Filipino Exploitation Cinema: Fly Me (1973)

14 days ago
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Fly Me is a 1973 American-Filipino exploitation film produced by Roger Corman and directed by Cirio H. Santiago. The plot involves three flight attendants who get entangled in an international drug and sex trafficking ring in Hong Kong and end up fighting kung fu killers.
The film is known for combining elements of action, comedy, sexploitation, and martial arts, with a "pro-women's-lib viewpoint" that some critics found surprising for the genre.
Plot: The story follows three stewardesses—Toby, Andrea, and Sherry—on a flight from Los Angeles to Hong Kong. Their individual storylines converge as they face a white slavery and drug trafficking operation led by Andrea's lover, Donald. The women must fight back against various attackers, including kung fu assassins.
Production: It was a low-budget production shot primarily in the Philippines, with an opening scene filmed in Los Angeles by Curtis Hanson. Jonathan Demme also directed the "terrible" martial arts sequences.
Cast: The main cast includes Pat Anderson as Toby, Lenore Kasdorf as Andrea, and Lyllah Torena as Sherry. Actor Dick Miller has a notable cameo as a cab driver in the opening scene.
Reception: Critics generally gave it poor reviews, describing the martial arts scenes as "amateurish" and the pacing slow. However, some reviewers found it to be a fun, cheesy, B-movie experience with a "low-rent charm".

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