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

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. 

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 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.

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,

spent more time in triple X-rated films than in the softer fare that Novak produced for most of his career.