This movie has such a cult following, that our friends at B&S About Movies even warned their readers “If you dislike this movie, we can never, ever be friends.”. We’re not so sure that we liked the movie as much. The acting is so bad, the characters are so campy. It’s like a T&A comedy with more killing and less punchlines. It was highly influential, and has become regarded as a masterpiece in the nearly 60 years since its release. What do we know? We’re just gearheads. Here’s B&S’s glowing review.
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965)
June 2, 2021 by R.D Francis
The three worst women you’ve ever met — and also the finest — finish their dance routines at a club and then head out to the California desert where they race their car and verbally abuse one another. They are Billie, Rosie and Varla; perhaps the finest thing Satan ever made for the Lord. They follow that up by sizing up the guy mansplaining things to his girl and snap his neck before drugging his woman, Linda.
Stopping to fill up, they learn that a wheelchair-bound man and his feebleminded son are literally sitting on a treasure. So they do what you or I would do — manipulate, manhandled and murder everyone in their way.
Originally known as The Leather Girls and then The Mankillers, this isn’t a movie as much as a religion to me. No less a cultural giant as John Waters said, “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! is, beyond a doubt, the best movie ever made. It is possibly better than any film that will be made in the future.”
R.D. Francis
How can you top a review that calls a flick the best ever? You can’t! So, we’ll talk about the cars, because that’s why we watched ‘Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!‘
Tommy: 1963 MG B Roadster
This car only appears in one of the opening scenes. Driven by ‘all-American‘ boy Tommy, who’s brought his girlfriend Linda out to the desert to practice racing ‘time trials’. Dude has a philosophical disagreement with Varla about the reasons to race. She challenges him, defeats him (cheats in the race) then kills him! Nice car, though!
Varla: 1964 Porsche 356 C
This is the star car of the film. This was Stuttgart’s top model before the 911 started production in late 1964. The rear-engine coupe was finished in satin black paint, befitting Varla’s menacing demeanor. She even uses that big chrome bumper to kills a lecherous old man.
If Darth Vader had a pinup-girl poster in his locker on the Death Star, it would be of Varla.
Billie: 1959 MG A 1600
Classic British roadster, would absolutely have been used as a race car back in the day. In ’59 MG added disc brakes to the front, and boosted power output to almost 80 HP in a 1,900 lb. car. A feminine car for the beautiful Billie.
Rosie: 1958 Triumph TR3A Roadster
These cars were monsters of motorsports in Europe during the late 50’s. Disk brakes, big grippy tires, and a 2L engine making nearly 100 HP. The TR3A’ can easily be identified by its full-width grill (bigger radiator, better cooling). A recent colorization of the film depicts Rosie’s Triumph as pink, but that’s just blasphemy!
The movie was shot in black & white to keep costs low, but through the miracle of modern technology, here’s a clip of some iconic scenes in colour.