Russ Meyer's SUPERVIXENS

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Meyer called it "a very good film" although "people kept asking, "Why did you have to have that bathtub murder," when really the success of the film was the bathtub scene, since there was so little sex in the picture. After a tour of Ivy League colleges and after showing it in Europe, it was clear to me that in the two weeks before its national release I had to interject some more sex. And I did, fortunately. Otherwise I don't think it would have performed as well as it did. But it wouldn't have worked as an R. The audience smells that. You lift a whole sequence out and they won't come." [3] As a groundbreaker cultural revolutionaire, Meyer was ever watchful for adding sly remarks about American Society. Especially insightful are these: Siskel, Gene (May 2, 1975). "'Supervixens' isn't, the porn's forlorn". Chicago Tribune. Section 3, p. 3.

Meyer also said later the thought "the film wouldn't have had the success it had" without Napier "in spite of the big boobs and seven girls. Napier, I think, has a quality that few actors possess: Wallace Beery, Borgnine, Alan Hale. There can be just a thin edge separating evil and humor and they work both sides of that line." a b c d e f "Russ Meyer, Almost An American Institution" by Kenneth Turan. The Washington Post 9 Nov 1976: B1. The two main female characters in the film were Superangel and Supervixen. "Superangel, she's totally bad but beautiful," said Meyer. "Supervixen, she's totally good. They're bookends. I like bookend constructions." [8]

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Meyer used names of characters from his previous films, "except the girls are all called “Super” and they play it straight." [8] He said he was also influenced by the stories of Horatio Alger. "They were always about a young man who was totally good, and he would always set out to gain his fortune and he would always come up against terrible people," said Meyer. "They did everything they could to do him in, but he fought fair, you know, and he always survived and succeeded in the end. So, that's just one facet of the thing." [8] acceptable to the mainstream," he said. "People want to be amused, entertained and that's what I'm giving 'em." [6] The British version of the film cut a moment where Napier stomped on a woman after killing her in a bath. [12] Meyer flew to the Mauna Kea Hotel in Hawaii in September 1973 and wrote the script. It was the first screenplay he wrote entirely by himself and he did the first draft in eight days. Meyer says he rewrote it nine times, with input of the actors. "I think actors contribute to the comfort of words because it's one thing to sit in a little green room somewhere and write dialogue, but when you hear actors speaking it, it doesn't necessarily flow as well as it might," said Meyer. [8]

Vincent Canby of The New York Times wrote that the film "looks sort of ritualistic, sort of perfunctory, made up of actions whose original meaning and purpose have been forgotten ... 'Supervixens' is a curio for film buffs." [13] Gene Siskel of the Chicago Tribune gave the film one star out of four and wrote that "Meyer has lost the sense of humor that occasionally made his films enjoyable. The humor has been replaced with repulsive amounts of violence." [14] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times said Meyer explored "as never before to such an extent the dark underside of his erotic myths. It's 'Supervixens,' not ' The Day of the Locust,' that's genuinely apocalyptic." [15] Cultural references [ edit ] As a humorous sidenote, in the end credits of the film the names of all participants have been changed either partially (Uschi Bristol instead of Digard) or completely (Brown Pants, C. Unt). Shari Eubank is credited as 'Shari Sheridan'.There were a number of other actors who had appeared in earlier Meyer films like John LaZar, O’Luke, Stu Lancaster, and Uschi Digard. [8] Shooting [ edit ] Meyer decided to return to the parody sex comedies which had made his reputation so he made what he described as a "sort of sequel" to his 1968 hit Vixen!. [5] a b c Russ Meyer: Ten Years After the 'Beyond' Ebert, Roger. Film Comment; New York Vol. 16, Iss. 4, (Jul/Aug 1980): 43-48,80. Meyer said Supervixen wearing white was a tribute to The Postman Always Rings Twice. "She's good, pure." [8] He wanted to hint that Superangel maybe did not die in the bathtub but wound up reincarnated: The film featured a murder scene which was the most violent yet depicted in a Meyer film. "My films have to please me, to entertain me, and I really dig violence," said Meyer. "I think it's very entertaining. Of course, I like to involve sex with it - sex with gusto - that's my style." [6]

Those years were very confusing to me," said Meyer. "But instead of rushing off and throwing myself out the window, I was able to psychoanalyze myself and discern what was best for me. I looked myself square in the face and realized I couldn't do everything." [5]

Censoring the Cinema: 'Obscene' Is Never Having to Say You're Sorry: Obscenity and the Court" by Tom Shales. The Washington Post 3 Mar 1974: E1. As a combat photographer in World War II, Russ Meyer made many friends and acquaintances in Europe. Meyer used running jokes and recurring themes in many of his films which were unique to the veteran's sense of humor. In Supervixens, these include the use of German marching tunes and Nazi references. Actor Henry Rowland appears as Martin Bormann, who was Adolf Hitler's personal secretary, rumored to have escaped Allied justice for decades and the subject of many "sightings". The Bormann character refers to SuperAngel as the Führer.