The Grindhouse Film Festival Pays Tribute to Russ Meyer and Tura Satana

The Grindhouse Film Festival recently paid tribute to director Russ Meyer and the late actress Tura Satana. The two are best known for worked together on the exploitation classic "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!." It screened at New Beverly Cinema along with "The Doll Squad" which Tura co-starred in, and in attendance were two actresses from the 1965 cult film: Haji and Susan Bernard. Both said that if Tura were still with us, she would have been "'very pleased" by the large turnout.

Tura Satana starred as Varla, the leader of a trio of thrill seeking go-go dancers. Her contribution to the 1965 movie was that she added karate scenes and even choreographed them with the stunt director. She died in February of 2011 from heart failure, and Haji burst into tears confessing just how much she misses Tura and her pot roast. Susan said that Tura had a very big heart. She was 72, but we came out of this screening feeling like she left us way too soon.

In talking about Russ Meyer, both ladies described him as a "good hearted man" who always visited his mother on Christmas Day. They described his editing and photography on his movies as being consistently top notch, and he always worked with the same five men crew which became a "tight knit" family. Susan also remarked that Russ had a natural instinct about actors in what they could do without direction. It got to where he went up to the cast and said:

"Here's your scripts, do your thing."

Susan recalled her big driving scene where she got into the truck. She told Russ that she had never drove a stick shift before, to which Russ replied:

"You'll figure it out."

Both made it clear that Russ always took care of the girls and made sure they were well rested. He also ensured they did not have sex during filming as he always wanted them to look horny onscreen. Working with Russ made them both understand what he stood for; freedom of expression, anti-prejudice, equal rights for everyone, and (along with Hugh Hefner) he was anti-censorship.

Haji further remarked that if you went into Russ' movies a complete wimp, you came out of a toughened and changed person. He had the cast sleeping in tents out in the desert with scorpions, snakes, and tarantulas threatening them when they least expected it. After doing one film with Russ, Haji said she came out if it "rugged." They remained very good friends to his death.

"Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" is considered the movie origin of girl power and female empowerment. Unlike the endless number of films that came afterwards, it had no cursing and no nudity. Haji even said that you could take your kids to see it! Whether or not that's a good idea, there's no doubt of how much influence it has had on movies and popular culture. This cult classic still draws quite the crowd for good reason: women have the upper hand against those against them, and they are never ever weak. When you think about it, that has never been the case.

Incidentally, Haji is putting together a website about her experiences making movies with Russ Meyer and focusing on the women in his movies. As for this writing, the site is not up yet, but once it is you can check it out here: http://www.fasterpussycathaji.com/.