Blast-Off Girls
Encyclopedia
Blast-Off Girls is a 1967 American exploitation film directed by Herschell Gordon Lewis
.
meets Wild Guitar
, a ruthless and greedy talent manager named Boojie Baker (Dan Conway) "discovers" then exploits unknown rock bands. The film opens in a nightclub with one of Boojie Baker's protégé acts, a band named Charlie, who have clearly been put through the grind already, they begin griping about the royalties they've been fleeced out of, then walk out on him.
Undaunted, Boojie and his loyal, but dim-witted assistant Gordy (Ray Sager) walk into a local bar for some cheap drinks and they discover a new band performing, played by real-life Chicago garage band The Faded Blue. Promising them a recording contract and ensuing fame, Boojie renames the five-man group 'The Big Blast,' outfits them in designer suits, and sets about to prime them for stardom. This is done by utilizing a bevy of attractive and loose women to seduce a recording engineer, photographing him in the heat of the moment, then blackmailing him into letting the Big Blast cut a single. The group cuts their big hit, and Boojie presumably uses similar tactics to promote the record and garner airplay. However, it doesn't take long before the band begins to wonder why they aren't receiving any money for their labors.
A hard line negotiator, Boojie refuses to budge in that respect, and welcomes the boys to seek fame in fortune in other avenues. To show there are no hard feelings, he even invites them to a party at his apartment.
Turns out this party, replete with liquor, women, and marijuana, is a setup, and a "police detective" shows up to raid it. Coincidentally, this is before Boojie arrives, and when he does, it seems that he also has some pull in the "police department". As it happens, he is able to bail the boys out of this serious legal jam... if they agree to sign new contracts. One by one, each of the five members concedes to Boojie's demands. Incidentally, after they leave, the "detective" hits up Boojie for some of the grass.
Back in the studio, the group begins to unravel, internal bickering starts to swell, and they just can't seem to cut their follow-up hit. In the climax, the group decides instead to bring down Boojie at the expense of their own fame and fortune by sabotaging a television appearance Boojie has lined up by showing up drunk and singing a thinly-disguised musical flipping-of-the-bird to him. Having humiliated Boojie, the group then rips up Boojie's contract to them. Angry and defeated, Boojie and Gordy storm out of the studio, presumably to go look for another rock and roll band to manage and manipulate thus starting the cycle all over again. "Oh well, that's show business," one band member says.
The film ends with a zany MOS montage of the band running around various Chicago landmarks which was clearly inspired by the comic stylings of Richard Lester
's films, even if the end result falls a bit short.
from real-life KFC
founder Colonel Harlan Sanders
. Lewis was able to enlist Sanders for the film through his connections in his advertising
firm.
Herschell Gordon Lewis
Herschell Gordon Lewis is an American filmmaker, best known for creating the "splatter film" subgenre of horror...
.
Plot
In Herschell Gordon Lewis's take on A Hard Day's NightA Hard Day's Night (song)
"A Hard Day's Night" is a song by the English rock band The Beatles. Written by John Lennon, and credited to Lennon–McCartney, it was released on the movie soundtrack of the same name in 1964...
meets Wild Guitar
Wild Guitar
Wild Guitar is a 1962 musical drama film starring Arch Hall Jr., Arch Hall, Sr. , Ray Dennis Steckler , and Nancy Czar. The movie was directed by Ray Dennis Steckler and was produced by Arch Hall, Sr...
, a ruthless and greedy talent manager named Boojie Baker (Dan Conway) "discovers" then exploits unknown rock bands. The film opens in a nightclub with one of Boojie Baker's protégé acts, a band named Charlie, who have clearly been put through the grind already, they begin griping about the royalties they've been fleeced out of, then walk out on him.
Undaunted, Boojie and his loyal, but dim-witted assistant Gordy (Ray Sager) walk into a local bar for some cheap drinks and they discover a new band performing, played by real-life Chicago garage band The Faded Blue. Promising them a recording contract and ensuing fame, Boojie renames the five-man group 'The Big Blast,' outfits them in designer suits, and sets about to prime them for stardom. This is done by utilizing a bevy of attractive and loose women to seduce a recording engineer, photographing him in the heat of the moment, then blackmailing him into letting the Big Blast cut a single. The group cuts their big hit, and Boojie presumably uses similar tactics to promote the record and garner airplay. However, it doesn't take long before the band begins to wonder why they aren't receiving any money for their labors.
A hard line negotiator, Boojie refuses to budge in that respect, and welcomes the boys to seek fame in fortune in other avenues. To show there are no hard feelings, he even invites them to a party at his apartment.
Turns out this party, replete with liquor, women, and marijuana, is a setup, and a "police detective" shows up to raid it. Coincidentally, this is before Boojie arrives, and when he does, it seems that he also has some pull in the "police department". As it happens, he is able to bail the boys out of this serious legal jam... if they agree to sign new contracts. One by one, each of the five members concedes to Boojie's demands. Incidentally, after they leave, the "detective" hits up Boojie for some of the grass.
Back in the studio, the group begins to unravel, internal bickering starts to swell, and they just can't seem to cut their follow-up hit. In the climax, the group decides instead to bring down Boojie at the expense of their own fame and fortune by sabotaging a television appearance Boojie has lined up by showing up drunk and singing a thinly-disguised musical flipping-of-the-bird to him. Having humiliated Boojie, the group then rips up Boojie's contract to them. Angry and defeated, Boojie and Gordy storm out of the studio, presumably to go look for another rock and roll band to manage and manipulate thus starting the cycle all over again. "Oh well, that's show business," one band member says.
The film ends with a zany MOS montage of the band running around various Chicago landmarks which was clearly inspired by the comic stylings of Richard Lester
Richard Lester
Richard Lester is an American film director based in Britain. Lester is notable for his work with The Beatles in the 1960s and his work on the Superman film series in the 1980s.-Early years and television:...
's films, even if the end result falls a bit short.
Production notes
Most notable in Blast-Off Girls is a cameo appearanceCameo appearance
A cameo role or cameo appearance is a brief appearance of a known person in a work of the performing arts, such as plays, films, video games and television...
from real-life KFC
KFC
KFC, founded and also known as Kentucky Fried Chicken, is a chain of fast food restaurants based in Louisville, Kentucky, in the United States. KFC has been a brand and operating segment, termed a concept of Yum! Brands since 1997 when that company was spun off from PepsiCo as Tricon Global...
founder Colonel Harlan Sanders
Colonel Sanders
Harland David "Colonel" Sanders was an American fast food businessman who founded the Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant chain, now re-branded as KFC...
. Lewis was able to enlist Sanders for the film through his connections in his advertising
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
firm.
Other
- Just For The Hell of It/Blast-Off Girls Special Edition DVD, audio commentary by Herschell Gordon Lewis
- Herschell Gordon Lewis and His World of Exploitation Art by Daniel Krogh and John McCarthy