Brainscan once again takes a deep dive into the history of film nudity. In this presentation, he focuses on the exploitation master, Harry Novak, who filled the drive-ins and grindhouse theaters of America with some of their most memorable moments. All of the comments and collages below have been created by Brainscan.
At the time Harry Novak produced hicksploitation fare, he was also had his hand in more traditional exploitation movies.
In 1970 there was Booby Trap, with the exuberant Gina Paluzzi playing a stripper;
in 1971 he made Below the Belt with the legendary Uschi Digard
and the less physically gifted Terri Johnson;
and in 1974 he cast Jane Tsentas as a love interest in Teenage Bride.
As you can see from these frames, Ms. Tsentas had the inhibitions of a mink, which made her career an interesting one to watch. Seems she declined to do anything overtly hardcore but my heavens she got really close a few times, including in this film.
Of all the years he worked, 1973 was Novak’s big year of mainstream exploitation. He employed actresses who crossed over from sexploitation to hard core movies in:
Scream in the Streets, with Sandy Carey;
Dirty Mind of Young Sally, with Sandy Dempsey
and Colleen Brennan (aka Sharon Kelly)
as well as Angela Carnon
and Robyn Whitting;
and Please Don’t Eat My Mother, with Alice Friedland.
Novak wrapped up a decade’s work in these sorts of movies with Wham, Bam, Thank You Spaceman (1975). Perhaps he could see the handwriting on the wall, after several years of using cross-over actresses, and he might have figured he would either need to move into hardcore movies or get out the business entirely. This last of his big movies intended for grind houses was nearly wall to wall nudity with sometime pornstars
Maria Arnold
and Sandy Carey (again),
and an appearance by the uber-cutie, Gayna Shireen.
It was a near-perfect ending to this part of Novak’s career because the movie did not take itself seriously (how in the world could it?), and was shot beautifully with a half-dozen attractive women in a near-constant state of undress. I am a fan of his work, for while many other producers and directors during this same time were making movies that were grim, awful and incomprehensible, Novak made movies that are fun to watch and more fun to work with.
Part 1 of this series, The Sixties, can be found here.
Part 2, Hicksploitation, is here.
Part 4 will wrap things up tomorrow.
