You might think that this is going to be one of those films that's "so bad it's good" because Ed Wood is involved but the truth of the matter is that while it's undeniably silly it's still nowhere as bad as other efforts by Wood. Story is about a seemingly "good girl" named Paula Parkins (Jean Moorhead) who has nice parents and does well at school but the truth of the matter is that she's involved in an all girl teen gang that robs gas stations and assaults innocent couples necking at lovers lane.
*****SPOILER ALERT***** Paula along with Georgia (Theresa Hancock), Geraldine (Joanne Cangi), and Phyllis (Gloria Farr) commit these crimes and sell their loot to an older dame named Sheila (Lee Constant) who has connections(!) but the truth is that Paula enjoys her bad behavior for the thrill of it. They assault a man and his girlfriend and they end up dragging him into the woods where Paula rapes him! A few days later while ransacking the high school the cops show up and during a shootout both Phyllis and Geraldine are killed. Paula and Georgia are the only two left and they end up killing Sheila but they also crash their car into a plate glass window which kills Georgia. During the trial Paula learns that she's pregnant and her parents want to adopt her child but Judge Clara (I. Stanford Jolley) decides that they have proved themselves to be bad parents and the child will become a ward of the state.
This small "B" film was directed by William Morgan who was a very good film editor (Song of the South, Tarantula) but as a director he had modest success and I guess the best thing you can say about his talent in this field is that he was capable. Ed Wood wrote the script and while this may be thought of as one of his better efforts there are still enough funny lines to keep your expectations up like the detective who barks out "They're not kids, they're morons" but the most monotonous speech comes at the end of the film with the judge. After denying the parents wishes to adopt their granddaughter Judge Clara starts getting a glazed look in his eyes and starts this long and meandering speech about moral obligation and mutters things about families getting back to respecting the 10 commandments and taking care of matters by using the good old woodshed. I'm guessing that Wood was just trying to add padding to an already very short film! A couple of things also stand out for me like the Madonna torpedo bra's that are worn and the fact that Phyllis gets shot by a shotgun but acts like she was hit by an arrow instead! How about the guy who gets raped by Paula? What was he screaming for? Maybe he had never gotten to home plate with a girl before but I came away thinking that Paula must have been very horny! Because Wood's name is in the credits most will automatically think that this is one of Ed's bad films but the truth is that Morgan's direction is adequate and Wood's script has a good edge to it considering it was made in 1956. Sure it's laughably outdated but for me that's part of it's charm and appeal and those who are interested in scare films involving juvenile delinquency this effort probably deserves a peek.
*****SPOILER ALERT***** Paula along with Georgia (Theresa Hancock), Geraldine (Joanne Cangi), and Phyllis (Gloria Farr) commit these crimes and sell their loot to an older dame named Sheila (Lee Constant) who has connections(!) but the truth is that Paula enjoys her bad behavior for the thrill of it. They assault a man and his girlfriend and they end up dragging him into the woods where Paula rapes him! A few days later while ransacking the high school the cops show up and during a shootout both Phyllis and Geraldine are killed. Paula and Georgia are the only two left and they end up killing Sheila but they also crash their car into a plate glass window which kills Georgia. During the trial Paula learns that she's pregnant and her parents want to adopt her child but Judge Clara (I. Stanford Jolley) decides that they have proved themselves to be bad parents and the child will become a ward of the state.
This small "B" film was directed by William Morgan who was a very good film editor (Song of the South, Tarantula) but as a director he had modest success and I guess the best thing you can say about his talent in this field is that he was capable. Ed Wood wrote the script and while this may be thought of as one of his better efforts there are still enough funny lines to keep your expectations up like the detective who barks out "They're not kids, they're morons" but the most monotonous speech comes at the end of the film with the judge. After denying the parents wishes to adopt their granddaughter Judge Clara starts getting a glazed look in his eyes and starts this long and meandering speech about moral obligation and mutters things about families getting back to respecting the 10 commandments and taking care of matters by using the good old woodshed. I'm guessing that Wood was just trying to add padding to an already very short film! A couple of things also stand out for me like the Madonna torpedo bra's that are worn and the fact that Phyllis gets shot by a shotgun but acts like she was hit by an arrow instead! How about the guy who gets raped by Paula? What was he screaming for? Maybe he had never gotten to home plate with a girl before but I came away thinking that Paula must have been very horny! Because Wood's name is in the credits most will automatically think that this is one of Ed's bad films but the truth is that Morgan's direction is adequate and Wood's script has a good edge to it considering it was made in 1956. Sure it's laughably outdated but for me that's part of it's charm and appeal and those who are interested in scare films involving juvenile delinquency this effort probably deserves a peek.