The Top Five Chicks Of Exploitation

Exploitation movies often revolve around women. Sometimes, they are the protagonists. Movies like Cleopatra Jones and TNT Jackson revolve around strong, butt-kicking women. In other films, they are the victims, the woman in distress. Marilyn Burns being chased by Leatherface in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is "tough" only in the sense that she is able to take a lot of punishment and keep screaming. While the scream queens have their own charms (and healthy lungs), I've always been partial to the women who could chew up and spit out their foes...and look hot doing it. Here are my top five women of exploitation.

1. Pam Grier: The number one slot was the easiest to fill. Pam Grier combined amazing looks with a powerful on-screen charisma, no matter what the role. Her characters are almost always tough and independent, traits that Ms. Grier seemed to naturally embody. While she has had memorable performances since the Seventies, including her roles in Jackie Brown (1997) and Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983), she made her greatest impact starting with The Big Doll House (1971) and ending with Friday Foster (1975). Whether playing a tough jail bird (The Big Doll House, The Big Bird Cage), a woman in search of vengeance (Coffy, Foxy Brown) or a gladiatrix in ancient Rome (Arena), Pam is a welcome sight in any movie.
2. Claudia Jennings: Coming to the world's attention in the pages of Playboy, Jennings was in a handful of movies, but made a lasting impression. Beyond her obvious beauty, she was a pretty good actress. She was believable as an action star and had good comic timing. She was particularly good in The Great Texas Dynamite probably her best role (although I also have a soft spot for her post-apocalyptic sword wielding babe in Deathsport...plus, you get to see David Carradine in a loin-cloth...so appealing...). Unfortunately, just as she was getting starring roles, Jennings was involved in a fatal car crash, dying at age 29 in 1979.
3. Caroline Munro: This brunette bird from Britain made a splash in the Seventies. After appearing in bit parts in a few films, as well as serving as the corpse of Mrs. Phibes in The Abominable Dr. Phibes and Dr. Phibes Rises Again, she made a break-through at Hammer Films. While at Hammer, she had a supporting role in Dracula AD 1972 and co-starred in the underrated Captain Kronos, Vampire Hunter. With her sultry good looks and enthusiastic performances, she was great playing a scantily clad slave-girl in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad and a scantily clad native of Pellucidar in At the Earth's Core. With her stunning figure, it is no surprise that "scantily clad" figures in the description of most of her cinema wardrobe. As the Seventies ended and her career was winding down, she had her best role - and one that proved she had talent to go with her looks - 1980's Maniac.
4. Susan George: While she only starred in a few exploitation films, Susan George was great in all of them. She always conveyed a sexuality that was barely contained...or, often, not contained at all. The groovy, if slightly warped Mary from Dirty Mary Crazy Larry...the horny Southern belle in Mandigo...the flirtatious wife of Dustin Hoffman in Straw Dogs...whatever role she had, George oozed sex. While not a stunning beauty, she had a sunny attractiveness. Her big eyes and cute smile (if not quite so cute teeth; hey, she's British) helped her portray characters who would be fun to hang out with...and possibly get involved in a high-speed chase with. She also is a good actor, particularly adapting to the character contortions Peckinpah put her through in Straw Dogs. And, she always seemed to be having fun with her roles, something that makes for appealing characters and an enjoyable viewing experience.
5. Dyanne Thorne: Although really only known for four movies - the Ilsa pictures - Thorne is an icon of exploitation. Even people who have never - and would never - see Ilsa: She Wolf of the SS would recognize Thorne's voluptuous figure in her SS uniform...with the top mostly unbuttoned, of course. While not much of an actress, she did have something that a good exploitation queen needs: screen presence. Thorne made her heartless, ice cold, sex kitten characters seem both dangerous and desirable. Although her film career never progressed beyond the sex and violence trade, she did make a lasting impression.

Now, if only there had been a women in prison film starring all of five of them...with extensive shower scenes. for the drams, of course...it's always about the drama.