The Female Bunch
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Al Adamson
Russ Tamblyn
Jennifer Bishop
Lon Chaney Jr.
A'lesha Lee
Geoffrey Land
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
Pursued by both a low-flying airplane and several women on horseback, young couple Sandy and Jim speed down a desert highway in a convertible. After a woman in the plane shoots out the convertible's tires with a rifle, the couple flee the disabled car on foot. The plane continues to track them, however, and Jim is shot in the shoulder. Sandy helps Jim to a nearby cave and tends to his wound. When Jim asks Sandy why she is risking her life for him, a relative stranger, she tells him about her recent past: Having been left penniless in Las Vegas by a scheming boyfriend, Sandy takes a job as a cocktail waitress and begins a romance with country singer Scott Mason. The womanizing Scott soon tires of Sandy, however, and dumps her. Devastated, Sandy is consoled by friend Libby, a dancer who persuades Sandy to accompany her to a secret, women-only club. Libby drives Sandy, blindfolded, to the club's remote desert ranch and introduces her to Grace, the club's leader. As part of their initiation to the club, the strict, whip-wielding Grace demands that Sandy and two other "recruits" allow themselves to be buried briefly in a coffin. Only Sandy passes the terrifying test and is welcomed to the club. Soon after, Sharon Miller, the club's wealthy benefactress, flies her plane to the ranch, and Sandy learns from alcoholic hired hand Monti, a former movie stuntman and the only man allowed on the ranch, that Sharon is a heroin addict. That night, Grace gives Sharon a shot of heroin, and the two make love. Later, while riding to nearby Mexico, the club women discover that a Mexican farmer has staked a claim on the U.S. side of the border. Enraged, Grace calls the farmer a "wetback" and demands that he vacate the area. Upon arriving at their favorite Mexican cantina soon after, the women get drunk and engage the eager male patrons in sex. Dennise, one of the women, becomes enamored of an American named Bill and slips him a map to the ranch. Eschewing the festivities, Grace, meanwhile, meets secretly with Chico, a drug dealer who supplies her with a stash of heroin. After Chico assures her that another drug shipment is due soon, Grace leads the exhausted women back across the border. Once again they encounter the farmer, and this time, Grace whips him and orders his belongings set on fire. At the ranch, Grace hides the heroin in Monti's trunk and assures the drunken hand, who is infatuated with her, that she will spend time with him later. Bill, meanwhile, is desperate to reunite with Dennise and tells Jim, a friend with whom he is camping, that he is going to follow Dennise's map. Bill locates the ranch that night, and he and Dennise sneak to the barn to make love. Sadistic club member Sadie soon spots them, however, and Bill is surrounded by the ranch women, who beat him and, at Grace's behest, brand his forehead with a hot iron. The next day, Sharon demands that Grace secure more heroin and get rid of Monti, whose knowledge of Grace's heroin dealing concerns her. Grace leads the women back to Mexico, and while they play sexually explicit games with the cantina patrons, Grace buys more heroin from Chico. On the way home, the women see that the Mexican farmer has constructed a barbed wire fence, and infuriated, Grace orders that he be dragged and hung by the wire, and that his truck and shack be set on fire. When Grace later appears with more heroin, a frustrated Monti demands attention, but she responds by knocking him out, then strapping him by his heels to the stirrups of a wild stallion that drags him into the desert. Later that day, Bill returns to the ranch to confront Grace. Caught off-guard, Grace is tackled and almost raped by Bill, but is rescued by the other women. After a fight, Grace spears Bill with a pitchfork, killing him. Jim then appears in search of his friend, and the women capture and tie him up. Sandy, having decided to leave the club for good, frees Jim and escapes with him in the convertible. Back in the cave, Sandy concludes her explanation, and unaware that Grace and Dennise are still on their trail, she and Jim venture outside. Dennise, meanwhile, tells an armed Grace that she can no longer support her and starts to leave. For a moment, Grace considers shooting her friend but finally allows her to depart. Grace then corners Jim and Sandy in a ravine, but before she can fire on them, Monti, having survived his desert ordeal, appears in the distance and shoots her dead.
Director
Al Adamson
Cast
Russ Tamblyn
Jennifer Bishop
Lon Chaney Jr.
A'lesha Lee
Geoffrey Land
Leslie Mcrae
Nesa Renet
Sharyn Wynters
Gina Carrol
Al Cole
Don Epperson
Mike Wendler
Megan Timothy
Sue Arnold
Lee James
Jacky Taylor
Hank Lowrey
Penny Cook
John Cardos
William Bonner
Bobby Clark
Crew
Sue Arnold
Gloria Betrue
Bud Cardos
John Cardos
Forest Carpenter
John Cutaia
Scott Lloyd Davies
Bob Dietz
Hedy Dietz
Don Epperson
John Gay
Paul Glickman
Gary Goch
Serge Goncharoff
Rick Jackson
Lee James
Jale Lockwood
Jaime Mendoza
Berry Nighbert
Brent Nimrod
Brent Nimrod
Raphael Nussbaum
Raphael Nussbaum
Betsy Paullada
Sandy Portelli
Mark Ramano
Roberta Reeve
Mardi Rustam
Terry Stafford
Mike Stringer
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
Although the Box Office review lists the release date for this film as September 1971, no other source confirms that date, and no public showings prior to its opening in Los Angeles on November 10, 1971 have been located. Some modern sources list the film as a 1969 production. Onscreen credits include a copyright statement for Dalia Productions, Inc., but the film did not receive copyright registration at the time of its initial release. It was registered for copyright on June 12, 2001, number RE-887-309. The claimant at that time was Jutta Nussbaum. Copyright records list A Time to Run as an additional title, but do not indicate when the title was used.
A few onscreen cast credits were not readable on the viewed print and were taken from reviews. The names of several cast members are misspelled in the onscreen credits. Jennifer Bishop's name is misspelled "Jenifer;" Geoffrey Land's name is misspelled "Jeoffrey;" Sharyn Wynters name is misspelled "Sheryn;" and Gina Carrol's last name is misspelled "Carol." Assistant cameraman Gary Goch's last name is misspelled "Gotch." End credits include the following acknowledgment: "The Producer thanks The People of Hanksville Utah, Rim Rock Motel Torrey Utah, Capital Reef National Monument for their great assistance in the making of this film." According to the Box Office review, scenes were also shot in Las Vegas, NV, and at the Spahn Movie Ranch in Chatsworth, CA. Modern sources add propman Mike Stringer to the cast.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 1971
Released in United States 1971
