The Mini-Skirt Mob (1968)
Secondary Genres: Outlaw Fiction, Psychological Thriller, Western
The Good Stuff
- Builds Nicely: This plot starts out simply enough and builds as the violence escalates. (It’s a bit like Straw Dogs (1971) that way.) You might be able to predict where it’s going, but it’s still entertaining watching it find its way there.
- Good Climax: SPOILER: There's a satisfying showdown at the end between Connie, who becomes more deliberately assertive during her moment of truth, and Shayne, this story’s primary antagonist.
- Good Cast: Most of the cast had been TV stars, and compared to most other biker movie casts, could act, especially Diane McBain as Shayne, the psychotic “alpha female” former cheerleader type and Patty McCormack as Shayne’s more conscientious sister. We also note the ubiquitous Harry Dean Stanton as one of the rodeo gang.
- AIP Apex: This movie was made by AIP when they were at their most popular -- at about the same time they were making the Party Beach movies and some 60’s counterculture movies. For a B movie company, they were turning out some pretty good products.
The Bad Stuff
- Western Jazz?: Les Baxter sold AIP another one of his good jazzy scores for this movie, but it’s out of place in this movie’s rustic Western setting.
- Not as Pictured: Movie does not resemble its poster: That’s not unusual for AIP, which sometimes created and ran ad campaigns for movies that hadn’t been made yet. (It seems like most people who hate this movie had been expecting it to be like its poster.)
The Who Cares Stuff
- Name That Tune: Along with Les Baxter’s jazzy score, the movie had a peppy 1920s style theme song sung by Patty McCormack. (You might remember McCormack as the homicidal little girl in The Bad Seed. We digress.) But when MGM re-released the movie in 2005, it still had McCormack in the credits as singing the title song, but the song was performed by an unnamed group in a different key and style. (Why did they cut Patty McCormack's version? We don’t know, although we suspect copyright restrictions were involved.)
- Biker Movie or Not?: Although this movie was made at the height of the outlaw biker gang exploitation craze, and this movie was sold as such, this isn’t really an outlaw biker gang movie. Why? Because outlaw biker “genre” characters are usually intentionally countercultural, while the rodeo gang is mostly cowboys who happen to get around on motorcycles. Also, the Mini-Skirts aren’t so much a biker gang as they are camp followers wearing colorful jackets with what could be considered motorcycle club colors. They're more like a 50's girls' group than a 60's biker gang. Therefore, we see this as neither an Outlaw Biker movie nor a sexploitation flick, even though it had an ad campaign that suggested it was both.
- Change for Thought: When watching a movie, try sometimes to spot the character that changes the most and think of that character as the real main character. In this movie, it's SPOILER Connie; she goes from perpetual victim to cold executioner.
See Also
- The Long, Long Trailer (1954) - Newlyweds (Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz) decide to travel cross country with a large furnished trailer in tow, but complications ensue and it turns into a road trip from hell that nearly ends their marriage.
- Race with the Devil (1975): Two couples on vacation in an RV accidentally disturb a coven of Devil worshipers, who harass them for the remainder of the movie.
- The Hills Have Eyes (1977): Family on vacation in an RV runs afoul of a savage family living off trash in the desert.
The Bottom Line
Fun and disposable. Recommended for B movie enthusiasts looking for simple intentional entertainment.
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