If one wants to examine the morals and
mores of an era, exploring contemporary pop culture’s concept of what was
forbidden (or “naughty”) is a good start. Based on this movie, it didn’t
take very much to be “naughty” back in 1974. The Naughty
Stewardesses is a movie that Jack Hill should have made, but
didn’t. Instead, the director-producer team of Al Adamson and Sam Sherman
are the ones responsible. Some of Adamson’s other works – The
Possession of Nurse Sherri (a.k.a. Black Voodoo),
I Spit on Your Corpse,
Blood of Ghastly
Horror, and most famously,
Dracula vs. Frankenstein,
may give viewers an idea of what to expect here. Due to the short duration
of this flight, there will be no beverage service....
Nothing resembling a plot appears during the movie’s first half-hour; we
are introduced to an ensemble of more or less interchangeable
stewardesses, a dirty (though not unsympathetic) old man, and an appealing
young photographer. We must sit through a great deal of filler
(stewardesses visiting casinos, going to a long and pointless party,
riding a merry-go-round and a tram, etc.), all set to a truly hideous
‘70’s soundtrack. Then we are “treated” to the occasional “naughty” bit (a
stewardess has sex on an airplane in full view of the passengers!) and
hints of a malformed plot. After an hour or so of boring but harmless sex
comedy, the film turns incongruously violent near the end in a final,
desperate attempt at establishing a plot. The effect is as though two
separate movies had been spliced together. Please fasten your seatbelts,
as we have detected some rough weather….
So what exactly is “naughty”? There’s a human birthday cake, a stewardess
who likes to “do things at night, you know, she loves ‘em – but the next
day she hates herself and anyone within ten feet of her,” some nude
photography, and a glimpse of a hard-core porn shoot (“I don’t care what
we shoot – boy/boy, girl/girl, or both”). Anyone attracted by the
“Retro-Seduction Cinema” promotion will be sorely disappointed, as just a
little editing could turn this into a PG-13 or even a TV movie today;
those hoping for the guilty pleasures of Adamson’s
Dracula vs. Frankenstein
will also be let down. The movie’s only redeeming aspect is its ‘70’s time
capsule quality – passengers smoking on airplanes, apparel such as
miniskirts, some disco, and a full-service gas station – all reminding us
how much the world has changed in thirty years. We have begun our initial
descent….
Another reviewer asked me if the movie was any good. “It’s crap,” I told
him delicately. He then asked if it was at least good in a “cheese factor”
sort of way. “Maybe moldy old cheese,” I responded. Better options for
those so inclined would include 1969’s X-rated The Stewardesses, any of
the Roger Corman “nurse” movies, or, better yet, one of the “cheerleader”
movies (particularly Revenge of the Cheerleaders, which is a
prime example of well-aged, delicious cheese). Obviously crying out for a
sequel, this movie was followed up by The Blazing Stewardesses.
We have landed, and good luck finding your baggage. |
|
of production details is sharp (though he admits he never did – and still
doesn’t – understand one of the movie’s “naughty” bits, or “word of mouth
scenes” as he calls them because of their publicity value.) He also offers
interesting observations about how the airlines used stewardesses’
“special mystique” as a lure for travelers 30 years ago, again
illustrating changes in gender roles and perceptions during the final
decades of the 20th century. Sherman presents himself in an appealing way,
but when he distances his work from 42nd St. grindhouse fare and compares
Stewardesses to a Doris Day/Ross Hunter Universal production (!), it’s
apparent that a reality check is definitely in order. The other extras
include a “naughty outtake” and a deleted scene, which are reversed on the
disc itself: one scene is a bit of dropped character development, while
the other is an extension of a sex scene in the movie, possibly shortened
for an “R” rating. There is also a fullscreen theatrical trailer in pretty
rough shape, a considerably toned-down TV spot, and trailers for other
Seduction Cinema releases. 
