Fugitive Girls (1974)

Revered as a titan of bad cinema thanks to Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959) and other “classics,” the notorious Ed Wood co-wrote this awful film and also appears in it. Wood’s co-conspirator was writer and director Stephen C. Apostolof, working under the name A.C. Stephen.

Paula (Jabie Abercrombie) is out with her new lover when he robs a liquor store and kills the cashier, leaving her behind to face the music. She is arrested and sent to a women’s prison, where bullish inmate Kat (Tallie Chochane) rapes her on her first night inside.

Without any explanation, Kat then organises a jailbreak with her cellblock buddies and takes Paula along as a sexual plaything.

After Kat’s quintet of escapees encounters trouble with a group of gypsies, the fugitive girls perform a home invasion that results in a riff on an iconic scene from A Clockwork Orange (1971) – the bit where a woman is raped while a helpless man watches from a wheelchair.

The characterisation, acting and storyline of Fugitive Girls are abysmal. By focusing too heavily on the quasi-pornographic elements of the storyline – the film is a symphony of topless shots with endless scenes of voluptuous women stripping and screwing – and by failing to present interesting villains or distinct heroines, the filmmakers generate pure tedium instead of watchable trash.

Released in some markets as Five Loose Women, the movie was filmed at a deserted Boy Scout camp during the summertime. It really is a sleazy piece of trash.

Apostolof and Wood reteamed for The Beach Bunnies (1976), which was the last of Wood’s projects released during his lifetime.

Paula
Jabie Abercrombe
Toni
Renee Bond
Kat
Tallie Cochrane
Sheila
Donna Young (as Dona Desmond)
Dee
Margie Lanier
Cadillac Driver
Harvey Shain (as Forman Shain)
Phil’s Wife
Nicolle Riddell
Presser
Douglas Frey
Tears
Sunny Boyd
Bat
Gary Schneider
Carrie
Maria Arnold
Biker with Mustache
Armando Federico
Calico
Janet Newell
Sunshine
Con Covert
Pop/Sheriff/Robbery Witness #2 (voice)
Edward D Wood Jr.

Director
Stephen C. Apostolof

Video