Pledgemasters
Cast & Crew
David P. Parrish
Bruce Gregory
David Knapp
Michael Tremor
James Palmer
Trevor Tiffany
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
At a university in Southern California, four students are taken through brutal ceremonial hazing rituals in order to join a fraternity. The students undergo beatings, forced exercise and degradation, and become ill when they are compelled to eat or drink in excess. Another act of humiliation has the students stripped nude to endure a paddling and finally undergoing a brutal beating with a razor strap.
Director
David P. Parrish
Cast
Bruce Gregory
David Knapp
Michael Tremor
James Palmer
Trevor Tiffany
Larry Kennedy
Crew
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Trivia
Notes
According to a September 1971 Variety article, Pledgemasters was filmed in one session using two cameras and four student volunteers from the University of California, Los Angeles. Producer and director David P. Parrish took four months to find students willing to participate in the film although, according to the article, none of the volunteers were told anything about the ceremony except for the final beating with a razor strap. Both the article and the Variety review of the film noted that the subject matter contained "an implicit indictment of military and penal life in which ritual sadism finds a socially accepted outlet." Variety also noted that Signature Films was known as a homosexual pornography distributor, which would likely limit the distribution prospects for Pledgemasters. Although the film was unrated upon the time of its release, according to MPAA records, in 1976 Pledgemasters was awarded an R rating.
Miscellaneous Notes
Released in United States 1971
Released in United States 1971
