Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies begins its chronicle of Hollywood exploitation with the Baby Boom and the advent of television (most notably with shows like Vampira that piped old horror movies directly into your living room). The rise of American International Pictures is also discussed, with producers James Nicholson and Sam Arkoff and filmmakers like Roger Corman who marketed their films almost solely through the use of lurid posters and outrageous titles like The Wasp Woman and The Beast with 1,000,000 Eyes. The way they catered to the previously untapped teenage market with the likes of I Was a Teenage Werewolf and I Was a Teenage Frankenstein is also viewed as a game-changer.
The film works its way up to the exploitation of the Atomic Age (with films such as War of the Colossal Beast) before backtracking to the ‘30s to discuss the subject of nudity and the roadshow circuit. From there, nudist camp movies of the ‘50s became popular before giving way to the nudie cuties. Nudie filmmakers David F. Friedman and Herschell Gordon Lewis pivot away from nudies to make Blood Feast, which sparks an entirely new genre: The gore film. Friedman eventually splits with Lewis, striking out on his own to pioneer the “roughie” with films like The Defilers.
Schlock! features a pretty good assortment of talking heads. In addition to Corman, Friedman, and Vampira, we also hear from Dick Miller, Harry Novak, and Doris Wishman. Friedman tells some stories he already told in Sex and Buttered Popcorn, but that’s okay because he’s always fun to listen to.
While it’s far from the definitive guide on the subject, this is a decent trip down memory lane/historical account of Hollywood exploitation movies. In fact, the biggest problem with the flick is the misleading title. It shouldn’t be called “The Secret History of American Movies”. It should’ve been called “The Secret History of American Exploitation Flicks”. I could’ve also done with the scenes of a theatre troupe putting on a stage production of a Reefer Madness musical. I did enjoy the moments when they try to explore the deeper themes lurking underneath the surface of the films themselves. (Including the claim that The Brain That Wouldn’t Die is a feminist allegory!) Sure, there’s nothing earth-shattering here, but it’s informative and fast-paced.
Other films featured include Teenagers from Outer Space, Carnival of Souls, A Bucket of Blood, Nude on the Moon, and Kiss Me Quick.
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