The Grindhouse Era, part 8: The Turn of the Decade

At the turn of the decade, from the 60’s to the 70’s, the production of gindhouse movies moved from mainly New York to mainly LA, and with that shift in geography came a shift in the actresses who starred in these films. The popular New York group included several women who were attractive enough, but not breath-taking.  Only Gigi Darlene stands out as truly beautiful.  The others, to borrow a line from the funniest Kiwis, would definitely be in the top three on the street … depending on the street. 

June Roberts is a fave of mine, but she was not a classic beauty, as you can see in 1968’s Kitten in a Cage. 

Linda Boyce in Kitten in a Cage,



in A Thousand Pleasures (also 1968)



and in Monique, My Love (1969) had, well, an interesting look,

as did Janet Banzet in Mini-Skirt Love (1967)



and The Ultimate Degenerate (1969),

but it was Jo Sweet in Monique, My Love who would attract the attention of most of us, were she to have wandered by.

Much the same thing - attractive but not extraordinary - can be said for

Elizabeth Knowles in Trader Hornee (1970)

and Just The Two of Us (1970)

and for Julie Conners in Trader Hornee



and in The Curious Female (1970),

whereas the real striking beauty in Curious Female was Charlene Jones, who had something of a career in TV for a while.

So, it was pretty common in a 1969 or 1970 grindhouse movie to have an actress or two who would stand out in the real world and another actress who would stand out even on the streets of Hollywood.  That’s what you get in Alice in Aliceland (1969)

 with Janice Kelly,

Julia Blackburn



and Sheri Jackson

and in Sweet Sickness (1968) with Vincene Wallace




and Marguerite Zalud.

All of this means the move to LA produced a shift toward glamour, along with a shift from topless to full frontal AND a shift from black and white to color.  To see that change summed up in a pair of movies, take a look at

Rita Bennett in Vibrations (1968)



and Luanne Roberts in Sweet Trash (1970).

And the last trend of sorts to mention in these transition years was a move away from actresses pulled from the ranks of topless print models, such as Lillian Parker

She acted in in Obscene House (1969)



more Lillian Parker action with some unknowns

- a movie that  has a boatload of unknown actresses with made-up names,

to actresses, such as Georgina Spelvin



and Jennifer Welles in Career Bed (1969),



who would go on to do the hardcore thing.