Satan in High Heels (1962)

[Menard]

Satan in High Heels (1962)


I have a video rack of Sinister Cinema videos and frankly could not tell you what movies are on it. In perusing for a video to watch tonight, I came across this copy of SATAN IN HIGH HEELS. Now with a title like that, I did not bother to peruse any further.


My expectations were not high as I put the video into the VCR and sat back to watch it. Quite to my surprise my attention was held in full force by the movie before me, despite the usual poor quality of Snister Cinema videos.


SATAN IN HIGH HEELS is the story of Stacey, a carnival burlesque dancer who seeks something more than she is getting from her present position (now thoughts like that will get you into trouble). Stacey is given an unexpected opportunity with the surprise appearance of her ex-con, ex-junkie, ex-husband (whoa...he's rated triple ex.........I see no need for the boos and hisses). Stacey, showing her wiley and cunning (stop that), takes all of his money and absconds.


On an airplane ride, Stacey meets with a man (as they seem not to be able to take their eyes off of her) who introduces her to a club manager named Pepe through whom she is given the opportunity, one which she has desired, to perform as a singer in an upscale club. Stacey, however, cannot set aside her cunning as she seduces the club owner's son while taking advantage of the club owner's affectations toward her. This sets up a test of the relationship between a father and son as well pits Stacey's feelings for the son against her inate cunning.


SATAN IN HIGH HEELS features quite a remarkable cast including:

Meg Myles as Stacey, whose acting credits include stints on the soap operas GUIDING LIGHT and ALL MY CHILDREN, as well movie roles in COOGAN'S BLUFF (1968) and THE ANDERSON TAPES (1971) among others. IMDB apparently felt her measurements (42-24-36) were an important fact (I have no disagreement).

Grayson Hall gives a wonderful performance as the raspy voiced lesbian club manager Pepe who has quite a keen sense about her. Grayson Hall has appeared on the soap operas ALL MY CHILDREN and ONE LIFE TO LIVE but is probably most memorable for her stint on DARK SHADOWS and two subsequent movies. She also delivers the funniest line in the movie, " I've changed my mind, who wants a cat."

Also notable is the role of the gay, piano player Paul played by Del Tenney. Tenney is perhaps best known as the director of such films as I EAT YOUR SKIN and THE HORROR OF PARTY BEACH.

Also of note is the British singer Sabrina (grrr) as herself.


SATAN IN HIGH HEELS was a low budget sexploitation film for it's time that is by today's standards tame. What it does deliver is a strong, attention grabbing script delivered by a wonderful cast of performers. The direction of Jerald Intrator is taut and affords the cinematography the ability to accentuate each scene. The direction is additionally fearless of restrictions as it uses any restriction to it's advantage. To top it off SATAN IN HIGH HEELS features a great soundtrack including performances by Meg Myles and Sabrina. The end result is a brilliant drama that has you holding your attention to each scene and line while anticipating the next.


SATAN IN HIGH HEELS was shot in black & white and has a runtime of 89 minutes. It is available on DVD from Something Weird Video which I will be getting soon.



Post Edited (01-12-05 03:19)

[Scott]

Could you E-mail it to me Menard? I don't get Sinister Video where I live. : ) Sounds like a lost forgotten film that should be playing on TCM or AMC. Would love to get hold of Sinister Cinema collection. There are about 200 films that interest me. I think they want like $15.00 for each film.



Post Edited (01-12-05 14:34)

[Menard]

Fortunately I didn't pay anything more than a buck each for my Sinister Cinema tapes. If I hadn't, I would have been quite irked by paying $15 for such lousy quality copying. Although they do have some obscure titles which I would be willing to give $15 for until something better was available (if ever). I do not have any of their DVD-Rs. I wonder what the quality is like on those. Amazon.com has the Something Weird DVD of SATAN IN HIGH HEELS which is available for $22.46 (I believe), but I still will be getting one. Talk about a movie name; SATAN IN HIGH HEELS is certainly misleading in it's title, because it sounds exactly like the title of a movie that should be on this site. It in reality is quite a brilliant drama either buried in obscurity or hurt by the very distributors who gave it that title. It most definitely belongs on AMC or a classics channel (at least in my opinion).