The Doll Squad | |
---|---|
Directed by | Ted V. Mikels |
Screenplay by | Jack Richesin Pam Eddy Ted V. Mikels |
Produced by | Ted V. Mikels Paul Burkett |
Starring | Michael Ansara Francine York Anthony Eisley John Carter Tura Satana |
Cinematography | Anthony Salinas |
Edited by | Ted V. Mikels |
Music by | Nicholas Carras |
Distributed by | Feature-Faire Productions |
Release date |
|
Running time | 101 minutes |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Doll Squad is a 1973 low-budget Z-grade action film by Feature-Faire that was later re-released under the title Seduce and Destroy. [1] Directed, edited, co-written and co-produced by Ted V. Mikels, it features Francine York, Michael Ansara, John Carter, Anthony Eisley, Leigh Christian and Tura Satana. [2] [3] Mikels claimed he filmed it for a total cost of $256,000.
CIA operative Connolly assigns Sabrina, the leader of a group of five shapely female operatives individually selected by a computer. Code named the Doll Squad, they thwart the efforts of a madman who formerly worked alongside Sabrina as a fellow CIA agent who has become an entrepreneur to overthrow world governments. His plan is to release rats infected with bubonic plague. [4]
Mikels said the script was brought to him by Pam Eddy and Jack Richesin: "It was three kind of naughty girls of the night getting together to take vengeance against somebody that did something to them. It evolved deeper and deeper, I did two or three re-writes on it, and finally the wife of Joseph Robertson did the final draft". Mikels said that Mary Martin and Sissy Spacek came in for parts but the roles had already been cast: "I'm very pleased with everybody I had in it though. That turned out to be a forerunner of female power films". [5]
Time Inc. contributor Ed White notes that the visuals for the action sequences near the end of the film are unusually dark. This part of the film was shot in a single night. The multiple submachine guns used by the actresses in this sequence were really a single weapon that was on temporarily loan to the director. [6]
DVD reviewer and Rolling Stone contributor Doug Pratt called it "an enjoyable action romp". He adds, "the girls kick some serious butt and they look terrific in their hot black jumpsuits. Who can resist?" [7] Film critic Michael Adams said the film is "so slow in parts I think it should be called The Dull Squad", but "it picks up at the end". He rated it a solid 37/100. [8] Nonetheless, it has become something of a cult film for fans of actress Francine York. [9]
This film may have been the inspiration for the Charlie's Angels television series. [4] Aaron Spelling, who later produced the television series, and at the time was executive producer of Mod Squad , was invited to the premiere of this film, [10] and the lead member of the squad was named Sabrina, just as in Charlie's Angels. [9] Quentin Tarantino said the women in the film have a similar look to his Deadly Viper Assassination Squad in his film Kill Bill . [11]
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by frequent references to popular culture and film genres, non-linear storylines, dark humor, stylized violence, extended dialogue, pervasive use of profanity, cameos and ensemble casts. Other directorial tropes that identify his style include the use of songs from the 1960s and 70s, fictional brand parodies and imagery of women's bare feet.
John Saxon was an American actor who worked on more than 200 film and television projects during a span of 60 years. He was known for his work in Westerns and horror films, often playing police officers and detectives.
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! is a 1965 American exploitation film directed by Russ Meyer and co-written by Meyer and Jack Moran. It follows three go-go dancers who embark on a spree of kidnapping and murder in the California desert.
Devil Girl from Mars is a 1954 British black-and-white science fiction film, produced by the Danziger Brothers, directed by David MacDonald and starring Patricia Laffan, Hugh McDermott, Hazel Court, Peter Reynolds, and Adrienne Corri. It was made at Shepperton Studios with sets designed by the art director Norman G. Arnold. The film was released by British Lion. It was released in the United States the following year.
Pamela Suzette Grier is an American actress and singer. Described by Quentin Tarantino as cinema's first female action star, she achieved fame for her starring roles in a string of 1970s action, blaxploitation, and women in prison films for American International Pictures and New World Pictures. Her accolades include nominations for an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a Satellite Award, and a Saturn Award.
Michael Parks was an American singer and actor. He appeared in many films and made frequent television appearances, notably starring in the 1969–1970 series Then Came Bronson, but was probably best known for his work in his later years with filmmakers such as Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, and Kevin Smith.
Tura Satana was a Japanese American actress, vedette, and exotic dancer. From 13 film and television credits, some of her work includes the exploitation film Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965), and the science fiction horror film The Astro-Zombies (1968).
Anthony Eisley was an American actor best known as one of the detective leads, Tracy Steele, in the ABC/Warner Brothers television series Hawaiian Eye. Early in his career, he was credited as Fred Eisley and later was sometimes billed as Tony Eisley.
Coffy is a 1973 American blaxploitation film written and directed by Jack Hill. The story is about a black female vigilante played by Pam Grier who seeks violent revenge against a heroin dealer responsible for her sister's addiction.
Ted V. Mikels was an American independent filmmaker primarily of the horror cult film genre. Movies that he both produced and directed include Girl in Gold Boots (1968), The Astro-Zombies (1968), and The Doll Squad (1973).
The Astro-Zombies is a 1968 American science fiction horror film written, directed and produced by Ted V. Mikels and starring John Carradine, Wendell Corey, and Tura Satana.
Fred Olen Ray is an American film producer, director, and screenwriter of more than 200 low-to-medium-budget feature films in many genres, including horror, science fiction, action/adventure, erotic thrillers, crime dramas, and holiday films.
Maggie Thrett is a retired American actress and singer.
Jerry Warren was an American film director, producer, editor, screenwriter, cinematographer, and actor. Warren grew up wanting to get into the film business in Los Angeles, California. He appeared in small parts in a few 1940s films such as Ghost Catchers, Anchors Aweigh, and Unconquered.
Francine York was an American actress and model. She also used the name Francine Yerick.
The Brain Leeches is a 1978 American low-budget science fiction exploitation film directed by Fred Olen Ray and starring Paul Jones, Marcia Scott, and Ray Starr. It has a running time of 55 minutes, and was completed on a budget of $298.00. The film was shown publicly only once, although it has since become available through distributors. The project proved to be a turning point in the careers of two of the principals.
La bambola di Satana is a 1969 Italian gothic horror film written and directed by Ferruccio Casapinta.
Rafael Campos was an actor from the Dominican Republic whose credits include Blackboard Jungle (1955), Dino (1957), The Light in the Forest (1958), Slumber Party '57 (1976), The Astro-Zombies (1968), Centennial (1978) and V (1983). He was briefly married to blues singer and pianist Dinah Washington.
Jean Allison is an American actress.
The Films of Rick Dalton is an upcoming novel written by Quentin Tarantino. It details the life and film and television career of the fictional actor Rick Dalton. Dalton is the main protagonist in Tarantino's 2019 film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and 2021 novelization. In the film he is portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio. Tarantino has already completed the novel and plans to publish it as his third book.