| Fly Me | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Cirio H. Santiago |
| Produced by | Roger Corman |
| Starring |
|
| Distributed by | New World Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 72.25 minutes |
Fly Me is a 1973 exploitation film directed by Cirio H. Santiago and produced by Roger Corman. The story concerns flight attendants, international drug smuggling, kung fu, and nudity. It was poorly received by critics.
Toby, Andrea, and Sherry are stewardesses working a flight from Los Angeles to Hong Kong. [1]
Toby was surprised on the flight by her "typically overbearing Italian mother", and is trying to ditch her in Hong Kong to instead spend time with David (a young doctor). Unknown to Andrea, her lover—Donald—leads a white slavery and drug trafficking ring in Hong Kong; Sherry was one of his smugglers, but he has kidnapped her for withholding some of the product, as well as Toby and her mother. [1]
Andrea and a local narcotics agent (Len) confront Donald in his nightclub, while David works to free the other three women. [1] In short: three stewardesses fight against kung fu killers. [2]
Fly Me was written by Miller Drake [6] and directed by Cirio H. Santiago. The film's kung fu sequences were choreographed by David Chow, [2] and filmed by Jonathan Demme. [1]
Producer Roger Corman described the film as having "a somewhat pro-women's-lib viewpoint", something that was actually a bait-and-switch on the audience: while it was marketed on the merits of action, humor, and sexual content, Corman said that Fly Me instead promoted women and was "a better film" for it. He said that women's organizations and magazines were surprised at the film's quality and pro-women message. [2]
The film was shot in the Philippines. Corman wanted to credibly set the film in Los Angeles, so he hired Curtis Hanson to film the opening scene in that city, stipulating the inclusion of nudity. With only one day to shoot, Hanson staged a scene where Anderson's character is late leaving for Los Angeles International Airport: she runs from her apartment into a taxi (driven by Dick Miller) and changes into her uniform in the back seat of the car, almost causing the distracted driver to crash. [4]
Fly Me was the first of four New World Pictures films released in summer 1973; [1] it runs 72.25 minutes long. [5] In the United Kingdom, Fly Me was released on December 22, 1985 by Media Perpetuity Investments; it ran 74 minutes long. [7]
Christopher Koetting wrote in 2009 that Santiago eschewed all of the thematic qualities that New World had previously put into their nurses-themed films— left-wing political subplots and "attempts at style"—instead cramming in as much sex and violence as the Motion Picture Association of America's R rating would allow. He called it "one of New World's all-time worst." [1]
In 2012, critic Rich Rosell wrote at DVD Talk that although the film "is fairly awful it is still fun in its own high camp kind of way," that it is "loaded with unintentionally funny chop-socky fight scenes balanced out by obligatory attractive female nekkidness," and that "it has a silly, low-rent charm despite the abundant imperfections." [5]
Writing for Slant in 2012, critic Budd Wilkins described the exploitation film as "rife with wooden acting, knowingly awful dialogue, and plenty of kung-fu action," that the editing was "lousy [...] as though the film had been cut with a blunt machete and some Super Glue, which the editor was doubtless huffing," and "the fights look to have been choreographed like a game of Blind Man’s Bluff." [3]
David Carradine was an American actor, director, and producer, whose career included over 200 major and minor roles in film, television and on stage, spanning more than six decades. He was widely known to television audiences as the star of the 1970s television series Kung Fu, playing Kwai Chang Caine, a peace-loving Shaolin monk traveling through the American Old West.
Gervacio Santos is a Filipino film editor. During his career, he was considered one of the most demanded in his field. Gervacio has worked under numerous pseudonyms including: George Santos, Gerry Santos, Herb Bas, Bas Santos, and Bass Santos. He has earned numerous awards, including three Famas Awards for Kalibre 45 (1957), Cavalry Command (1963) and Scout Rangers (1964). He won Best Film Editing Awards in both the Metro Manila Film Festival for "Remembrance" and in the Quezon City Film Festival for "Alyas Bagsik".
Caged Heat, also known as Renegade Girls, is a 1974 women in prison film. It was written and directed by Jonathan Demme for New World Pictures, headed by Roger Corman. The film stars Juanita Brown, Roberta Collins, Erica Gavin, Ella Reid, Rainbeaux Smith, and Barbara Steele.
Cirio Hermoso Santiago was a Filipino film producer, director and writer. He used the screen names Cirio Santiago, Cirio H. Santiago, Leonardo Hermoso, and Leonard Hermes.
The Stewardesses is a 1969 American 3D softcore comedy film written and directed by Allan Silliphant and starring Christina Hart, Monica Gayle, Paula Erickson and Donna Stanley.
Big Bad Mama is a 1974 American action-crime-sexploitation comedy movie produced by Roger Corman, starring Angie Dickinson, William Shatner, and Tom Skerritt, with Susan Sennett and Robbie Lee. This movie is about a mother, Wilma, and her two daughters, Polly and Billie Jean, who go on a crime spree. After the mother unexpectedly falls in love with a bank robber it all ends, with tragic consequences. Big Bad Mama became a cult hit and was followed by a sequel, Big Bad Mama II, in 1987.
Bloodfist is a 1989 American martial arts film directed by Terence H. Winkless, starring Don "The Dragon" Wilson, Rob Kaman, Billy Blanks and Cris Aguilar. The plot sees an American former kickboxer travel to Manila, where he re-enters competition to avenge the murder of his brother and fellow fighter.
Hollywood Boulevard is a 1976 American satirical exploitation film directed by Allan Arkush and Joe Dante, and starring Candice Rialson, Paul Bartel, and Mary Woronov. It follows an aspiring actress who has just arrived in Los Angeles, only to be hired by a reckless B movie film studio where she bears witness to a series of gruesome and fatal on-set accidents. The film blends elements of the comedy, thriller, and slasher film genres.
Barbarian Queen is a 1985 American-Argentine fantasy film starring Lana Clarkson, directed by Héctor Olivera and written by Howard R. Cohen. The film premiered in April 1985 in the United States. It was executive produced by Roger Corman, and it was the third in a series of ten movies that Corman produced in Argentina during the 1980s.
Deathsport is a 1978 science fiction B-film produced by Roger Corman and directed by Allan Arkush and Nicholas Niciphor. The film stars David Carradine and Playboy Playmate Claudia Jennings. It would be one of Jennings' last films before her death.
Night Call Nurses is a 1972 American sex comedy film directed by Jonathan Kaplan. It is the third in Roger Corman's "nurses" cycle of films, starting with The Student Nurses (1970).
TNT Jackson, released in the Philippines as Dynamite Wong and T.N.T. Jackson, is a 1974 American blaxploitation film produced and directed by Cirio H. Santiago. The script was originally written by actor Dick Miller, but Roger Corman had it rewritten.
The Student Nurses is a 1970 American film directed by Stephanie Rothman. It was the second film from New World Pictures and the first in the popular "nurses" cycle of exploitation movies. It has since become a cult film.
Private Duty Nurses is a 1971 American film written and directed by George Armitage. It is a sequel to The Student Nurses (1970) for New World Pictures. Roger Corman says they got the idea for the title after being sent a letter of complaint about the first film from the Private Duty Nurses Association.
Bury Me an Angel is a 1971 American biker film from female director Barbara Peeters, who was script supervisor on Angels Die Hard (1970). She was the first woman to direct a biker film. The film was acquired by Roger Corman's New World Pictures.
The Hot Box is a 1972 women in prison film from Joe Viola and Jonathan Demme, who had previously made Angels Hard as They Come (1971) for New World Pictures. It was shot in the Philippines and was originally known as The Prescription Revolution.
Darktown Strutters is a 1975 blaxploitation musical comedy film from New World Pictures. Despite having mixed reviews at the time of its release, it has gained cult status over the years with praise from film director Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino called it "a ridiculous satire".
Love Letters is a 1984 American romantic drama film starring Jamie Lee Curtis and James Keach. The film is written and directed by Amy Holden Jones, whom Roger Corman agreed to finance following her success with The Slumber Party Massacre (1982).
Pat Anderson is an American actress best known for her work in 1970s exploitation films. She played Elaine, an undercover CIA agent who assists the title character in T.N.T. Jackson (1974).
Machete Maidens Unleashed! is a 2010 Australian documentary film directed by Mark Hartley.
Those with an eye for exploitation will want to take a closer look at the second Lethal Ladies Collection.
