Switchblade Sisters (1975)

53% of critics liked it
(19 reviews)
69% of users liked it
(3,301 ratings)

Exploitation auteur Jack Hill wrote and directed this wild, often satiric girl-gang movie, whose story is loosely (make that very, very loosely) based on Othello. The Silver Daggers are a gang of young hoods who control an inner-city high school, where they sell drugs and sex to the student body and… More Exploitation auteur Jack Hill wrote and directed this wild, often satiric girl-gang movie, whose story is loosely (make that very, very loosely) based on Othello. The Silver Daggers are a gang of young hoods who control an inner-city high school, where they sell drugs and sex to the student body and fight anyone who gets in their way. The Daggers have a ladies' auxiliary, The Dagger Debs, who rumble just as hard as the men, but one day chief Dagger Deb Lace (Robbie Lee) meets her match in Maggie (Joanne Nail), a new kid who won't back down. When a scuffle lands Maggie and the Debs in jail for the night, Maggie comes to Lace's rescue, and Maggie becomes Lace's new right-hand woman. However, fellow Deb Patch (Monica Gayle) is jealous of Maggie's friendship with Lace, and begins spinning a web of deceit to destroy Lace's trust in the new deb. In the midst of the infighting, the Silver Daggers find their turf challenged by a rival gang who pose as a community action team, and the Debs join forces with a revolutionary political group. Kitty Bruce, Lenny Bruce's daughter, plays Doughnut, one of the Debs, and Marlene Clark plays a Mao-spouting revolutionary leader. This exploitation cult item gained a new life in 1996, when Quentin Tarantino, a big fan of director Hill, sponsored a theatrical re-release through his company Rolling Thunder Pictures. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Play Trailer

Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 30 min.
Directed By: Jack Hill
Written By: F. X. Maier, Jack Hill, John Prizer
Genres: Drama, Action & Adventure

In Theaters: Jan 1, 1975 Wide
On DVD: Jul 3, 2001
Studio: Rolling Thunder Pictures

Critic Reviews

Richard Harrington, Washington Post
The acting is so bad that apparently none of the performers ever got another job in the movies, and the costumes in Ben Hur seem less dated that those on display here.
Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
A terrific example of efficient, resourceful filmmaking, and its depiction of urban ills is, if anything, all too prophetic.
Stephen Holden, New York Times
To watch Switchblade Sisters is to visit a never-never land of shopworn media images colliding in a tabloid high school of the mind.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Sublime, exploitative camp.
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle
Just good enough to make it understandable why someone else might really like it. And it's just bad enough to make you wonder about such a person.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Badly acted, written and directed.
Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed
The gung-ho corniness, colorful characters, and unflinching bad-ass attitude are just so damn entertaining, and Hill is never apologetic...
Kat Giantis, Boxoffice Magazine
This movie never pretends to be more than what it is, which is pure exploitation.
Charlotte O'Sullivan, Sight and Sound
This is a film with all the itchily sweet passion of a Shangri-Las anthem, cranked up to full volume.
David N. Butterworth, rec.arts.movies.reviews
Definitely a product of its time.
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com
So hilarious, so trashy, and so utterly enjoyable that it truly must be seen to be believed.

Read all 11 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Featured Audience Ratings

AJ V

A fantastic girl gang action drama movie, I really liked it. The actors are good, the story is realistic and very good. It's full of action and violence. It's a lot of fun, and I highly recommend it.
Alexis N

such a great movie from the 70's about wayward girls running around being hoodlums! classic one-liners all over the place.
Ken S

So much fun I actually giggled
Professor W

Summary: Your typical 70s exploitation film about an all-girl gang who goes to war with not only a rival gang, but themselves as well. The Good: The fight scenes are decent, and all the girls are very beautiful. Acting is decent with the exception of a few. The Bad: As you… More
Summary: Your typical 70s exploitation film about an all-girl gang who goes to war with not only a rival gang, but themselves as well. The Good: The fight scenes are decent, and all the girls are very beautiful. Acting is decent with the exception of a few. The Bad: As you can expect from a 70s exploitation flick, the story is boring and most of the characters are forgettable. Robbie Lee, I can't say she is a bad actor, but she has a very different kind of acting style that you either love or hate. Acting: 6/10 Story: 5/10 Originality: 5/10 Soundtrack: 6/10 Characters: 8/10 Overall: 6.5/10 Sexiness: (The following is my Review for the fappers 18+): There was no nudity except for a quick boob shot, but all the girls are very beautiful, especially the two main girls, Lace (Robbie Lee) and Maggie (Joanne Nail). I thought Lace was super pretty, especially her face and eyes. Maggie is your classic blonde girl from the 70s. There are some nice cat-fight scenes and a semi-rape scene with good moaning but not much skin. Fap Rating: 7/10
Wu C

One of the better B movies from the 70s. Sure the acting is bad, but it's a barrel of fun.