5. Girl Gang (1954)
Vintage girl gang exploitation hijinks from the 1950s, this little number - clocking in at only 63 minutes - is best known for its casual marijuana use (which was racy at the time) and a step by step guide on how to shoot up heroin! The film begins with a group of girls beating up a car owner and taking the vehicle to Joe who supplies them all with heroin in return - he has an empire of dope laden, carjacking, miscreant females at his command! The girls will do anything for Joe and his dope - steal, blackmail, prostitute themselves. Eventually he gets what is coming to him but not before we are treated to all the tricks of the exploitation film trade. Hammy acting, weak yet tittersome dialogue, everything done on the cheap. The fight scenes between the girls are not terribly convincing but the film is notable for its very frank approach to drug taking and prostitution. This is why the film was never shown at a movie theatre - as it went beyond the bounds of what was morally responsible back in the 1950s. Very much a 'Poverty Row' movie which tries desperately to fill its time with things that end up being irrelevant to the plot - such as a five minute sequence of teenagers doing the jitterbug. This has nothing to do with the story whatsoever. But the 'How To' guide to heroin use is quite jaw dropping to watch today. It's a virtual incitement to become a smack-head.