i quite accidentally came across a dvd series that i think that anyone who reads this site would appreciate. 42nd street forever is a collection of exploitation film trailers from the 60s, 70s and 80s. each of the (currently 3) discs contain trailers for some of the oddest and most spectacularly over-the-top film entries from the horror, sci-fi, sex comedy, action, kung fu, softcore porn and blaxploitation genres. below i’ve included a list of the trailers contained in each volume, as most of the titles convey exactly what you should expect. titles like werewolves on wheels, delinquent schoolgirls, killer fish and 1000 convicts and a woman leave little to the imagination, while others (such as those featuring the ‘n-word’ in the title) are bizarre reminders of less politically correct times.
all three volumes of this series are worth checking out, but i’d suggest paying special attention to the 3rd entry. entitled exploitation explosion, it also features a commentary track from the managing editor of fangoria and two other exploitation experts. their knowledge of the films and the state of the movie business at the time is fascinating and hearing their comments vastly increased my appreciation of the already-very-entertaining collection of trash trailers.
while watching most of these films in their entirety could be quite a painful experience, the trailers are oddly charming and utterly entertaining. there’s a certain art to selling sleaze, and in many cases the trailers are far superior to the films they’re advertising. i’ve included three of the trailers (corruption, teenage mother, and woman and bloody terror) below to whet your appetite…
42nd Street Forever Volume 1: The Undertaker And His Pals, Flesh And Blood Show, Women And Bloody Terror/Night Of Bloody Horror, I Dismember Mama/The Blood Spattered Bride, Corruption, The Butcher Of Binbrook, Ginger, Italian Stallion, Creampuffs, The Three Dimensions Of Greta, Hard Candy, The Centerfold Girls, Panorama Blue, Wicked Wicked, Teenage Mother, Charlie And The Hooker, Matango, The Green Slime, Destroy All Monsters, The Crippled Masters, Werewolves On Wheels, The Pink Angels, The Depraved (a.k.a. Exposed), They Call Her One Eye (a.k.a. Thriller), Maid In Sweden, Behind Convent Walls, Secret Africa, Shocking Asia, Chappaqua, Welcome Home Brother Charles, The Legend Of Nigger Charlie, Boss Nigger, The 44 Specialist, The Bullet Machine, Death Drive, The Raiders Of Atlantis, Star Crash, Confessions Of A Summer Camp Counselor, Sunset Cove, Superfuzz, Death Will Have Your Eyes, Death Has Blue Eyes, A Black Veil For Lisa, Ironmaster, The Deadly Spawn, The Rape Of The Sabines and The Devil’s Nightmare.
42nd Street Forever Volume 2: …Tick…Tick…Tick, Amazons Of Rome, Black Samson, Born Losers, Burnout, The Clones, College Girls, The Curious Female, The Dark, Deadly Blessing, Delinquent Schoolgirls, Dirt, Dixie Dynamite, Dragstrip Riot, The Evictors, The Evil, Female Jungle, The Giant Gila Monster, Gigantis: The Fire Monster, The Guy From Harlem, Helga, The Hellcats, Hells Angels On Wheels, The Hideous Sun Demon, I, A Woman, Invitation To Ruin, Kenner, Kiss The Girls And Make Them Die, The Last Of The Secret Agents, Mission Mars, Mister Billion, The Monster Of Piedras Blancas, Ms. 45, Murders In The Rue Morgue, Pick-Up, The Pom-Pom Girls, Rabid, Revenge Of The Gladiators, Revolt Of The Slaves, Rolling Thunder, Samson And The Slave Queen, Savage, Savage Sisters, Spy In Your Eye, Stingray, Street Girls, Sugar Hill, Take A Hard Ride, The Babysitter, Trunk To Cairo, Van Nuys Blvd., Wild Rebels, and The Woman Eater.
42nd Street Forever Volume 3: Sudden Death, The One-Armed Executioner, Jaguar Lives!, Enter the Ninja, Lightning Swords of Death, Five Fingers of Death, The Stranger & The Gunfighter, Beyond the Door, Demonoid, The Night Child, Devil Times Five, Patrick, Jennifer, Phase IV, The Uncanny, The Pack, Alligator, Killer Fish, Shark’s Treasure, Blood Beach, Hot T-Shirts, Cheerleaders Wild Weekend, Summer School Teachers, GORP, King Frat, Prison Girls, 1000 Convicts and a Woman, Chain Gang Women, The Penthouse, The House By The Lake, Night Call Nurses, The Young Nurses, Candy Stripe Nurses, The Life and Times of Xaviera Hollander, Happy Hooker Goes to Hollywood, Survive, Guyana: Cult of the Damned, Seven, Savage Streets, High Ballin’, From Noon Till Three, Lies, Tattoo, Scorchy, and Convoy.
corruption
teenage mother
women and bloody terror
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