Ginger (1971)

That was an excellent one.

Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

How come in the 1970s movies they did the best and most erotic femfight scenes? Just think about "The Amazons" (1973) In the beginning of this movie Ginger is challenged on the beach by a group of bad girls. She ends up fighting the girls ringleader in a a short violent tussle in the sand. Tough blonde Ginger defeats her brunette adversary and strips her of her bikini, while continueing to beat her. Ginger uses the bikini of the losing girl to tie up her arms and legs. As the girls tries to get up Ginger sends her crashing back into the sand and into humiliating defeat by a swift kick of her sexy foot into her oppnents belly.

"Ginger' (Cheri Caffaro) is a young woman from New York who has been recruited by a private investigative company to gather intelligence on a criminal named "Rex Halsey" (Duane Tucker) who has a small operation in New Jersey which capitalizes on drugs, prostitution and blackmail. To get the evidence required for a conviction she has to infiltrate his small circle of accomplices and the last two who tried have ended up dead. Now rather than reveal any more of this movie and risk spoiling it for those who haven't seen it I will just say that I found this to be a sleazy but somewhat entertaining film all the same. Having said that I should probably add that this movie is not for those who are easily offended as it contains scenes with full frontal nudity, bondage, rape and racial slurs. Along with that it was a low-budget film which includes some weak fighting scenes, a poor script and some very basic acting. But Cheri Caffaro does a decent enough job in spite of it all and manages to keep the film moving along all the same. Likewise, having attractive young ladies like Michele Norris (as "Vicki Jennings"), Cindy Barnett ("Jean Oliver") and the aforementioned Cheri Caffaro certainly didn't hurt. Accordingly, I rate this movie as about average.

When I reviewed the film 'Christina' for IMDb, I commented that it was very poorly made in comparison with many of the earlier films of the same genre, such as the early 1970's series featuring the female private investigator Ginger. Later thinking back about this spontaneous comment I found it hard to rationalise why I had hated watching Christina, but had enjoyed the Ginger series; and I began to wonder whether this was solely because I was looking back at the latter series, which I have not viewed during the quarter century since they were first released, through the rose coloured spectacles of relative youth. Many of the criticisms I had made about Christina seemed on reflection to have been equally applicable to the Ginger films. These and other films of the same genre were made on a relatively low budget for the sole purpose of bringing in good returns to their promoters; or (if we are more charitable) building up the funds required for the production of a planned future epic or Oscar winner. They are basically simple exploitation movies with an appeal based on sex and violence and with no pretensions to cinematographic significance. The promoters know that the largest cinema audiences consist of young people who typically attend in groups or pairs and who expect an interesting but not memorable screening they can enjoy together. Films such as "Ginger" or "Pepper" appeal to girls and women because they feature an unusually capable female investigator who can always deal with male colleagues or opponents on a more than equal basis. Their recipe includes enough violence and female nudity to ensure that they have an equal appeal for youths and young men; and they always show respect for the traditional values of Society - the good guys always win out in the end and there is no tolerance of either criminals or revolutionaries. Why then should I remember the Ginger films quarter of a century later, whilst most of the other films of the same genre which I have seen since have now been totally forgotten?To answer this question I obtained copies of the first and third of the Ginger films ("Ginger" and "Girls are for Loving") to watch again, and am now submitting my comments on both to IMDb. These two sets of comments should be regarded as complimentary - probably the main difference between these films is that the first is a typical very low budget production designed to test the market, whilst the third has clearly benefited from rather less financial constraints. In these comments I am limiting myself to generalities when considering 'Ginger', but examining more specific considerations in the case of 'Girls are for Loving'.Viewing these two films for a second time I found it very hard to identify any areas where they are significantly better in quality than 'Christina'. All these films feature violence, nudity and sexually suggestive situations, with no redeeming social message, often to the point where they would be regarded by most viewers as no more than soft porn. They are intended to provide easy viewing but not memorable fare. The Martin and Porter Guide to Home Videos makes the telling comment that it will not describe "Ginger" as the best of these three films, but rather as the least repulsive. However the Ginger films are still available as DVD's, and are presumably still selling, over 30 years after they were first released, so I am not alone in remembering them when so many of their later imitators have been totally forgotten. After watching them again I feel certain that this difference is primarily attributable to a much greater tautness in the script. Watching many other similar films, viewers encounter numerous rather boring sequences where they wonder why they are wasting their time watching such trash. Ultimately this leads to a low rating for the film in question. The problem here lies in the direction. Whilst they were no better made or acted, the direction of the Ginger films is such that the story carries the viewer forward from moment to moment in a way which leaves little time for introspection or boredom to develop. In my view this is the reason they have survived whilst so many later films have fallen by the wayside. But their appeal is purely that of a guilty pleasure, re-watching them reminded me of the appeal of splurging on a massive and rich ice cream concoction after a long period of dieting. The only reason why this may be said to be a good thing to do is that, certainly for some people, an occasional indulgence of this kind can be of enormous value in helping them to maintain the ongoing discipline of dieting over an extended period of time.If you know that you enjoy this type of occasional indulgence, watch one or more of the Ginger films. You will probably not be disappointed.

"Ginger"'s plot is flimsy, the dialog is wretched, its sentiment very un-PC (and just a tad bit racist), its look cheap, and the acting... um, well, I'll be kind and say a few people at least try to say their lines with feeling. Yet despite all these things going against it, I was thoroughly entertained.Cheri Caffaro, the star of this made-in-New Jersey sexploitation "thriller," is largely what held my attention. Nearly a foot taller than any of her co-stars, with a slim figure, long-bleached blond hair and nearly non-existent eyebrows, Caffaro is more handsome than pretty or sexy. She could easily be mistaken for a transsexual ("Ginger: The Gender Avenger"--now THAT would've really been interesting). As an actress she's... better than some of the other non-actors in this movie, but she's got presence. Her "seductive" dance in a nightclub is a camp classic--made more so by her visually offensive pink outfit. There's a lot of sex and nudity, and more than a passing nod to bondage enthusiasts, with three scenes that have characters handcuffed or tied to beds, including the late Calvin Culver, better known as gay porn star Casey Donovan. Perhaps Culver/Donovan's work in hardcore movies is why he didn't balk at being shown Full Monty. Viewers also get treated to an anemic cat fight on the beach and some tepid lesbian bonding. Though all the sex is decidedly un-erotic, these scenes certainly work better than "Ginger"'s clumsy action sequences."Ginger" kind of plays like a relic from the porno chic era, only minus any hardcore content. Even the opening credits, with our heroine cruising the Jersey Turnpike in her gold Corvette, had me thinking of the title sequence of "Deep Throat" (yes, I know "Deep Throat" was released a year later, but I saw it before "Ginger"). And like a pornographic film, "Ginger" has absolutely no redeeming social value. And I enjoyed every minute of it!