"So bad it's good"

A phrase that is bandied around so often with low-budget, exploitation and trash cinema that it almost loses any meaning. Not only is Lady Street Fighter "so bad it's good" but I would further postulate that it's a defining picture for the term.

Glancing at the poster (and it really is a great poster) you would be forgiven for mistaking it for a Sonny Chiba by way of Pam Grier martial arts/action flick; The Street Fighter (1974) & Coffy (1973) this ain't. It has its own charm, its own merits and feels very much like it exists in its own universe, where things don't necessarily have to make any sense, but can still be a lot of fun.

Shot in the end of March 1975 and released theatrically in 1977, Lady Street Fighter is directed by James Bryan, best known for the backwoods slasher, Don't Go in the Woods (1981), and penned by German actress Renee Harmon, who also stars alongside a made-up Carradine brother! Friends & folks, this is triple-distilled exploitation filmmaking.

Starring: Renee Harmon, Joel D. McCrea Jr./Jody McCrea, "Trace Carradine" and Liz Renay.



This is the first collaboration Renee Harmon and James Bryan wrote, produced and directed together. The duo would go on to make a total of 6 feature films, including the ludicrous exploitation actioner, The Executioner, Part II (1984) - a film that has no predecessor. I'd imagine decision to choose that title was similar to the titling of "Lady Street Fighter", an attempted cash grab on the coattails of a more successful film. The case here being James Glickenhaus' fiery action-revenger The Exterminator (1980), likely hoping audiences wouldn't remember the title correctly and be confused enough to believe it was a sequel. A true sequel to The Exterminator did however arrive later that year (1984).



I've tried to understand and rationalise the plot, but there are some aspects I still can't wrap my head around. Did I miss something, is she a cop from the get go? is she a vigilante? Lady Street Fighter is genuinely difficult to follow and not in the way a David Lynch, Luis Buñuel, or even a Christopher Nolan feature is. Surreal - yes, convoluted - yes; unintentionally - yes, and please don't think I'm demeriting this picture either, it's in a realm of its own, its own universe. It exists outside of logic and outside of art.

A woman named Linda Allen (Renee Harmon) travels to Los Angeles to seek out and takedown the hitmen who tortured and murdered her sister. The hitmen are members of a group who call themselves Assassins Inc. (yes really), who are trying to locate an audio tape containing evidence that incriminates them. The tape of which is stitched up inside a plush teddy carried around by none other than Linda. Corrupt FBI agent Rick Pollard (Joel D. McCrea Jr./Jody McCrea), who has secret ties to Assassins Inc., is sent to investigate and/or stop Linda by whatever means necessary, only to find himself falling deeply in love with her. If this doesn't whet one's appetite for intrigue I don't know what will.



Chucked into the mix are burlesque joints (featuring a noteworthy performance by Liz Renay), wild toga parties, celery fellatio, champagne bottle innuendo, phone receiver seducing, a murder mystery party where real murders occur, multiple car chases, shoot-outs and gratuitous nudity. Nobody is who they appear to be, characters are double agents, secret agents and there appears to be hidden agendas left, right and centre. One could argue that it's down to the complexity of the script that makes this film difficult to follow, but this is exploitation filmmaking and I just can't buy that rationale.

The champagne orgy scene should come with a warning; it melted my brain to liquid, and I can't be sure I didn't just dream the rest of the movie. It has that effect on you; an uncanny dreamlike feeling where there's so little to grasp onto. Scenes can abruptly end, and in the next you're immediately catapulted forward through the narrative, wondering if there was something you missed. On a few occasions the dialogue is muffled, or the line delivery is so poor that you struggle to even catch a word. It leaves you feeling more than a little lost in a swirl of gaudy imagery and incomprehensible sounds.



Lady Street Fighter is not devoid of merit or talent, and the film looks surprisingly good, scenes are well framed and the action sequences are nicely put together. The score utilises an incredibly catchy, synthesised version of the most memorable melody from Ennio Morricone's main title theme for The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966). It's used effectively to punctuate scenes and also serves as a main theme. Renee Harmon's distinctive German accent adds to the absurdity of the picture, and her character of Linda is utterly unpredictable; as are her outfits, including an eye watering gold lamé jumpsuit. Other actors' line readings are stilted, bordering on uncomfortable, I'm also certain that during one or two moments the dialogue track is repeated. It almost begins to feel like a parody of low/no-budget films from this era, only it isn't, it's played straight, which further adds to the unnatural and ultimately unforgettable nature of this film.