Switchblade Sisters (1975)

"The Jezebels" is also known as "Switchblade Sisters". And, whatever you call it, it's complete crap. Now this is NOT meant as criticism. It's obvious the folks making this wanted to make a trashy movie and boy did they make a nasty, crappy picture!! It's violent, stupid and even promotes the old rape myth! So, it certainly is not a film to show your mother or Father Jenkins.The film begins with a gang of female punks attacking Maggie in a restaurant. Next thing you know, the ladies are in jail and the leader and intended victim become best friends! Soon, when they are all out of stir, the gang welcomes the newest recruit, Maggie, by raping her. Nice folks, huh? But the victim isn't particularly put out by this and soon she helps them in a gang war. And, before you know it, Maggie is their leader and makes friends with a local lady Black Panthers group and the war is on! But there is a traitor within the gang and Maggie's reign might be coming to a swift end. And, when the film ends, it sure looks as if there will be a sequel--which there wasn't.There really isn't a lot of good in the film. It's super-violent and sadistic and unrepentantly nasty. And, because of that, the film is, in a sick way, quite entertaining---sort of a guilty pleasure if you are a bad movie buff.

The Dagger Debs, tough-talking high school broads with switchblade knives, benevolent snarls, attitude to spare, and propensity for violence, striking fear in the hearts of the citizens on the streets, are on equal footing with a the male Silver Daggers, a bossy, nasty brood whose harsh bullying ways leave the community they frequent cuckolded in a state of quivering angst. Soon a rival gang must attend the Daggers' school due to theirs closing, and a struggle for dominance ensues. Each gang has their own turf, which the other doesn't dare cross into. Crabs, quite old to be still in high school, has a much larger gang than his mortal enemy, Dominick, and runs high enterprise in dope-dealing through the facade of a community organizing group schmoozing with the mayor while selling drugs to the youth they're supposed to be helping.The film's central arch is a love triangle gone terribly wrong. Dominick(Asher Brauner), leader of the Silver Daggers, and Lace(Robbie Lee), leader of the Debs, are an item. Enter Maggie(Joanne Nail), new to their side of the city who gets in an altercation with the Dagger Debs' Patch(Monica Gayle), showing her courage and strength, twirling a mean chain which trips her foes before assaulting them further. Dominick is drawn to Maggie, it's a type of lust Patch recognizes, and capitalizes on when she notices this newcomer moving in on her best friend, Lace. Lace is completely obsessed with Dominick, although she's just a piece of ass to him. When Dominick infuriates Lace after blowing up into a tirade towards her about the revelation of carrying his child, she gets even by informing Crabs of a strategic attack on them at a neutral site, a roller rink, resulting in a bloody shootout which takes out innocent bystanders, among other cataclysmic results. With the Silver Daggers deeply wounded, the Debs must assume control, with Maggie more than willing to take the leadership position after Crabs kicked Lace in the stomach causing a miscarriage. Aligning herself with a bad ass group of sistas who follow the political teachings of Mao, led by Muff(Marlene Clark), the newly named Jezebels prepare to conquer Crabs, crushing his regime, disintegrating his stranglehold on the a specific part of the city. But, what Maggie doesn't realize is that Patch and Lace are planning to murder her, getting rid of the one responsible for taking Dominick away from her. Maggie wants to uncover the culprit behind informing Crabs of the proposed strike at the roller rink, not knowing that it was actually Lace. As expected, the two girls will have to duke it out for supremacy of the Jezebels.With lots of quotable dialogue and campy performances, it's hard to resist such a film as Switchblade Sisters, certainly when you realize that the premise concerns a white girl gang who can actually cause fear in citizens. Switchblade Sisters kind of reminds me of those 50's juvy films confronting the gang mentality and how it's controlling the school system and streets, breeding crime that's swallowing the youth, turning them into unlawful monsters. Transplant such a genre to the 70's, add extra seediness, vulgarity, violence, and current themes of that time that were prevalent(..there was a sentiment of anger towards the police and capitalist society)and it's easy to see why this would appeal to a cult audience. And, as Jack Hill always did, inject a cast of babes in the roles of the protagonists. You gotta love the scene where Maggie knocks Don Stark(..Dagger member, Hook, often slapping girls around)for a loop or Lace's psychopathia and mad ravings. Oh, and Patch..now this is a character that belongs in a Jack Hill gang film. Switchblade Sisters is directed in such a way that you can't take it the least bit seriously, and if you accept it on it's own terms, I can't imagine an exploitation fan not enjoying it. Robbie Lee isn't contained and lets it rip, playing her role as the confrontational Lace to the hilt, with Nail, in her short shorts, delivering her lines with gusto, staring her opposition right in the eyes, unflinchingly, ready for a fight. Nail might be considered unacceptable in such a role in any other film, but Jack Hill made it work. Gayle is my gal, though, as Patch, a ferocious back-stabbing bitch who persuades Lace to commit unspeakable acts that cause major repercussions which change the landscape of their lives, disrupting a harmony her gang had before Maggie came along. The juvenile prison scene, albeit brief, was a hoot as the girls lead a full on assault on the female guards who were on the verge of accosting Maggie. The way the faculty are muzzled by the Daggers and Debs, completely overwhelmed psychologically, afraid to voice their concerns about the dissension of their students, is rather hilarious. You actually get two great closing fights, the Jezebels and Muff's girls besieging Crab's soldiers, and the knife battle between Maggie and Lace. The scene where Maggie, with a bloody face, warns the coppers that when they return, there'll be hell to pay, is priceless.

Fun little exploitation film by Jack Hill. It contains a few different kinds of movies all rolled up in one. Campy would be the most predominate though. The story follows the lives of the female gang, Dagger Debs, later called, the Jezebels, which by the way, was the original title. The gang meets a new fish named Maggie who at first fits right in with the gang but later has conflict with the leader, Lace. This movie starts out campy fun then gets real serious then back again. While this technique worked for the most part I felt this could have been a great serious film if it wanted to be. While only slightly bothered by the conflicting tones of the film, it is still a fun movie to watch. You really do even care about the characters by the end which is a compliment to its creators. Quentin Tarantino has often raved about the movie and there's enough good in it to like if you watch it with an open mind. Clearly the character of Patch, one of the gang members, inspired Daryl Hannah's character in Quentin's own "Kill Bill 2". Overall a fun little romp with some good special features on the DVD. Check it out!

"Switchblade Sisters" is one of the most awesome and amusingly incompetent trash/gangsploitation movies ever made; only back in the period when it got released nobody ever intended to make a bad film, of course. Personally, I enjoyed the privilege of seeing this film in a genuine grindhouse theater and with no less than writer/director Jack Hill present there to introduce the film and answer questions from the audience. Hill explained how he always dreamed of filming his very own version of Shakespeare's "Othello", yet this story was probably the closest he ever came to realizing that project. Irrelevant info, I know, but this just to illustrate "Switchblade Sisters" once actually was a remotely ambitious film and not just a piece of lesbian trash. The recent revival of drive-in & grindhouse cinema (courtesy of Quentin Tarantino, who's also a giant fan of this particular film) enlarges the sleaze-elements and silliness of 70's movies even more, but you should always at least try and see it in its framework of time. That being said, "Switchblade Sisters" is first and foremost a delightfully absurd gang-wars movie and a thoroughly flamboyant portrait of female empowerment. This baby has it all! Stereotypical gang members that easily look over 30 but still attend high-school, big fat ugly lesbian prison wardens, romantic rivalry, jealousy, treason, roller-skating shootouts, secretly desired rape sequences and – last but not least – female Maoist guerrilla fighters. Maggie is the ravishing and potent new chick on the block and she eagerly joins Lace's Dagger Debs gang after proving herself in a knifing contest. The Debs are the girlfriends of the Silver Daggers and all together they hang out in a ramshackle hangar to play pool and sell dope. There's a gang war with the Crabs in the offing and jealous Dagger Deb Patch inflicts a dispute between best friends Maggie & Lace when she notices they both fancy the same hunk. If you can overlook (and you simply must when you're interested in this type of cinema) the sometimes atrocious performances, one-dimensional characters and the absolute lack of logic & coherence, you will find great enjoyment here! The clichéd situations inside the penitentiary (with the obese lesbian warden), out in the schoolyard (with the nervous principal) and in the skating hall (random M-16 gunfire!) are all sublime. The whole finale, from the actual virulent street war up until the main Jezebels' showdown contest, is simultaneously suspenseful, spirited and even a bit touching. The soundtrack is great, although clearly not as enchanting as the ones featuring in Jack Hill's ultimate Blaxploitation masterworks "Coffy" and "Foxy Brown". Speaking of which, this movie perhaps lacks the powerful and attention-demanding presence of a starlet like Pam Grier, but the girls here are still more than adequate. The supportive characters are actually more convincing than the main ones. Lace, played by Robbie Lee, is an often intolerable and whiny child and Maggie simply appears too cherubic to play a rough chick. I vote for Patch to be the Jezebel's unhinged leader! She's unreliable, deceitful, mean and stark raving mad. Awesome film, highly recommended to slavering sick puppies like myself.