Taglines: A good football coach can get away with murder.
Pretty Maids All in a Row movie storylin. It’s the height of the sexual revolution. Most of the members of the female student body at Oceanfront High School are surprised when males don’t hit on them, and often they will act upon those advances. But it’s the school’s football coach and guidance counselor, Michael McDrew – nicknamed Tiger – that gets more female hearts a-fluttering than any.
Conversely, Tiger, despite being married with a daughter, is attracted to anything in a skirt, he having sexual relationships with many a woman, including his students, most of his sexual partners not knowing about the others. On the other extreme is seventeen year old student, Ponce de Leon Harvey, who is sexually frustrated as he doesn’t know how to approach girls, while he deals with his attractions to his nubile classmates. The person who has caused most of Ponce’s uncontrollable erections of late has been substitute English teacher, Miss Betty Smith.
Having left her last relationship thirteen months ago, Miss Smith is also sexually frustrated, and would like more than anything to ease those frustrations with Tiger. But Tiger has other things in mind, he convincing her to help Ponce’s “impotence”. The arrival of Miss Smith to the school coincides with Ponce finding female student Jill Fairbunn murdered in the boys’ lavatory. Police Captain Sam Surcher investigates with much hindrance from Chief John Poldaski, they believing that she was murdered by a sexual predator. Subsequently, more female students are found murdered. If the Captain does find out the truth, he will find that much of the cause was the want for good old fashioned monogamy.
Pretty Maids All in a Row is a 1971 American mystery film that is part black sex comedy, part murder mystery. Starring Rock Hudson alongside Angie Dickinson, it was released on April 28, 1971. Roger Vadim directed the film, which Gene Roddenberry produced, having dramatized a 1968 novel written by Francis Pollini into the screenplay from which Vadim worked. This was Roddenberry’s only feature film writing credit.
About the Production
The novel was published in 1968. Producer Jay Weston and director James B. Harris originally optioned the novel and assigned William Hanley to write the script. Joe Namath was meant to star as the football coach. Eventually Gene Roddenberry rewrote the script and came on board as producer; the job of directing was given to Roger Vadim – his first movie in two years. “There is no role in the film for Jane Fonda” said the director, who was estranged from his wife at the time.
It was Vadim’s first American film, though he said he had received offers before – a contract ten years previously with Paramount for five films, and one with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) three years earlier. He said he had bought himself out of both contracts because he could not get the necessary control. Vadim said he had to be persuaded to return to MGM:
It seemed this time they (MGM) were more interested to give more credit to the director. ‘We have changed’ they said. But from the moment I get here I fight like hell. They want names but they don’t want to pay for them. For the first time I will be at a studio for a major company in Hollywood. In a way I like a challenge. I really think it’s necessary to get involved with something new. It’s so good to break all your habits. In France I can do anything, here I have to fight. That’s a good thing. They respect you if you fight and it keeps you alert.
Rock Hudson was signed to star, and filming began in August 1970. Brigitte Bardot was offered the female lead but could not get out of a prior commitment; Angie Dickinson played the role instead. The cast included eight young female newcomers, the “pretty maids”: Brenda Sykes, Joy Bang, Gretchen Burrell, Joanna Cameron, Aimée Eccles, June Fairchild, Margaret Markov, and Diane Sherry.
The film was in production from August 10 to October 25, 1970. It was shot in large part at University High School in West Los Angeles. Some years later, a University High administrator told the Los Angeles Times that the high sexual and violent content of the film should have precluded it from being approved for filming at the school. Other scenes were shot at Santa Monica Pier and Venice Marina., while the football sequence was filmed at Rancho La Cienega Park using a local football team and school band.
The April 1971 issue of Playboy magazine published an article about the movie written by Vadim. This includes a nine-page pictorial of actresses Angie Dickinson, Gretchen Burrell, Aimee Eccles, Margaret Markov, Playboy bunny Joyce Williams, and others.
Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971)
Directed by: Roger Vadim
Starring: Rock Hudson, Angie Dickinson, Telly Savalas, John David Carson, Keenan Wynn, Barbara Leigh, James Doohan, William Campbell, Susan Tolsky, Brenda Sykes, Joy Bang, Gretchen Burrel
Screenplay by: Gene Roddenberry
Production Design by: Maurice Vaccarino
Cinematography by: Charles Rosher Jr.
Film Editing by: Bill Brame
Costume Design by: William Ware Theiss
Set Decoration by: Robert R. Berton, Charles Pierce
Art Direction by: E. Preston Ames, George W. Davis
Music by: Lalo Schifrin
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Release Date: April 28, 1971 (NYC), May 10, 1971 (LA)
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