Carolyn is ordered to seduce Peterson, thereby gaining access to Julia’s notes. Barnabas plots to make people believe Julia is mad by giving her a big nudge in that direction. He employs witchcraft, making her believe all kinds of daft things.
When Carolyn redoubles her efforts to seduce Peterson, he again reminds her that he doesn’t like little rich girls, especially ones coming from her family. Once that is clear, he asks her out - proving that tough guys need love, too.
This overly social bird never met a male she didn’t like. When she’s not preening her feathers, she is busy answering mating calls. Although popular with the males of the species, she finds no friends among the other females. A prime candidate for counseling, so long as the room doesn’t have a couch.
I just emerged from the sleazy world of Coffy where heads explode like pottery when shot, and many, many do get shot. Coffy stars Pam Grier, the Blacksploitation star best known for one of the most beloved films of the genre, Foxy Brown.
These films follow a predictable pattern: Pam Grier looks great in skimpy clothes, holds down a day job and racks up a terrible body count on her time off. Her target might be a crack dealer or a politician — the main thing is that they have pissed her off. This means that they -and we- will be seeing her half naked for a good part of the film as she pretends to be a prostitute. Having Grier pose as a prostitute was apparently very important to her producers.
The ensuing violence is so relentless that it becomes unintentionally comic, tilting the viewer into giddiness rather than shock. My favorite unintended joke is the theme song: “Coffy is a color, it’s the color of your skin. Coffy is a color, it’s the world you live in.”
Well, I may live there for 90 minutes for a laugh or two, but I burn rubber getting out.
Young lawyer Tony Peterson hounds Roger on behalf of his client, a worker injured at Roger’s cannery. Julia hitches a ride into town with him and persuades him to hide her notebook. He promises to take it to the police if she is killed, viewing her with the pity afforded to the mad.
Carolyn follows in Julia’s tracks draping herself across the hostile but handsome lawyer’s desk. She neglects to remember that: (A) He hates her entire family with a purple passion and(B) that she was snooty to him in high school.
The actor portraying Peterson inexplicably decides to channel Bogie, treating Carolyn like a dame who spells trouble. His Film Noir sensibility collides with her Gothic sensibility, creating an oddly compelling train wreck.
To the dismay of the avian world, it is currently nesting time for The Twittering Halitosis. This ironically gregarious bird can knock a warbler over at 20 paces with its breath. Further, its refusal to accept a mint has prompted neighboring birds to nest elsewhere. Pretty song though.
A microphone boom intersects a meeting between Barnabas and Carolyn. Despite this, Barnabas remains focused on destroying Julia.
Julia confronts him, asserting that her notebook is safely hidden. He sweeps aside her bluff and takes her to task for hypnotizing Vicky, indicating that he is hopping mad about the situation. Once again, he threatens her with death.
Elizabeth Collins Stoddard, the family matriarch and Carolyn’s mother, pours herself a sherry. As well she should.
This bird is always ready to put the needs of the flock before its own. And don’t we hear about it. Its mournful song “Don’t mind me, have-fun - have-fun,” can really wear on your nerves. Often sighted plucking its own feathers to line the nests of ungrateful offspring.
In the first twenty minutes of this 1965 film, the well-endowed female leads go-go dance, drag race, and get into a cat fight. In short, they are women absorbed with what at the time were thought to be exclusively male fantasies: sex, cars and kicking ass.
Considering that the Russ Meyers cast only women with large breasts, it is curious that he would imbue them with such an overload of testosterone. I guess some men just can’t write for chicks. Their tendency towards violence kicks the film into high gear when the bustiest of the trio manages to karate chop a man to death. This is unfortunate, given that the man had a traceable car and a traumatized girlfriend as a witness.
They slip the sweet young thing some sleepers as they work out an escape plan that gets more absurd when they learn about a ranch owned by a disabled, horny millionaire. To say any more would deprive potential viewers the honor of peering inside the late director’s fantasy life. Suffice to say, this film about badass women does not get a badassbirds endorsement. Exploitation is all well and good, but this is just gross. Two kitty paws down.
Barnabas resolves to kill Julia, prompting Carolyn to remember that killing is bad. She pleads for Julia’s life, but Barnabas is unmoved. He orders her to retrieve Julia’s notes on the experiments to remove “proof” that Barnabas is a vampire. Never mind that such notes would tar her as a lunatic - this is Collinwood, where heaven knows, anything goes.
Julia comes to the grave conclusion that Carolyn wants her notes and that Barnabas wants her in a grave.
This blight on the bird world finds enjoyment in the misfortune of others. Known for building its nest above icy patches of sidewalk, you can hear its mocking cry of “Ha Ha” when someone slips and falls. It’s one of the most maddening of birds, and there isn’t a darn thing you can do about it. They’ve been on the protected list for years, after one too many incidents made protection necessary.
Field Notes:
