Cheri Caffaro
Encyclopedia
Cheri Caffaro is an American actress who appeared mainly in low-budget exploitation film
s in the 1970s. She first came to fame as a teenager when she won a Life
magazine Brigitte Bardot
look-alike contest.
in a series of soft-core "sexploitation
" action films, most notably the "Ginger" series, consisting of Ginger, The Abductors, and Girls Are For Loving. Caffaro played Ginger McAlister, a tough and resourceful bed-hopping private-eye and spy. Her missions involved busting up seedy wrongdoers involved in drugs, prostitution, and white slavery. Her character also spends an inordinate amount of time tied up and/or raped.
She also appeared in A Place Called Today and Too Hot To Handle
(both also directed by Schain). She was quickly stereotyped, became disenchanted with the direction her film career had taken and, like Bettie Page
before her, disappeared from the public eye.
She has also been credited with an appearance on the TV show Baretta
, and as a writer and producer of the 1980s sex comedy
H.O.T.S.
Her last screen credit is noted as a character voice in an episode of the 1997 animated series Extreme Ghostbusters
.
Exploitation film
Exploitation film is a type of film that is promoted by "exploiting" often lurid subject matter. The term "exploitation" is common in film marketing, used for all types of films to mean promotion or advertising. These films then need something to exploit, such as a big star, special effects, sex,...
s in the 1970s. She first came to fame as a teenager when she won a Life
Life (magazine)
Life generally refers to three American magazines:*A humor and general interest magazine published from 1883 to 1936. Time founder Henry Luce bought the magazine in 1936 solely so that he could acquire the rights to its name....
magazine Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Bardot
Brigitte Anne-Marie Bardot is a French former fashion model, actress, singer and animal rights activist. She was one of the best-known sex-symbols of the 1960s.In her early life, Bardot was an aspiring ballet dancer...
look-alike contest.
Career
In the early 1970s, she was directed by then-husband and Manhattan theatre owner Don SchainDon Schain
Don Schain is a writer, director, and producer of many films and TV movies, most notably for Disney Channel.Don has been in the movie business since the late 1960s, with him directing The Love Object. In the early to mid 1970s, Schain directed his then-wife, Cheri Caffaro, in a number of...
in a series of soft-core "sexploitation
Sexploitation
Sexploitation, or "sex-exploitation", describes a class of independently produced, low-budget feature films generally associated with the 1960s and serving largely as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit sexual situations and gratuitous nudity. The genre is a subgenre of exploitation films...
" action films, most notably the "Ginger" series, consisting of Ginger, The Abductors, and Girls Are For Loving. Caffaro played Ginger McAlister, a tough and resourceful bed-hopping private-eye and spy. Her missions involved busting up seedy wrongdoers involved in drugs, prostitution, and white slavery. Her character also spends an inordinate amount of time tied up and/or raped.
She also appeared in A Place Called Today and Too Hot To Handle
Too Hot to Handle (1977 film)
Too Hot to Handle is a 1977 exploitation film about the adventures of a hitwoman in the Philippines. The film was directed by Don Schain, and stars Cheri Caffaro, Corinne Calvet, and Vic Diaz....
(both also directed by Schain). She was quickly stereotyped, became disenchanted with the direction her film career had taken and, like Bettie Page
Bettie Page
Bettie Mae Page was an American model who became famous in the 1950s for her fetish modeling and pin-up photos. She has often been called the "Queen of Pinups"...
before her, disappeared from the public eye.
She has also been credited with an appearance on the TV show Baretta
Baretta
Baretta is an American detective television series which ran on ABC from 1975 to 1978. The show was a milder version of a successful 1973–74 ABC series, Toma, starring Tony Musante as chameleon-like, real-life New Jersey police officer David Toma...
, and as a writer and producer of the 1980s sex comedy
Sex comedy
Sex comedy is a term for comedy movies with sexual content usually referring to those made in the United Kingdom in the mid 1970s. They may range from comic pornographic films like the Confessions series to relatively innocent comedies that include jokes about sex and other sexual related humour,...
H.O.T.S.
H.O.T.S.
H.O.T.S. is a 1979 sex comedy about a sorority named H.O.T.S. The film stars three Playboy Playmates-- Susan Kiger , Pamela Bryant and Sandy Johnson -- as well as former Miss USA of 1972, Lindsay Bloom, sexploitation actress Angela Aames and B-movie veteran Lisa London...
Her last screen credit is noted as a character voice in an episode of the 1997 animated series Extreme Ghostbusters
Extreme Ghostbusters
Extreme Ghostbusters is an animated television series and a follow-up to the animated series Slimer! and the Real Ghostbusters. It is a part of the film/TV Ghostbusters franchise...
.
Filmography
- Too Hot to HandleToo Hot to Handle (1977 film)Too Hot to Handle is a 1977 exploitation film about the adventures of a hitwoman in the Philippines. The film was directed by Don Schain, and stars Cheri Caffaro, Corinne Calvet, and Vic Diaz....
(1977) - Savage Sisters (1974)
- Girls Are for Loving (1973)
- A Place Called Today (1972)
- The Abductors (1972)
- Up Your Alley (1971)
- Ginger (1971)