Pretty Maids All in a Row

OP - Are you posting this because you saw it on TCM last week? I've always wanted to see it, set my dvr, and I'm planning on watching it this weekend. I'll check back on this thread after I've seen it.

It is a sex exploitation flick that shows as much prepubescent tits and ass that was allowed for a mainstream movie in 1971. Rock did it for the paycheck, but he looks like a hot daddy with his pornstache and longish hair. The script and story are poor but there are a few minor laughs from character actors Susan Tolsky and Keenan Wynn.

The young actor who plays the cute teen, John David Carson, was once billed as Rock's protege and had a 20-year career in Hollywood playing small roles in films and TV, including a recurring role on Falcon Crest. He ended up broke, married and living in a motel in Vegas before he died of lymphoma at 57 in 2009.

Related thread on John David Carson

R1 yep--I'd never heard of it before it showed up on TCM.

Is there any male nudity? Sexploitation flicks without male nudity are a waste.

Watched this on a late 90's cable anthology called "TNT Weird." It certainly fit that bill and seems even creepier to me after learning last week that "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry wrote the screenplay.

I bought the DVD seven or eight years ago and re-watched it a few months ago. I think it is a very good black comedy.

Rock was hot but with the pornstache he was even hotter.

R6 this may be apocryphal but I heard Roddenberry‘s wife Majel Barrett very strongly urged Roddenberry to suggest casting Rock Hudson. She said he was quite handsome.

lol i have to watch this.

When I was a child my parents took the family to go see No Way to Treat a Lady.

They thought is was, by the title, a Hudson/Day rom-com type of movie.

Boy, were they wrong.

Half way through the movie I hear my mom say to my dad, well they've seen half of it...

Then we went to see Pretty Maids ALL in a Row a few years later and I remember my dad going...awww, shit, not again.

And we stayed, again.

Trailer

Angie was TOTALLY wasted on Rock

"When I was a child my parents took the family to go see No Way to Treat a Lady."

That's a very good movie. Rod Steiger plays a serial killer who preys on women. He eventually goes after Lee Remick, the girlfriend of the detective trying to solve the murders, George Segal.

R7, I saw it at 19 when it was first released and thought Rock was sexy as fuck.

In addition to Angie, the supporting cast included Telly Savalas, Keenan Wynn and DL fave Roddy McDowall.

Are any of the teens actresses who later became stars? I like stories like that, "oh! It's a young Bea Arthur?"

Before Vadim and Roddenberry were brought on board Joe Namath was favored by the original director and producer for the Rock Hudson role.

The role that eventually went to Angie Dickinson was originally intended for Bridget Bardot but she was unable to except the role due to a scheduling conflict.

Roddenberry also cast James Doohan (Scotty from Star Trek) as a police officer.

Of the “pretty maids“ The one with the longest filmography is June Fairchild, her credits include: Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows (1968) - June[7] Head (1968) - The Jumper Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971) - Sonny Drive, He Said (1971) - Sylvie[1] Summertree (1971) - Girl in Dorm Top of the Heap (1972) - Balloon Thrower Your Three Minutes Are Up (1973) - Sandi Detroit 9000 (1973) - Barbara (uncredited) Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) - Gloria[1] Dirty O'Neil (1974) - Hitchhiker The Student Body (1976) - Mitzi Sextette (1978) - Woman Reporter Up in Smoke (1978) - Ajax Lady[1] (final film role)

Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows (1968) - June

Head (1968) - The Jumper

Pretty Maids All in a Row (1971) - Sonny

Drive, He Said (1971) - Sylvie

Summertree (1971) - Girl in Dorm

Top of the Heap (1972) - Balloon Thrower

Your Three Minutes Are Up (1973) - Sandi

Detroit 9000 (1973) - Barbara

Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) - Gloria

Dirty O'Neil (1974) - Hitchhiker

The Student Body (1976) - Mitzi

Sextette (1978) - Woman Reporter

Up in Smoke (1978) - Ajax Lady (final film role)

This was easier to read but no more impressive

I used to think John David Carson was a son of Johnny Carson. The extended name was probably a SAG issue. Wasn't he a suicide?

"Rock manipulates into sleeping with a (admittedly rather hot) male student who has a problem with constant erections"

This is a common theme in old movies, is it a straight guy fantasy?

According to her autobiography, Cybill Shepherd was considered for one of the Maids (who gets killed in a bathroom?), but passed on it to make The Last Picture Show.

I'm going to watch it tonight after I'm lightly sauced.

Angie getting felt up by Rock.

Rock looked so good in his chic California love-in fashions. The pretty maids were all nudity friendly starlets who all ended up in a Playboy pictorial to promote the film.

Based on a trashy book that was popular at the time.

Lousy movie but I'm surprised it wasn't a much bigger success.

It was filmed at my high school, University High School. One of my sisters was attending at the time and she said that a lot of the girls were very fascinated by Carson.

For anyone interested, this is a video of an actor acting out a print interview John David Carson once did.

r25 It's touching that he said his happiest moment in his young life was his high school graduation.

Rock looks like the My Pillow* guy.

Rock, Telly and Angie all later played TV detectives.

It looks like those 70s drive-in movies like "Naughty Co-eds".

I remember when it was on HBO in the late ‘70s and my uncles laughing about it. Something about how he always had sex with the girls in a testing room or something and a “testing in progress” light would go on...?