Roller Derby

 

 (imdb)

UNHOLY ROLLERS-1972-Karen Walker (Claudia Jennings in her first starring role) quits her job at a cat food factory to join a roller derby league run by sleazy cheap promoter Mr. Stern (Louis Quinn). She lives with her stripper sister Donna (Candice Roman) and Donna's boyfriend Greg (Alan Vint). Though she's harassed by the other players, she's a bit of a loose cannon herself. She has sex with Nick (Jay Varela), another skater. Mickey (Betty Ann Rees) and Jennifer (Roberta Collins) are two skaters who are afraid Karen will take their place. Later after injuring an opponent, she's beaten up by other skaters. After visiting her mom (Kathleen Freeman), it seems she'll be replaced herself. In the end she loses it and causes a huge riot. John Harmon plays a pervert doctor. 

This low budget AIP drama isn't bad but is probably only remembered today because of its star, former Playboy playmate, Claudia Jennings who became a cult figure after her tragic death in a car accident at age 29. Director Vernon Zimmerman later made FADE TO BLACK.

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Carradine The Younger

 

DEATHSPORT-1978-In the war torn Earth of 3000, the countryside is occupied by cannibals and barbarian like Range Guides. Two guides Kaz Oshay (David Carradine) and Deneer (Claudia Jennings in her last film) are captured by the mad Lord Zirpola (David McLean) and his evil henchman Ankar Moor (Richard Lynch) to compete in the title battle. After an escape plan fails, Kaz and Deneer are put in the battle which involves motorcycles and a fight to the death. The duo escape and Moor and his minions follow. A doctor (William Smithers) and his son (Will Walker) accompany them on a trek to find a missing child. Lots of people are disintegrated. After the child is rescued from some mutants, Kaz and Moor have a show-down. After decapitating Moor, Kaz and Deneer leave together. 

This entertaining little movie has cheap sfx and weird dialogue. Jesse Vint, HB Haggerty and Linnea Quigley have roles too. Jerry Garcia plays guitar on the soundtrack. Director Allan Arkush made this in between HOLLYWOOD BOULEVARD and ROCK AND ROLL HIGH SCHOOL. Co-director Henry Suso is the pseudonym of screenwriter Nicolas Niciphor.

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You Go Sisters!

SISTERS OF DEATH-1976-During a sisterhood initiation involving Russian roulette, a would be member is killed. 7 years later... someone is planning a reunion. Judy (Claudia Jennings), Sylvia (Cheri Howell), Francie (Cheryl Alberoni), Diane (Sherry Boucher), Penny (Roxanne Albee), the remaining girls reunite and are driven to a remote house by two guys Mark (Paul Carr) & Joe (Joe Tata) where someone is watching them. Only Penny had any hesitation to go. Everything seems to be provided for their entertainment. Even Mark and Joe come back although they aren't really welcome. The next day the watcher reveals himself. He is the father of the girl who died at their initiation 7 years earlier. Though the girls explain that they all loved his daughter and her death was ruled a tragic accident, he insists one of them secretly hated her and purposely set her up to be murdered and now he’s going to find out who! There's an electrified fence around the grounds and since the guys are trapped there too, they decided to help out.

Penny is the first to go, strangled to death. Dad spends much of his time in a secret room making bullets near a shrine for his dead child. He also plays the flute to an accompanying record and has a flashback. Apparently he and daughter were a musical duo. After Sylvia is menaced by a tarantula,  Diane is killed with a pair of scissors. Joe runs into the electric fence after being chased by a dog. Francie is locked in the cellar with a rattlesnake. In the end Sylvia is in league with Dad, who has a Gatling gun he plans to use in his own game of Russian roulette leading to a surprise twist ending involving Judy and Paul. The director of this low budget cat and mouse drama Joe Mazzuca, directed several episodes of TV's THE BIG VALLEY and did various production jobs on many animated cartoon series.