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She-Devils on Wheels (1968)

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16 comments in total

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7 out of 8 people found the following comment useful :-
pretty funny for a "serious" movie, 17 June 2006

Author: TheatreX from Louisville, KY

Herschell Gordon Lewis changed his pace a bit with this biker chick flick, and while it's not necessarily successful as an "action adventure" movie or a "drama", it does provide tons of unintentional hilarity because it's just so freaking bad. It begins with a young lady driving away from her house where her mom says good bye, she's holding her proper "overnight bag" and all, just right for a visit to someone, but of course she pulls into some garage and emerges in some skimpy little outfit on a motorcycle and off she goes to find the rest of the gang. Now, the gang is called The Man Eaters and they all have these spiffy vests with a pink cat with a bow-tie on the back. Some of these ladies look a bit rough. You can tell by the plastic-tipped cigars they smoke. One, called Whitey (I think) is about 250 pounds and has braided blonde hair. There's a bit of role reversal as these appear to be female chauvinist pigs who treat men as though they were "slabs of meat". Anyway, they do a lot of riding around on their motorcycles in the Florida sun, and they even have a couple of fully clothed orgies, or perhaps they're merely heavy petting sessions. The first "orgy" is accompanied by what was perhaps meant to be groovy music but sounds like it's a game show theme. There's some pretty rough language in this too, like "you know what" in reference to penis, and frequent use of the word "mother" without the usual follow-on, so these are at least well mannered scum, to a point. Anyway the girls run afoul of a guy-gang and are set up for a big battle, and that's about it. If you enjoy really trashy silly movies then look no further, if you're in the mood for something substantial and meaningful, keep looking. I found plenty to entertain in this but none of it was probably intentional. 6 out of 10.

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5 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
A classic, 3 November 2002

Author: funkyfry from Oakland CA

Classic she-exploitation. What can I say about a film where girls lick blood off each other and kiss as initiation rites into a biker cult? Men are beaten, dragged behind bikes, f*#$ed, and decapitated. Good acting from a few of the leads. Terrible script with no story provides opportunities for humor and visceral violence. No nudity.

Not as gory as other Lewis films, but more fun than most.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
We are the hell-cats nobody likes!, 10 January 2001
Author: bakerjp from Lancaster, England

The theme tune of this classic was appropriated by the Cramps (who also did a version of Faster Pussycat Kill Kill) - although I like the originals better.

This film comes under the "so bad it's good" category - odd, half-mumbled dialogue (apparently they were trying to get a mainstream rating so the actors had to fumble the swearing) and only a minimum of nudity. The actresses were bikers first and actresses second - and I think it shows. They can all ride bikes at least. The two leads - Betty (Queenie) and Pat (Whitey) are great anyway. The concept of the "stud-line" is very amusing - and everyone at least seems to be enjoying themselves. Check out Queenie's leopard skin waistcoat and silver go-go boots. I got this film on DVD under the Something Weird label in the Virgin Mega Store New York (Times Square) - there were loads of copies in the cult section - This film is due for a massive revival. The DVD version has commentary from Herschell Gordon Lewis, as well as the groovy trailer, and a weird short film about biker gangs, where a straight-as-they-come narrator hilariously attempts to use hep dialogue "these cats are really cool.." etc and the biker member gives a long incoherently rambling narrative about what it means to be in the gang. Recommended!

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4 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
The mighty HG Lewis at his deadly dumbest!, 17 June 2002
Author: CJL (rattler2002@hotmail.com) from London, England

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** Ahh...

It would be no exagerration to liken "She Devils On Wheels", an epic HG Lewis tragedy, to the writings of Shakespeare. It is quite possibly the "Godfather of Gore"'s masterpiece, his "Hamlet" and his "Romeo and Juliet" in one.

The plot revolves around the Maneaters, a gang of motorcycle riding women, bent on smashing their gender roles, treating their menfolk like slaves and riding hard on 'the strip' (they may ride hard but certainly not fast... the girls' bikes move at a leaden, snail-like pace - no doubt a sly metaphor to represent that although the girls may appear to be riding fast, their lives are, essentially, going nowhere). There are many deep-running conflicts within the Maneaters, too complicated to go into here in full detail, but most notably the feud between leader Queenie and fairly recent member Karen is the one that creates the most tension. It's obvious that Queenie is jealous of the younger, more glamorous Karen and when Karen keeps winning the Maneaters' races, Queenie decides to put her in her place with a scene easily as devastatingly powerful as anything from Shakespeare's "Titus Andronicus". Karen, it seems, has fallen in love with one of the 'Studs' (a group of highly inbred-looking 'men' that the Maneaters keep at their shack as sex slaves) and when Queenie finds out, she ties him to the back of Karen's bike and issues the ultimatum - either Karen rides across the strip with her lover tied to the back of her hog, or Queenie rides across the strip with Karen in tow! As the bewildered Karen drives across the strip, her lover turning to a bloodied pulp in gruelling detail, I swear there isn't a dry eye in the house. It tugs at the heartstrings, readers, let me tell you that... Christ, I'm choking up just writing about it.

As the plot unfolds from this pivotal scene, a rival gang, led by the evil misogynist Joe-Boy, get into a fierce argument with the Maneaters over who owns 'the strip' which escalates into a war of violence, betrayal and eventually, murder in clearly a homage to Shakespeare's Montague/Capulet feud. What makes it more complicated is that one of the male gang's brothers is Karen's ex-boyfriend who still holds a flame for her and is heartbroken to see her throw her life away with the Maneaters. As I say, we're talking a seriously tangled web of complexed, strong emotions here - the parallel to the Bard's work is especially hammered home as a variety of scenes are delivered using poetry and verse. Whilst Shakespeare will be forever renowned for his masterly sonnets, Lewis prefers to use the more unorthodox, less highly rated poetic technique - the limerick. Witness one Maneater recount a slightly modified version of a classic, as Lewis pays tribute to great limericks of a forgotten age - "There was a young girl from Calcutta / Who covered her (cough cough) in butter / She thought it too greasy / But it slipped in easy / It's a trick that she learnt from her mutha"... ahh, the greats.

Despite being rife with stark imagery (who can forget the sight of the seemingly endless footage of the girls "trippin'" down a single carriageway at 30mph in a zone clearly marked 55mph?) and clever, sharp dialogue ("We ain't no daisy pickin' broads, we're the Maneaters!"), Lewis' film is ultimately nihilistc, carrying a very dark tone as it explores the fractured psyches of its tortured lead characters. It touches on the emptiness of sexual relations; a recurring theme enforced by the clever directorial trick that no-one even gets into any state of real undress, let alone actually has sex, despite constantly talking about it. Again, it reinforces the point that the shallow goals which drive the main characters to their actions will essentially be disappointing and leave them with nothing - the sheer futility of it all is presented as bleakly as possible with the stunningly grim finale - a horrific centrepiece in the form of a surprise decapitation followed by an ambiguous 'ending' which makes us ask the question: "WHY!?" WHY, DAMNIT, WHY!? There is no triumph of good or evil; no heroes in this film... Two of the girls return, post-credits, with what may well be the answer, in the form of a limerick, naturally. Truly one of the great classics of 20th century cinema, "She Devils on Wheels" holds it's own easily against the works of Kurosawa, Godard and Bergman.

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5 out of 7 people found the following comment useful :-
Legendary biker babes flick!, 30 April 2000

Author: Casey-52 from DVD Drive-In

No one has commented on this? It's a classic! I love it! Betty Connell is Queen, leader of the Man-Eaters, a female biker gang with a lust for violence and sex! Sounds good, doesn't it?

This was my first H.G. Lewis movie I had ever seen and to tell you the truth, it's not as controversial as it sounds. There's scenes leading up to sex that doesn't happen, the violence is mediocre compared to what Lewis did in "Gruesome Twosome", "Blood Feast", and "The Wizard of Gore"! There's a great decapitation scene, mutilation by chain, a beaten girl with a bloody nosering with a note attached, and a fight between the Man-Eaters and a male biker gang that results in bloody chain whipping and lots of gutpunches! Great stuff! The dialogue is priceless ("Man-Eaters is right! Half our dues are spent cleaning the sheets around here!"; "We treat men like pieces of meat. It's about as romantic as buying a hunk of bologna.") and would sound great as sound effects on your computer! The music is either lifted from "Gruesome Twosome" or original stuff that would make a great soundtrack CD! So go check out "She-Devils On Wheels", it's a whole lot of fun!

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Disappointing effort from HG Lewis, 7 February 2008

Author: The_Void from Beverley Hills, England

Herschell Gordon Lewis earned the title 'The Godfather of Gore' for his gory horror films, and as something of a fan of the schlock director; I like to see Herschell doing what he does best. She-Devils on Wheels generally doesn't get a good word said about it even among Lewis' own fans, and that's hardly surprising as this isn't Herschell at his best or doing what he does best. In fact, it seems more like Herschell was trying to rip off the great Russ Meyer - the only difference being that Meyer did this sort of thing well and HG doesn't! The plot revolves around a gang of man-hating female bikers that ride around and terrorise a town. This isn't bad as a premise, but Herschell fails to implement much action, gore or interest into the film. Meyer would have added some breasts which would have at least spiced it up a little; but sadly the film is lacking even that most basic element. It's really hard to believe that this effort is from the same director who bestowed on us legendary trash classics such as Two Thousand Maniacs and The Gore Gore Girls. She-Devils on Wheels is a completely disappointing experience and doesn't come recommended!

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
"Oh go fumigate yourself , crap-head", 24 November 2006

Author: alanmora from United States

One of the most famous lines in the history of exploitation cinema is that line which is uttered by the hefty biker babe "Whitey" in Herschell Gordon Lewis' "She Devils on Wheels"..."Oh go fumigate yourself, crap-head!". This film is much different than most "biker chick" flicks of the time period. In fact, aside from "Blood Feast", this is the highest grossing film Mr. Lewis has ever made and it is the only one of his films to be picked up by a major motion picture studio (American International Pictures). Aside from 2 legitimate actresses, Mr. Lewis used actual biker gang members in this film. Unlike many of his other features, there are only 2 "gore" sequences in it and these are extremely tame in comparison to those in "Blood Feast" or "2000 Maniacs". Still, this film is a great deal of fun and is reportedly in the process of being re-made by the same team that is producing the re-make of another Herschell Gordon Lewis classic, "The Wizard of Gore".

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1 out of 1 people found the following comment useful :-
Sex,Guts,Blood, and ALL men are MOTHERS!, 25 March 2004
Author: (Bullheadedmale@aol.com) from Phila. PA.

Anyone who can't appreciate this CAMPY movie for what it is has no appreciation or knowledge of true 60's B-sleaze-movies. C'mon, folks - it was 1968.. the summer of Love was just barely over, and you still had massive restrictions on what you could, and couldn't show in a film of ANY genre. Enter Hershel G. Lewis. and the Man-Eaters. Part of what's so hilarious about this film is that the real-time, bikerChix of Southern FL (Filmed in a town called "Medley" around an abandoned airport) were bikers 1st, and actors second. Compared to latter-day hip-hop momma's of Brooklyn's PS103, these broads WOULD be a bunch of Daisy-pickin' mommas - but again, this was 1968. The styles, clothes, cars, HAIR!, and other peripherial shots are worth the watching, as is the clumsy acting. Those who lived through 1968 will catch some of the buzz-words of the day, ie: "Where's his PAD, Nick?" and "What's the Action?" And check out that theme song, repleat with the same twangin' guitar sound as (I) remembered being used on late-60's girl Scout commercials! It's hilarious! And the lounge-Music used for the orgies after the girls "Pick" - Not what I'd imagine Ruby Tuesday would have been into in 1968, with her LSD-inspired scraggly hair and shades - but hey, this is the mistique that is S.D.O.W. Even the "Sex" scenes are tame by today, when Janet Jackson can make a cereal commercial with her boob hangin' out - but remember, it was 1968 and the best that 200+ LB. "Whitey" could do sexually was ride some dork's back in a twitchin', twirlin' frenzy. Whoo! The swingin' female-sex kitten-dominatrix theme is nothing new, nor was it when HGL made this film. What WAS new was that he used real bikers, a real Florida town, and the REAL bad acting that made this cult film the classic it is. If you expect more than that - you're missing the point. I can't imagine what a current-day sequel could be. As for Karen - I think she should have left the gang with Rodney Beddell ( the Blond w/the Corvette ) - but that would have been my ulitmate ending: Kick Queenie's ass, send Whitey to jail, befriend HoneyPot before she gets herself knocked-up or raped again, and go back to being a good girl. Sigh* - I can dream.

If ANY of the actors involved with this movie are still breathing, CONTACT ME!

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3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Shoddy., 17 November 2002

Author: gridoon

Shoddy, crudely filmed biker movie with interesting role-reversal concepts, which it completely misuses (like so many other movies). It reminded me a bit of "Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!", but it is much worse. About half the dialogue is literally impossible to understand. The decapitation scene is so bad it must be seen to be believed; thank God someone at least remembered to put the glasses back on the severed head after it had fallen on the ground. (*1/2)

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HGL takes on the biker film, 23 June 2008

Author: Count_Elvis from the castle of freaks, Tryansalabamia

Although he'll be forever known as the "Godfather of Gore" for being the first man to break the taboo concerning graphic violence in "Blood Feast" as well as a few other films like "Two Thousand Maniacs!" and "The Gore Gore Girls", Herschell Gordon Lewis made lots of different types of films, including children's films. In 1968 he made he mark in the biker genre with "She-Devils on Wheels", a movie about a gang of vicious girl bikers called "The Man Eaters". They get there name because they treat me like disposable diapers (kinda like men do to women in real life). They line them up, have sex with them and forget them. In between using men they also recruit young girls into their gang and generally cause mayhem. One time they even drag a man to his death on a bike!

"She-Devils on Wheels" is good HGL, but not great HGL. It's an entertaining film even if it has the usual problems associated with Lewis's work (bad acting, amateurish writing, static camera-work, etc.). But as fans of Lewis know it's that technical badness that makes his films such a joy to watch. This film also features a kick ass theme song, cool bike races and a "Devil may care" attitude that I really enjoyed. And the girl gang members are all total bad asses. Still, there are a few things missing from "She-Devils on Wheels" that would have made it better. Namely this film has no nudity in it. A movie about a gang of girl bikers who treat men like a product should have a good helping of tasty nudity in it, but sadly this film fails to deliver. The girls are smoking hot as well, making the lake of nudity even more disappointing. Overall though, this is still a really enjoyable non-gore effort from HGL.

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