask) Beach Bunnies (1976) a couple of days before. Packaged as a sex film, it's hardly more daring than a 1960's Elvis Presley movie, a bit of a swindle. One reviewer reckons it has more sex than comedy, from which I can only surmise either he thought it entirely devoid of comedy or there are two versions and he saw the uncut one.
On the second, more cerebral viewing I better appreciated the good points. Enjoyment of older low budget films can be blighted by that grainy, out of focus look, this picture is so sharp it could have been shot last year. And, like the scenery, the girls are easy on the eye, especially Brea and Carla. I rather felt the others were there to make up the quorum, though of course this is highly subjective.
To digress, I only recently started reviewing films and by now all but the most abysmal or obscure have garnered at least a dozen reviews. This can make it hard to think of anything original to say. On the other hand it's likely someone has already delineated the story in some detail, obviating the need for any humdrum descriptive writing. That being the case here I will make just a couple more observations.
While the story is not far fetched, neither is all of it believable. A real life Brea, taking the reputational and possibly legal risk of bedding a teenage boy, would surely have picked the confident and better looking (albeit conceited) Aaron over the mousy, tongue tied Harold. I guess we were supposed to think Harold rather sweet and so deserving the girl of his dreams. Which provokes the contrarian in me to see him rather as a bit of a wimp.
I wonder if I'm alone in suspecting that elements of the murderers' modus operandi owe more to a famous Hitchcock scene than mere coincidence - no names, no spoilers.
Worth the wait
lazarillo8 April 2015
This movie has been unavailable in any form for many years. Short of driving down to the original Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Texas when they did the occasional repertory showing, there has simply been no way for most people to see it. Now that has changed with a long-awaited DVD release. And it was actually worth the wait. It isn't that this is a brilliantly conceived movie by master filmmakers, or conversely, that it's one of those largely mythical "so-bad-it's-good" films, but it's one where all the elements just happily gel together in a near-perfect exploitation romp.
The format of the story involves four sex college-age girls, who are not all technically "roommates", but are spending summer vacation together in two lakeside houses. The girls each have individual adventures. The black girl (Marki Bey) works at a library and is torn between two lovers, a jealous white stud and a heroic black sheriff's deputy. The blonde girl (Roberta Collins) has a fling with a recent divorced older man. The brunette (Pat Woodell) is supposed to be "babysitting" her younger cousin (Christina Hart), but they BOTH get involved with a middle-aged womanizer and his troubled teenage son. The last and sexiest girl (Laurie Rose) becomes a nurse at a boy's camp where she helps out a bullied male virgin (although not so much with the bullying part). These separate stories follow the formula established by Roger Corman/New Line in the early 70's with his "Nurse" movies, but this film does not have the ham-handed attempts at humor or the dated and often annoying faux-feminist politics of the Corman-produced films. Instead it has a giallo-esque killer wandering around picking off the secondary female characters--which is actually a lot more fun.
The movie actually spends more time creating various red herrings than it does on the murders (they should have called the lake Lake Red Herring), and the identity of the murderer ends up being rather perfunctory and obvious. But the mystery-killer plot does avoid some of the borderline misogyny that mars some of the other films produced by Arthur Marks in that era like "Centerfold Girls" and "Bonnie's Kids". This falls between the pseudo-feminist preaching and the sleazy misogyny of the low-budget 70's era into a happy medium of truly enjoyable exploitation.
The five girls, of course, really make the movie. Marki Bey is the best actress. Roberta Collins would have the most substantial exploitation career (although she is somewhat wasted here). TV actress Pat Woodell is serviceable. The best two though are Laurie Rose and Christina Hart. Rose is probably the closest to being a purely softcore sexploitation actress, so not surprisingly she has the most nude scenes, but her acting is actually quite good here. Christina Hart plays a character that alternates between a naive innocent and a malicious young tease (similar to Robin Mattson in "Bonnie's Kids"). She is incredibly sexy even with her clothes on. I'd highly recommend this one.
The format of the story involves four sex college-age girls, who are not all technically "roommates", but are spending summer vacation together in two lakeside houses. The girls each have individual adventures. The black girl (Marki Bey) works at a library and is torn between two lovers, a jealous white stud and a heroic black sheriff's deputy. The blonde girl (Roberta Collins) has a fling with a recent divorced older man. The brunette (Pat Woodell) is supposed to be "babysitting" her younger cousin (Christina Hart), but they BOTH get involved with a middle-aged womanizer and his troubled teenage son. The last and sexiest girl (Laurie Rose) becomes a nurse at a boy's camp where she helps out a bullied male virgin (although not so much with the bullying part). These separate stories follow the formula established by Roger Corman/New Line in the early 70's with his "Nurse" movies, but this film does not have the ham-handed attempts at humor or the dated and often annoying faux-feminist politics of the Corman-produced films. Instead it has a giallo-esque killer wandering around picking off the secondary female characters--which is actually a lot more fun.
The movie actually spends more time creating various red herrings than it does on the murders (they should have called the lake Lake Red Herring), and the identity of the murderer ends up being rather perfunctory and obvious. But the mystery-killer plot does avoid some of the borderline misogyny that mars some of the other films produced by Arthur Marks in that era like "Centerfold Girls" and "Bonnie's Kids". This falls between the pseudo-feminist preaching and the sleazy misogyny of the low-budget 70's era into a happy medium of truly enjoyable exploitation.
The five girls, of course, really make the movie. Marki Bey is the best actress. Roberta Collins would have the most substantial exploitation career (although she is somewhat wasted here). TV actress Pat Woodell is serviceable. The best two though are Laurie Rose and Christina Hart. Rose is probably the closest to being a purely softcore sexploitation actress, so not surprisingly she has the most nude scenes, but her acting is actually quite good here. Christina Hart plays a character that alternates between a naive innocent and a malicious young tease (similar to Robin Mattson in "Bonnie's Kids"). She is incredibly sexy even with her clothes on. I'd highly recommend this one.
A ho hum and oh so dumb slasher film
Ed-Shullivan11 September 2019
Well this was a real time waster wasn't it? You have four (4) young liberal ladies strutting their stuff and their personal lives clashing with some of the local yokels. But wait...there is a killer on the loose who appears to be a woman? No wait....maybe it is a guy in drag....no wait....maybe the killer is a woman?
Does it really matter who the killer on the loose is? we know how this story is going to end and quite frankly whoever the killer is when we eventually find out do we really care? No, and I will tell you why. There is no substance to this 1970's low budget film filled with actors and actresses who seemingly were just happy to have made any film and see their stage name run through the end credits.
Speaking of the end credits the best piece of this film were those magical two words...."THE END"
I rated it a 3 out of 10 simply for the producers trying to convince their audience this was a suspense/thriller film. NOT!!!!!
Does it really matter who the killer on the loose is? we know how this story is going to end and quite frankly whoever the killer is when we eventually find out do we really care? No, and I will tell you why. There is no substance to this 1970's low budget film filled with actors and actresses who seemingly were just happy to have made any film and see their stage name run through the end credits.
Speaking of the end credits the best piece of this film were those magical two words...."THE END"
I rated it a 3 out of 10 simply for the producers trying to convince their audience this was a suspense/thriller film. NOT!!!!!
A Sudden Turn of Events
Uriah4322 January 2016
This movie begins with two attractive young ladies by the names of "Beth" (Roberta Collins) and "Carla" (Marki Bey) in their bikinis on the beach and talking. The next scene introduces two more young ladies named "Heather" (Pat Woodell) and "Brea" (Laurie Rose) taking a shower prior to meeting Beth and Carla to discuss their plans for their upcoming summer vacation. Eventually, they all agree to go to Lake Arrowhead but not necessarily together. Heather has invited her cousin, "Paula" (Christina Hart) to spend some time with her at her house near the lake while Brea has accepted a job as a nurse at nearby Camp Wanachee. Beth, on the other hand, wants to spend time at the lake with her new boyfriend "Nick" (Daryl Stevens). Likewise, although Carla has accepted a summer job at the local library she also plans on spending some time at the lake as well. Anyway, as things are progressing like one might expect, the movie takes a sudden turn at around the 40-minute mark and the comedy morphs into a slasher film when a serial killer emerges and begins to kill some of the females at the beach. Although it was all rather sudden and unexpected, I suppose it was a turn in the right direction as the comedy wasn't too sharp to begin with. Even so, the director (Arthur Marks) wasn't able to keep the mystery going for too long and as a result the movie regressed even further from there. The worst part, however, was the dialogue which was about as bad as anything I have ever witnessed. This clearly affected the acting as only Pat Woodell managed to turn in anything resembling an adequate performance. That being said, about the only thing going for this film was the presence of the lovely actresses just mentioned and I have rated this movie accordingly as it simply lacked cohesion.
A humorous sexploitation film - worth watching for that reason alone
Sean_Biggins16 August 2021
Near the opening, it shows two of the women in a public shower, showing some skin while having a conversation about how nature's natural beauty shouldn't be exploited... but that's exactly what they're of course doing by flashing their boobs for the camera in a cheap film, so the hypocrisy is quite funny. They probably thought if they showed two women at least sounding intelligent and talking about politics, then they could get back to the real business of showing their boobs and exploiting them. How weird but hey man, that was the 70's.
Pat Woodell is in it and is of course beautiful and smart. It's sort of too bad she never did more in the way of quality work because she had the talent and the looks, however she probably did the intelligent thing by getting out of showbiz.
I won't bother describing what happens because others have mentioned the details, but if you like funny, campy movies, then this one will probably not disappoint.
Pat Woodell is in it and is of course beautiful and smart. It's sort of too bad she never did more in the way of quality work because she had the talent and the looks, however she probably did the intelligent thing by getting out of showbiz.
I won't bother describing what happens because others have mentioned the details, but if you like funny, campy movies, then this one will probably not disappoint.
They sure don't make 'em like this anymore!
OKCRay27 October 2007
This super-obscure movie was recently shown at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Austin, TX as part of its "Weird Wednesday" feature, and it was well worth doing a little traveling to catch it (if I remember correctly, the last time this movie played in theatres was as part of a double-bill with THE SWINGING CHEERLEADERS, so you KNOW it's been a long, long time!). I enjoy grindhouse/drive-in ("Joe Bob Briggs-type") movies from the '70s, and THE ROOMMATES certainly fits the bill. The movie starts off as a cheesecake romp with four lovely college coeds finishing the school year and getting ready for some fun in the sun during their summer break. They have the requisite wild party (described by some as an "orgy" but consisting mainly of binge drinking, heavy petting, a strip chess game and the aforementioned sit-up contest) then go off on their summer adventures (more or less separately, but all at or near Lake Arrowhead). Heather (Pat Woodell, the original Bobbie Jo Bradley from PETTICOAT JUNCTION) takes it easy at the family summer home along with her visiting younger cousin Paula (Christina Hart). They discover a young man camping out on the property and allow him to stay in a shed in exchange for chopping and gathering firewood. Carla (Marki Bey) works at a local library and catches the fancy of the deputy sheriff (not to mention some leering library patrons), Beth (Roberta Collins) works alongside a waterskiing instructor and pursues a relationship with a married man, and Brea (Laurie Rose) is a nurse at a summer camp and takes a somewhat sheltered teenage boy under her wing. As mentioned in other reviews, giving each girl her own separate story line was pretty much standard formula at the time for these movies, then once the summer adventures were well underway the film veers sharply and introduces a crazed killer who starts bumping off beautiful women at the lake. The individual stories continue as the summer goes on, leading to a frenzied climax at a country club gathering. Fans of '70s movies will love the wild clothes and hairstyles, and while the music is rather simplistic and minimal (reminiscent of background music from an early 70s diet cola commercial) it's still fun. Throw in some super-cheesy dialogue, a rather dysfunctional family who run a resort hotel, some biker thugs and several lecherous middle-aged men with a preference for jailbait and you've got one far-out, funky flick! THE ROOMMATES drew a pretty decent crowd at the Alamo Drafthouse (mainly college-age and mid-to-late 20s) and although the print was quite scratchy and the color didn't age well at all it got a pretty favorable response from everyone. It was great seeing everyone enjoying and really getting into a freewheeling movie from a bygone era, and they certainly don't make 'em like THE ROOMMATES anymore! Looking forward to the DVD release in 2009 from Dark Sky Films!
Another lost drive-in classic that screams the 70s.
edinman24 June 2005
I mostly agree with The Hoyt's review except where he says initially that "this is not a very good movie" and that Arthur Marks had "low standards." Marks was, IMO, an underrated exploitation master and "The Roommates," while perhaps not as good overall as "Bonnie's Kids" or some of his other films, is nonetheless a great, lost drive-in classic that screams the 70's.
The 70s hair. The clothes. The beauty. The music. The drama. The sex. The murder. The comedy.
It's all there, in ample proportions. If only my summer jobs during college were half as exciting (LOL).
Entertaining and worth seeking out at any cost for fans of the genre.
The 70s hair. The clothes. The beauty. The music. The drama. The sex. The murder. The comedy.
It's all there, in ample proportions. If only my summer jobs during college were half as exciting (LOL).
Entertaining and worth seeking out at any cost for fans of the genre.
Entertaining mix of social commentary, girls and murder
Casey-5217 August 2005
It's a shame that Arthur Marks' THE ROOMMATES is for the most part verrrrry hard to come by because it's one of his best! It's a hell of a lot better than CENTERFOLD GIRLS, that's for sure, and while it's no BONNIE'S KIDS, it is a unique blend of beautiful girls and 70s drive-in elements. While the four leading ladies only share one or two scenes together, this is typical of the four-independent-and-beautiful-twentysomethings subgenre of the drive-in. New World's NURSES and TEACHERS films, as well as THE STEWARDESSES and Al Adamson's rip-offs, featured beautiful girls who were friends, but their individual stories were followed more closely. The social politics of the time (the sexual revolution, women's lib) also play heavily in character development, as in the aforementioned films.
Marki Bey, who would soon become SUGAR HILL before becoming a featured player on "Starsky and Hutch", gives probably her finest performance as a smirking librarian who makes no apologies when she jumps from one man to another who catches her fancy. Pat Woodell, besides contributing a little nudity in a shower scene, is given little to do despite her star billing. She was the only established star of the cast, yet she's obviously not the character Marks was most interested in. Laurie Rose had the most varied career of the girls, from David Friedman skinflicks (ADULT VERSION OF JEKYLL AND HIDE) to Lee Frost sleaze (POLICEWOMEN) to Filipino action pics (THE HOT BOX). Here she is given probably her most interesting and sensitive character. Today she is a professional bellydancer and doesn't look on her past too highly, but she should at least be proud of her work in this film. Roberta Collins is the most vivacious of the quartet, and as evident in most of her films, is an adept comedienne who totally endears herself to the audience. How could anyone watching her films NOT fall in love with her? One of the strongest actresses of the 70s drive-in, she also handles dramatic scenes astonishingly well. Unbelievably, she never graduated to the bigger and better Hollywood roles she so richly deserved.
Also on-hand are two more popular drive-in beauties. Christina Hart (THE STEWARDESSES, JOHNNY FIRECLOUD) is a seemingly innocent cousin of Woodell's who turns out to be a conniving little sexpot who plans on having the swingingest summer of her life. Connie Strickland, the blonde bombshell from BUMMER!, appears in a small role as a vacationing water-skier who is the killer's first victim. Strickland didn't get to star in too many films, usually in small character roles; Marks would use her again in CENTERFOLD GIRLS. Look fast for Uschi Digart in an orgy scene and Albert Cole (THE INCREDIBLE TWO-HEADED TRANSPLANT) as a biker!! ROOMMATES is a little slow-going. The first 15 minutes set-up the four best friends, who have lots of dialogue discussing their personal politics and establishing the two goofball comediennes (Marki Bey and Roberta Collins) and the more serious lasses (Pat Woodell and Laurie Rose). Following a wild party where Rose beats a jock in a sit-up contest, the girls take off for their summer vacation at a lovely resort. And all of a sudden, a charming comedy in the vein of SUMMER SCHOOL TEACHERS becomes a twisted killing-spree-whodunit with beautiful girls falling dead left and right (very much like the Sebastians' THE SINGLE GIRLS from the same year, or New World's NIGHT CALL NURSES and STUDENT TEACHERS). All four gals manage to pair up with respective male partners in-between the murders, and the film successfully jumps back and forth between these two very different parts.
I think The Hoyk's review below is a little off; Tarantino probably never saw this film (which was never available on home video and is still near impossible to find) so its influence on him is zero. Hopefully some DVD company will come along to rescue this one from obscurity and release it with appreciative extras with Marks and the six featured actresses and the tender loving care it deserves. It's not a four-star, solid 10 exploitation feature, but there is still plenty here to keep fans of 70s drive-in fare happy.
Marki Bey, who would soon become SUGAR HILL before becoming a featured player on "Starsky and Hutch", gives probably her finest performance as a smirking librarian who makes no apologies when she jumps from one man to another who catches her fancy. Pat Woodell, besides contributing a little nudity in a shower scene, is given little to do despite her star billing. She was the only established star of the cast, yet she's obviously not the character Marks was most interested in. Laurie Rose had the most varied career of the girls, from David Friedman skinflicks (ADULT VERSION OF JEKYLL AND HIDE) to Lee Frost sleaze (POLICEWOMEN) to Filipino action pics (THE HOT BOX). Here she is given probably her most interesting and sensitive character. Today she is a professional bellydancer and doesn't look on her past too highly, but she should at least be proud of her work in this film. Roberta Collins is the most vivacious of the quartet, and as evident in most of her films, is an adept comedienne who totally endears herself to the audience. How could anyone watching her films NOT fall in love with her? One of the strongest actresses of the 70s drive-in, she also handles dramatic scenes astonishingly well. Unbelievably, she never graduated to the bigger and better Hollywood roles she so richly deserved.
Also on-hand are two more popular drive-in beauties. Christina Hart (THE STEWARDESSES, JOHNNY FIRECLOUD) is a seemingly innocent cousin of Woodell's who turns out to be a conniving little sexpot who plans on having the swingingest summer of her life. Connie Strickland, the blonde bombshell from BUMMER!, appears in a small role as a vacationing water-skier who is the killer's first victim. Strickland didn't get to star in too many films, usually in small character roles; Marks would use her again in CENTERFOLD GIRLS. Look fast for Uschi Digart in an orgy scene and Albert Cole (THE INCREDIBLE TWO-HEADED TRANSPLANT) as a biker!! ROOMMATES is a little slow-going. The first 15 minutes set-up the four best friends, who have lots of dialogue discussing their personal politics and establishing the two goofball comediennes (Marki Bey and Roberta Collins) and the more serious lasses (Pat Woodell and Laurie Rose). Following a wild party where Rose beats a jock in a sit-up contest, the girls take off for their summer vacation at a lovely resort. And all of a sudden, a charming comedy in the vein of SUMMER SCHOOL TEACHERS becomes a twisted killing-spree-whodunit with beautiful girls falling dead left and right (very much like the Sebastians' THE SINGLE GIRLS from the same year, or New World's NIGHT CALL NURSES and STUDENT TEACHERS). All four gals manage to pair up with respective male partners in-between the murders, and the film successfully jumps back and forth between these two very different parts.
I think The Hoyk's review below is a little off; Tarantino probably never saw this film (which was never available on home video and is still near impossible to find) so its influence on him is zero. Hopefully some DVD company will come along to rescue this one from obscurity and release it with appreciative extras with Marks and the six featured actresses and the tender loving care it deserves. It's not a four-star, solid 10 exploitation feature, but there is still plenty here to keep fans of 70s drive-in fare happy.
A solid outing for 70s drive-in flicks completists.
Hey_Sweden1 June 2015
Carla (Marki Bey), Heather (Pat Woodell), Beth (Roberta Collins), and Brea (Laurie Rose) are four absolutely lovely young co-eds who head to the community of Lake Arrowhead for some R & R. The story mostly consists of their amorous adventures, while the activities of a psycho on the prowl form a major subplot.
Written by director Arthur Marks and actor John Durren (who plays the small role of Socks the biker), this is good, straightforward exploitation entertainment that has its cake and eats it too. By that, this viewer means that Marks & Durren combine some enlightened sexual politics - the four main characters are independent women who know their own minds - with diversions of the far more lurid kind. The script has some surprising wit going for it, although there are some pretty silly lines as well. The assets of the female cast are stressed whenever the opportunity presents itself. Also, our actresses are engaging and intelligent as well as being fine eye candy. Bey, in particular, shines.
Many of the men in this series of episodes are not exactly portrayed in the most flattering light. Lee (Ben Pfeiffer) is especially sleazy, the kind of guy who has no more need for a woman once he's gotten what he wants from her. David Moses is very likable as Mike, the rural cop who becomes instantly smitten with Carla (you can't blame him).
This is a very nicely shot movie that is simply gorgeous in more ways than one; Harry J. May performed the cinematography duties.
Look for appearances by Connie Strickland as a victim of the killer, and Juanita Brown & Uschi Digard in the orgy scene.
Seven out of 10.
Written by director Arthur Marks and actor John Durren (who plays the small role of Socks the biker), this is good, straightforward exploitation entertainment that has its cake and eats it too. By that, this viewer means that Marks & Durren combine some enlightened sexual politics - the four main characters are independent women who know their own minds - with diversions of the far more lurid kind. The script has some surprising wit going for it, although there are some pretty silly lines as well. The assets of the female cast are stressed whenever the opportunity presents itself. Also, our actresses are engaging and intelligent as well as being fine eye candy. Bey, in particular, shines.
Many of the men in this series of episodes are not exactly portrayed in the most flattering light. Lee (Ben Pfeiffer) is especially sleazy, the kind of guy who has no more need for a woman once he's gotten what he wants from her. David Moses is very likable as Mike, the rural cop who becomes instantly smitten with Carla (you can't blame him).
This is a very nicely shot movie that is simply gorgeous in more ways than one; Harry J. May performed the cinematography duties.
Look for appearances by Connie Strickland as a victim of the killer, and Juanita Brown & Uschi Digard in the orgy scene.
Seven out of 10.
Already way out of date in 1973; poor attempt at drive-in fare
lor_29 June 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Unlike other reviewers here praising THE ROOMMATES, I was a regular drive- in fan in the early '70s and can attest to the fact that not only was this Arthur Marks film not successful in that market, but it was not competitive at all with the other distributors' fare.
This was an era when often sleazy but very entertaining R and Soft X movies were being released by prominent companies like New World (Roger Corman's at the time), Crown Intl. (later to hit big with THE POM POM GIRLS), Hemisphere (lots of Filipino-lensed exploitation films), Harry Novak's Box office International (and its Buckalew titles) and of course AIP. Below I will enumerate many of the shortcomings of ROOMMATES.
First, its overwritten script is mired in previous decades: the key subplot of a mother persecuting her young son ("introducing Gary Warren Mascaro as Arnie") is right out of the '50s, poorly played and when finally revealed as a maniacal killer just a ripoff from Russ Meyer and Roger Ebert's Z-Man of BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS.
Scenes of untalented bands and cast dancing around look like an early '60s movie, and much of the action set around a camp is puerile crap reminiscent of beach party movies from AIP a decade earlier.
The heroines are poorly used, and the pederast daddy of Arnie bedding down two of them is really a throwback. Except for a peeping scene and a mercy- hump (by beautiful Laurie Rose), the campers get lost in the shuffle.
Light and airy tone suddenly and unconvincingly turning to melodrama with the serial killer is climaxed by an extremely poorly staged massacre and neutralization of Arnie by the kindly deputy who is lead Marki Bey's lame black-on-black romantic interest. The red herring (previous closeup emphasis) of "lady" killer with orange nail polish = Arnie was particularly irritating.
After the massacre, this poorly directed, way overlong film goes immediately back to business as usual, with the heroines' reaction to mayhem being one of idle bemusement. I was fortunate not to have this stinker from unsuccessful distributor General Film Corp. booked anywhere near me in the '70s, and catching up with it on DVD, replete with self-serving comments by the director, was merely a reminder of dozens of far better movies that delighted us fans in cars (as well as the many bikers who populated the front of the Drive-In parking area) back then.
This was an era when often sleazy but very entertaining R and Soft X movies were being released by prominent companies like New World (Roger Corman's at the time), Crown Intl. (later to hit big with THE POM POM GIRLS), Hemisphere (lots of Filipino-lensed exploitation films), Harry Novak's Box office International (and its Buckalew titles) and of course AIP. Below I will enumerate many of the shortcomings of ROOMMATES.
First, its overwritten script is mired in previous decades: the key subplot of a mother persecuting her young son ("introducing Gary Warren Mascaro as Arnie") is right out of the '50s, poorly played and when finally revealed as a maniacal killer just a ripoff from Russ Meyer and Roger Ebert's Z-Man of BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS.
Scenes of untalented bands and cast dancing around look like an early '60s movie, and much of the action set around a camp is puerile crap reminiscent of beach party movies from AIP a decade earlier.
The heroines are poorly used, and the pederast daddy of Arnie bedding down two of them is really a throwback. Except for a peeping scene and a mercy- hump (by beautiful Laurie Rose), the campers get lost in the shuffle.
Light and airy tone suddenly and unconvincingly turning to melodrama with the serial killer is climaxed by an extremely poorly staged massacre and neutralization of Arnie by the kindly deputy who is lead Marki Bey's lame black-on-black romantic interest. The red herring (previous closeup emphasis) of "lady" killer with orange nail polish = Arnie was particularly irritating.
After the massacre, this poorly directed, way overlong film goes immediately back to business as usual, with the heroines' reaction to mayhem being one of idle bemusement. I was fortunate not to have this stinker from unsuccessful distributor General Film Corp. booked anywhere near me in the '70s, and catching up with it on DVD, replete with self-serving comments by the director, was merely a reminder of dozens of far better movies that delighted us fans in cars (as well as the many bikers who populated the front of the Drive-In parking area) back then.
Solidly decent 70s flick
thetoxicgrinder9 May 2022
I came across a blu ray double feature with this and A Woman For All Men (havent watched that 1 yet) and went in without knowing anything about the film, outside of the description on the back of the box. Overall the film looks remarkable, with vibrant colors, and good cinematography. Cast is all adequate-good as well. The plot is where things stumble, with a general incoherent sense about it, and far too many long takes of girls just awkwardly dancing to the 70s tunes (the music itself, while cheesy, was fun). Once things pick up, at about an hour in, it is definitely a fun ride, and sadly the violent finale is somewhat more poignant today, however the film as a whole was entertaining, and thus I give it a passable 6/10.
Tl:dr: looks good, cast is quality, jiggling ladies, and a wack ass story. Thumbs up, recommended.
Tl:dr: looks good, cast is quality, jiggling ladies, and a wack ass story. Thumbs up, recommended.
Hugely enjoyable 70's drive-in romp
Woodyanders30 March 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Heather, Beth, Carla, Brea, and Heather's cousin Paula are five lovely and carefree young ladies who decide to spend their summer vacation at Lake Arrowhead. While at Lake Arrowhead the women hit the local party circuit and get involved with various guys in the area. Things go awry when the gals find themselves the targets of a mysterious murderer.
Director Arthur Marks, who also co-wrote the racy script with John Durren, keeps the eventful and entertaining story moving along at a zippy pace, neatly captures the breezy'n'easy vibe of the 70's swinging singles scene, maintains an engagingly playful and lighthearted sensibility for the first two thirds between switching to a more serious and gritty tone in the last third, delivers a satisfying smattering of tasty female nudity, and pulls out all the exciting stops for a wild climactic shooting spree. Moreover, it's acted with tremendous charm and zest by a topflight cast of 70's exploitation cinema starlets: Pat Woodell as the snippy Heather, the always delightful Roberta Collins as the sassy Beth, Marki Bey as the sharp and spirited Carla, an especially vibrant and personable Laurie Rose as the perky Brea, and Christina Hart as the bubbly Paula. In addition, there are sturdy contributions from Barbara Fuller as the bitter Sylvie, David Moses as the friendly Mike, and Ken Scott as smooth womanizing cad Marty. Connie Strickland has a small role as the ill-fated Alice while Uschi Digard pops up (and out) for a quick topless cameo. Harry J. May's sunny cinematography provides an attractive bright look. The funky-chillin' music hits the get-down groovy spot. A really fun flick.
Director Arthur Marks, who also co-wrote the racy script with John Durren, keeps the eventful and entertaining story moving along at a zippy pace, neatly captures the breezy'n'easy vibe of the 70's swinging singles scene, maintains an engagingly playful and lighthearted sensibility for the first two thirds between switching to a more serious and gritty tone in the last third, delivers a satisfying smattering of tasty female nudity, and pulls out all the exciting stops for a wild climactic shooting spree. Moreover, it's acted with tremendous charm and zest by a topflight cast of 70's exploitation cinema starlets: Pat Woodell as the snippy Heather, the always delightful Roberta Collins as the sassy Beth, Marki Bey as the sharp and spirited Carla, an especially vibrant and personable Laurie Rose as the perky Brea, and Christina Hart as the bubbly Paula. In addition, there are sturdy contributions from Barbara Fuller as the bitter Sylvie, David Moses as the friendly Mike, and Ken Scott as smooth womanizing cad Marty. Connie Strickland has a small role as the ill-fated Alice while Uschi Digard pops up (and out) for a quick topless cameo. Harry J. May's sunny cinematography provides an attractive bright look. The funky-chillin' music hits the get-down groovy spot. A really fun flick.
Not a bad movie!
GOWBTW17 December 2016
The 1970's was known for the drive-in sexploitation films. This one is just right for anyone who is nostalgia oriented. It's one of the few before "Meatballs","Little Darlings", or "Porky's". But in return, it's before the time of slasher films. So there's more sex, than comedy. And a touch of drama to go along with. Here you have four beautiful women, along with a cousin who work at a camp, meeting different people. Making love. Having fun. Pure and simple. However, that fun is about to come undone, when a mysterious figure starts killing people. One blonde was being chased by a biker who decided to stay behind at the party. She only met her end by a female figure with a knife. Then more victims are killed in different matter. A water skier is sniped by the same person. But after all what the ladies have been through, they managed to have a fun summer. Seems like anything or everything goes in that place. This is a cult classic that should be recognized by movie goers. It's a mixture of sex, intrigue, and surprise. I like it very much. 3 out of 5 stars.
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