| Stripped to Kill | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Katt Shea |
| Written by | Andy Ruben Katt Shea |
| Produced by | Mark Byers executive Roger Corman |
| Starring | Greg Evigan Kay Lenz Norman Fell Pia Kamakahi Tracy Crowder |
| Cinematography | John LeBlanc |
| Edited by | Zach Staenberg Bruce Stubblefield |
| Music by | John O'Kennedy |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Concorde Pictures |
Release date |
|
Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Stripped to Kill is a 1987 erotic thriller/sexploitation film directed by Katt Shea and starring Greg Evigan, Kay Lenz and Norman Fell.[1]
Premise
A female detective is forced to go undercover as a stripper in order to investigate a murder.
Cast
- Kay Lenz as Cody; Sunny
- Greg Evigan as Sergeant Heineman
- Norman Fell as Ray
- Tracy Crowder as Fanny
- Athena Worthey as Zeena
- Carlye Byron as Cinnamon
- Debbie Nassar as Dazzle
- Lucia Nagy Lexington as Brandy
- Michelle Foreman as Angel
- Pia Kamakahi as Eric; Roxanne
- Tom Ruben as Mobile Entrepreneur
- Diana Bellamy as Shirl
Production
Development
The film was inspired by a visit Katt Shea and her husband and writing partner Andy Ruben made to a strip club.[2]
"I didn't want to go because I felt it was humiliating to women," recalls Shea. "But I finally got myself there. I sat down and began watching these acts and they're performing as if they really cared."[3]
Shea later elborated:
Before I did STRIPPED TO KILL you had never seen a girl dancing on a pole, no one had ever seen that in a movie, to my knowledge. Girls swinging around on a pole--that had not been done yet. So I think that was spectacular; it was crazy, it was wild. This is how it happened. I went to a strip club for the first time in my life and I saw a girl swinging around on a pole and I thought, ‘Oh my god this has got to be in a movie!’ I mean, nobody knows this goes on except a bunch of guys with dollar bills, so it just had to be exploited, I guess. I thought they were very artistic and I just loved the girls, they were real artists and they were just using this particular venue to explore their art.[4]
She took the idea to Roger Corman for whom she had made a number of movies as an actor. Corman says he liked the basic idea but questioned the believability of a scene where a man went undercover as a stripper. Shea brought in a female impersonator to see Corman and had him describe to the producer who to pretend to be a stripper. "He [Corman] turned every shade," recalls Shea. "He was purple by the end. But then he said yes."[3]
Lenz was worried about playing a stripper at age 34 until she found out in research many of the strippers had college student children.[5]
Criticism
Kay Lenz complained publicly about the film's editing and "exploitative" ad campaign aimed at the print media.[6]
Reception
The Los Angeles Times said the film "fulfills its sex and violence quota-actually, it's fairly tame in these departments-but also has some style and substance as well. "[7]
The film was a hit and led to a sequel, shot on the same set as Dance of the Damned. The sequel was also directed by Shea who took her name off because of Corman's editing interference.[8]
References
- ^ A Conversation with Katt Shea
- ^ Chris Nashawaty, Crab Monsters, Teenage Cavemen and Candy Stripe Nurses - Roger Corman: King of the B Movie, Abrams, 2013 p 199
- ^ a b How 'Poison Ivy' Got Its Sting: The studio wanted a teen-age 'Fatal Attraction.' Katt Shea's movie may be more than that. 'Poison Ivy': Art or Exploitation? By LAURIE HALPERN BENENSON. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 03 May 1992: 70.
- ^ "Director Katt Shea talks about her 1980's Roger Corman produced films" TV Store Online 3 Feb 2015 accessed 21 April 2015
- ^ OUTTAKES: THE SEQUEL THE LATEST FOX Pecchia, David. Los Angeles Times (1923-1995); Los Angeles, Calif. [Los Angeles, Calif]28 Dec 1986: U80.
- ^ With reports from Stephen Galloway., Frank Swertlow. "HOLLYWOOD FREEWAY - KAY LENZ UPSET ABOUT CORMAN'S 'DECEPTION'." Daily News of Los Angeles (CA) 9 Jul. 1987, Valley, L.A. LIFE: L20. NewsBank. Web. 23 Feb. 2013.
- ^ MOVIE REVIEW `STRIPPED TO KILL' HAS SOME MEAT ON ITS BONES: [Home Edition] Thomas, Kevin. Los Angeles Times (pre-1997 Fulltext); Los Angeles, Calif. [Los Angeles, Calif]29 June 1987: 5.
- ^ Chris Nashawaty, Crab Monsters, Teenage Cavemen and Candy Stripe Nurses - Roger Corman: King of the B Movie, Abrams, 2013 p 201