The Female Bunch

Dir. Al Adamson

86 Minutes

USA

1969

Starring: Russ Tamblyn, Jennifer Bishop, Lon Chaney Jr., Alesha Lee, Geoffrey Land, Regina Carrol

One of the more remarkable elements about Al Adamson's The Female Bunch (aside from a notable production that partially took place on the infamous Spahn Ranch while occupied by Manson and his cult) is the way its narrative exists as if plotted on the fly, or perhaps in an attempt to be as realistic as possible as to what could be afforded or what could sell. Exploitation through and through, the story focuses on Sandy, a waitress who has had enough of lowlife men and attempts suicide. After being saved by Libby, Sandy is taken into the desert to meet a bunch of her pals: a group of women who live on a ranch away from men but are involved in running drugs into Mexico. 

Much of the picture moves at a relaxed and nearly plotless pace, often content to simply follow and hang out with the women as they go about their business, with the drug running stuff tacked on almost as an afterthought. Adamson pal Lon Chaney even pops up for some screen credit credibility (and one story from the production tells of Adamson needing to helicopter into a nearby town to stock up on liquor for Chaney--a moment where his character opens a bottle, takes a sip, and gives out a sigh of pleasured relief is undoubtedly less acting and more of a piece of candid realism) and to function as a "grandfatherly" figure of sorts for the women. But unlike some of the other Adamson films of this period, it is a complete work without any re-edits or additional scenes of beasts or monsters or bikers tacked on for the purposes of reselling to different audiences. It is appropriately rough around the edges, a sweaty and almost exhausting piece of work that operates as a beautiful portal into the kind of filmmaking that Adamson could deliver within the confines of his budget and assignment. And with such limitations, one never quite knows exactly which direction the narrative will go, and for eighty plus minutes The Female Bunch arrives at a relatively fixed and violent destination, but takes a few detours and offers several scenic routes on its way to it.

Viewed July 1st, 2020

Part of the ongoing Al Adamson Project.