SATAN IN HIGH HEELS (1962)

Stacy, a buxom carnival stripper, threatens to leave before the evening show unless she gets a raise, but when her junkie husband Rudy, just out of jail, shows up with a wad of cash and wants her to go to New York with him, she steals the money and heads out to the airport alone to start a new life. The man next to her on the plane is a lonely businessman who takes an interest in her, and once in the city, he takes her to a nightclub run by Pepe, a tough but friendly lesbian who is impressed with her audition and hires her, and also lets Stacy live with her, no strings attached. Paul, the gay bartender, resents Stacy as a lucky amateur, but ends up impressed with her singing talent. Arnold, the club owner, shows up and is quite taken with Stacy much to the dismay of his mistress Felice (not to mention Arnold's wife who lives in Paris). Stacy knows Arnold can do good things for her career but she's more interested is his wastrel son Larry who can no longer rely on his father for the means to live a playboy life. Pepe warns Stacy that "Larry isn't a man" (referring, I presume, to his immaturity) and Stacy replies, "Then I'll make him one!" She sleeps with Larry, then after a confrontation with Arnold, sleeps with him as well. Just when it seems like things couldn't get more messed up, who should show up but Rudy, back on heroin and looking for Stacy.

This grindhouse film is often referred to as sexploitation but the sex is implied rather than shown, though there are a couple of semi-strip dances done by large-breasted women (Meg Myles, who plays Stacy, and real-life stripper Sabrina playing herself—and though she is apparently genuinely British, her accent sounds laughably fake). Myles, who has a good singing voice, does a song in leather brandishing a riding crop. The acting is about what you'd expect for the low budget, but Grayson Hall (a stage actor later known as Dr. Hoffman on Dark Shadows) is quite good as Pepe, and the guy playing the junkie husband (Earl Hammond) has a nice intensity going for him—he went on to a prolific career as a voice actor. Robert Yuro as Larry is a letdown with average looks and no charisma; same for Mike Keene as his dad. I enjoyed Del Tenney (Paul) who gives a relatively subtle performance as a gay man. He has a fun line when he refers to the innocent and slightly dumpy assistant Peter as a "clean cut kid," making the line the filthiest sounding one in the movie. Tenney went on to direct the cult horror film THE HORROR OF PARTY BEACH. The atmosphere is sleazy throughout, but the restored version I saw looks crisp and clean. Considering that Pepe's club is supposed to be rather high-toned, there are several cutaway shots of sweaty, intense men enjoying the show perhaps a little too much. There's a great jazz score by Mundell Lowe. The ending is a bit downbeat without being depressing. Stacy, though perhaps not admirable, is never really satanic as she tries to get ahead in a world in which men always want to dominate her. Overall, worth watching, especially in the gorgeous print available on YouTube. Pictured are Tenney and Myles. [YouTube]