''Stacey'' is a 1973 exploitation film directed by

Andy Sidaris Andrew W. Sidaris (February 20, 1931 – March 7, 2007) was an American television and film director, film producer, screenwriter, and actor. Early life Sidaris was born in Chicago, Illinois, to first-generation Greek immigrants. He grew up ...

. Half the budget was provided by

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (born April 5, 1926) is an American film director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film. Many of Corman's films are based on works t ...

for

New World Pictures New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment and New World Communications Group, Inc.) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia company. It was founded in 197 ...

; the rest was raised by Sidaris. It was re-released in 1975 as ''Stacy and Her Gangbusters''.Christopher T Koetting, ''Mind Warp!: The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures'', Hemlock Books. 2009 p 54-55

Plot

The protagonist is Stacey Hanson ( Anne Randall), a private eye and race car driver. She is hired by aging heiress Florence Chambers (

Marjorie Bennett Marjorie Bennett (15 January 1896 – 14 June 1982) was an Australian actress who worked mainly in the United Kingdom and the United States. She began her acting career during the silent film era. Career Bennett was born in York in Western ...

) to investigate the close members of her family who live in her mansion. Stacey is to determine whether the members of Florence's family are worthy to be included in her will. They are three: Florence's nephew John ( Stewart Moss), his wife Tish ( Anitra Ford), and Florence's grand-niece Pamela (

Cristina Raines Cristina Raines ( née Herazo; born February 28, 1952) is an American former actress and model who appeared in numerous films throughout the 1970s, mainly horror films and period pieces. She went on to have a prolific career as a television actres ...

).Coffman (2012), p. 23-26 As it happens, all three potential heirs have something to hide. John is a discreet homosexual, Tish is having an affair with the

houseboy A houseboy (alternatively spelled as ''houseboi'') was a term which referred to a typically male domestic worker or personal assistant who performed cleaning and other forms of personal chores. The term has a record of being used in the British ...

, and Pamela has dubious friends. Stacey uncovers some family secrets but a greater scandal is about to begin. The scheming houseboy Frank (James Westmoreland) is murdered. Stacey now has to find the identity of the murderer before he/she can kill again. Frank was sleeping with and/or blackmailing nearly all members of the family, so everyone is a suspect.Coffman (2012), p. 23-26 Stacey's investigation leads to a helicopter and car chase and gunplay. The murderer turns out to be Pamela who is a member of a cult reminiscent of the Manson family. She was planning to frame John and stand as the last viable heir to the family fortune.Coffman (2012), p. 23-26

Cast

* Anne Randall as Stacey Hanson *

as Florence Chambers * Anitra Ford as Tish Chambers *Alan Landers as Bob Eastwood *James Westmoreland as Frank Elroy *

as Pamela Chambers *

Nicholas Georgiade Nicholas Georgiade (March 25, 1933 – December 19, 2021) was an American film and television actor, best known for playing Agent Rico Rossi in the television series ''The Untouchables (1959 TV series), The Untouchables''. Early life and educati ...

as Matthew *Richard LePore as Luke *John Alderman as Dick Hannon * Stewart Moss as John Chambers

Background

The film features an

empowered Empowerment is the degree of autonomy and self-determination in people and in communities. This enables them to represent their interests in a responsible and self-determined way, acting on their own authority. It is the process of becoming strong ...

babe in a masculinized action role. She is "a very private detective" in a crime-fighting film. This was the first attempt by Sidaris to produce a film with a female protagonist fighting crime. The film thus serves as a precursor to many 1980s films, including those produced by Sidaris himself. In these films "soft" women adopt "hard" personae. It is also a precursor to 1990s softcore films where gender has little to do with a heroine's career, as by that point women's advance into the workplace was no longer an exploitable hot topic.Andrews (2006), p. 75

Connections to other films

The material from the film was reworked into another Sidaris film, ''

Malibu Express ''Malibu Express'' is a 1985 American action film starring Darby Hinton, Sybil Danning, Lori Sutton, and Art Metrano. It was directed, written, and produced by Andy Sidaris and is the first installment in the Triple-B series. The film features 1 ...

'' (1985). The role of Stacey Hanson was divided into two new characters: private detective protagonist Cody Abilene (

Darby Hinton Edgar Raymond Darby Hinton (born August 19, 1957) is an American actor. His parents were actor Ed Hinton (1919–1958) and Marilyn Mau Hinton (1922–1982). Both of his sisters, Darcy and Daryn Hinton, were actresses from childhood.Everett Aake ...

) and his girlfriend June Khnockers (

Lynda Wiesmeier Lynda Ann Wiesmeier (pronounced WEES-myer, May 30, 1963 – December 16, 2012) was an American model and actress. She made her film debut in ''American Pop''. Wiesmeier was selected as both cover model and Playmate of the Month for the July 19 ...

).Coffman (2012), p. 23-26 The openings of both films depict their respective female race car drivers in the finish of a practice race. Both films then have them getting out of uniform. But Stacey is the protagonist while June serves mostly as the source of a recurring joke in her film: "Knockers with an 'h'?". June can still reliably drive a high-performance race car. But it is Cody who performs most of Stacey's functions in the film.Coffman (2012), p. 23-26 The discreet homosexual nephew John turns into Stuart (Michael A. Anderson), a

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...

in the second film. In both films the detective follows the character into a

gay bar A gay bar is a drinking establishment that caters to an exclusively or predominantly lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) clientele; the term ''gay'' is used as a broadly inclusive concept for LGBT communities. Gay bars once served as ...

. The difference is that in the first film John wears regular clothes, while in the second Stuart is in full drag. Cody laughs while dictating notes in a recorder, but still admits that Stuart has great legs. Stuart is more of a cartoonish gay stereotype than John.Coffman (2012), p. 23-26 The youthful niece Pamela turns into the bit older niece Liza ( Lorraine Michaels) in the second film. Liza has her own sex scene with the houseboy Shane (Brett Clark). The difference in age was probably decided to allow this sex scene to have more nudity than would be acceptable from a teenaged character.Coffman (2012), p. 23-26 The second film adds a character with no counterpart in the original: Contessa Luciana (

Sybil Danning Sybil Danning (born Sybille Johanna Danninger) is an Austrian actress, model, and film producer. She is best known for her frequent appearances in B movies during the 1970s and 1980s. Biography Early years and first films Born in Austria, Dannin ...

). Contessa has a romantic night with Cody, before he moves into his next assignment. The relationship to the family is unspecified, but she turns out to have murdered Shane. She is beyond the reach of the law and suffers no ill consequences for her murder.Coffman (2012), p. 23-26 Anne Randall was a

Playboy Playmate A Playmate is a female model featured in the centerfold/gatefold of ''Playboy'' magazine as Playmate of the Month (PMOTM). The PMOTM's pictorial includes nude photographs and a centerfold poster, along with a pictorial biography and the "Playm ...

, the first to appear in a Sidaris' film. Following this film nearly all major female roles in a Sidaris' film were cast with either Playboy Playmates or

Penthouse Pets This is a list of the models who have appeared in the American edition of ''Penthouse'' magazine and were either named Pet of the Month or Pet of the Year from September 1969 to the present. Pet of the Year names are in bold type and are typica ...

.Coffman (2012), p. 23-26

Sources

* *

References

External links

* {{Andy Sidaris 1973 films 1970s exploitation films American sexploitation films Films directed by Andy Sidaris New World Pictures films American detective films 1970s crime action films American crime action films 1970s English-language films 1970s American films