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.
We are up to the 1970’s when producer Harry Novak pretty much invented a sub-genre that has been dubbed “hicksploitation.” These were not the first exploitation films populated by a bunch of country bumpkins; they were not even the first to show a bit of skin – that honor belongs to 1939’s Child Bride – but they were the first to grab the idea by the throat.
Beginning with Tobacco Roody in 1970, Novak ran the same play he had run with Cleopatra and Romeo & Juliet. He hired a lot of attractive women, including Dixie Donovan again.
He had the screenwriter put the beautiful women in ridiculous situations and made sure the director shot all of the women while they wore nothing. Competition with hard-core movies had begun and a few seconds of full frontal would not keep the grind house customers happy, so Harry gave them more, a whole lot more.
In fact, all you need do is look at the way Debbie Osborne
and Wendy Winders
pose in Tobacco to see what Novak intended.
Also naked in Tobacco Roody:
Gigi Perez
Maxine Deville France
Country Cuzzins, another 1970 production, is much tamer, but did have Susan Westcott.
Here is the place to mention the original source for all the frames in these hicksploitation collages. Those who have read the Funhouse from the beginning or who have dived into the deep archives know that once upon a time, an artist named Tuna captured one movie a day, every day, for many years. He was a friend, who taught me how to do this sort of thing. And among the many great things he did was to post frames of actresses he could not identify, including those who appeared in Novak films. Well, in the time since Tuna posted his work, people have figured out the names of these previously unknown actresses. That is true for Ms. Wescott.
Novak followed with Midnite Plowboy in 1971, with Debbie Osborne again,
but it was an actress named Christy Anna who shows the camera every square millimeter of herself.
And he produced Southern Comforts, with a scene by Judy Angel that Sharon Stone would copy 20 years later in Basic Instinct. Well, that’s not fully accurate. Ms. Angel’s performance is Ms. Stone’s performance on steroids, huge quantities of steroids.
In 1972, Novak did the world a great favor and cast Barbara Mills in Sweet Georgia.
She was a slim brunette beauty who had some ability to act, and she was not the least bit shy, no she was not. But hey, if I were the male equivalent of her, I would never wear clothes.
And in 1972, he gave us Peggy Church in an immortal classic, The Pigkeeper’s Daughter.
Ms. Church played what was the same role as the one Dixie Donovan played in Tobacco Roody, so it is no surprise she had many of the same, uh talents, as Ms. Donovan.
1973 brought us Tallie Cochrane and future pornstar Colleen Brennan in Sassy Sue
The choice of an actress who starred in hardcore movies would be a recurring theme in the rest of Novak movies, as seen in his choices for Country Hooker (1974), the last of his hicksploitation movies. The three principal actresses,
Rene Bond,
Maria Arnold
and Sandy Dempsey,
spent more time in triple X-rated films than in the softer fare that Novak produced for most of his career.
Part 1 of this series, The Sixties, can be found here.
Tomorrow: Part 3.
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