Raven de la Croix
A superheroine who proves the old adage that "it's what up front that counts" takes on bad guys and gals in this over-the-top comedy. Chastity Knott (Kitten Natividad) is the owner of a saloon which had been taking a lot of business away from a nearby watering hole run by cranky Al Purplewood (Larry Butler). Purplewood is trying to find a way to drive Knott out of business, but she has problems of her own to deal with when she learns she has breast cancer (no small problem for her). Knott is told that the rare Crockozilla plant has remarkable healing powers and to her surprise it not only cures her cancer, it gives her super powers. Just in time, too, because Purplewood has told the strippers who work at his joint to wipe out Knott once and for all. Transforming herself into the Double-D Avenger, Knott takes on the heavily armed band of exotic dancers (among them Haji, Raven De La Croix, and Sherri Dawn Thomas) and tries to restore order to her community. The Double-D Avenger also features Famous Monsters of Filmland editor Forrest J. Ackerman in a supporting role as a caretaker at a museum. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Francesca 'Kitten' Natividad, Haji, (more)
Rob Nilsson both directed and starred in Heat and Sunlight. Nilsson plays a San Francisco photographer who has trouble curbing his obsessions. He falls in love with dancer Consuelo Faust, then is unable to shake off his violently jealous impulses when the ardor cools. The musical score by David Byrne and Brian Eno successfully conveys the seismic disturbances in Nilsson's troubled psyche. The film itself lacks cohesiveness, though the individual sequences are for the most part worthwhile. Heat and Sunlight has enough exposed skin and profanity to fully warrant its R rating. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rob Nilsson, Consuelo Faust, (more)
- 1984
- R
A cross between a skin flick and a futuristic fantasy, this unfunny parody is set on a remote Pacific Island where the insidious Dr. Sin Do (Angus Scrimm) whose life began long ago under the name of Li Chuk, has made a pact with Satan that gives him power over the weather. Now he is tracking down the lost "Eye of the Avatar," created by the extinct race of Lemurians before their civilization disappeared -- that jewel, when combined with Sin Do's own special jewel, will endow him with indomitable power. Sent to combat the evil "doctor" are some comely female warriors (Melanie Vincz, Raven de la Croix and others) whose bodies get more screen time than the dialogue itself -- an indication of where the main interest lies. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Melanie Vincz, Raven de la Croix, (more)
- 1983
- R
Five high school boys chase after "Purity" Busch (Lynda Speciale) for impure reasons in this undistinguished teen sex comedy that emphasizes the absurd (such as a bowling ball attached to a sensitive part of the anatomy, going down the lane for a strike), and points to its own buffoon-like quality in fast-forward segments. As the five try one mindless stunt after another to lure Purity into their clutches, many a viewer would fast-forward the 80-minute running time even further. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Peter Keleghan, Lynda Speciale, (more)
- 1977
- R
Set in the 1960s, the film concerns a high-school senior (Steve Guttenberg, in his first film role) who works at a restaurant while trying to capture the attention of an attractive girl (Lisa Reeves). ~ John Bush, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Phil Silvers, Ed Lauter, (more)
- 1976
Nobody is what they seem to be in this dizzying Russ Meyer feature, and everyone is a suspect. The reclusive Adolf Schwartz (Edward Schaaf) pays for weird pansexual pleasures performed by an interracial group of prostitutes. Later, Schwartz (who bears more than a passing resemblance to a more infamous Adolf) is found murdered in his bath, the victim of a hungry piranha. That same morning, Margo Winchester (Raven de la Croix) is jogging on a mountain pass when she's abducted and raped by a local boy. She defends herself and ends up breaking her assailant's neck, an act that is witnessed by state trooper Homer Johnson (Monty Bane). He offers to falsify his report in return for Margo's abundant body, and she enthusiastically accepts. Margo and Homer shack up in his mountain cabin, and he gets her a job at Alice's Cafe, a small-town greasy spoon run by Alice (Janet Wood) and her husband, Paul (Robert McLane). Suddenly business is booming (thanks to Margo's seductive swagger and Mae West impressions) and the trio decide to open a nightclub. Opening night is a smash, until a drunk lumberjack goes ape after witnessing Margo's sultry dance routine. The resulting fracas ends with an axe in Homer's chest and a wild moonlit chainsaw fight. But who murdered Adolf Schwartz? That mystery is solved in not one, but three epilogues which concern the identities of Eva Braun Jr., an undercover police officer and a closet white supremacist, who all fight to the death with a pistol, a dildo, and kung-fu. The action is explained and commented upon by the buxom, perpetually nude Greek Chorus (Francesca 'Kitten' Natividad), who quotes Shakespeare and attempts to raise the story to the level of classic farce. ~ Fred Beldin, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward Schaaf, Mary Gavin, (more)
