Shy, awkward, virginal 18-year-old Sean Roberts (an engaging performance by Jay North of TV's "Dennis the Menace" fame) becomes involved with sexy, enticing, aggressive 28-year-old teacher Diane Marshall (gorgeous blonde babe Angel Tompkins). The couple are relentlessly terrorized by deranged Vietnam veteran psycho stalker Ralph (a typically creepy and intense portrayal by perennial bad guy thespian Anthony James), who blames Sean for the accidental death of his brother Lou. Writer/director/producer Hikmet Avedis offers an enjoyably tawdry brew of sizzling soft-core sex, grimy violence and scrumptious gratuitous nudity in this mostly lightweight and playful drive-in diversion. Nice supporting turns by Ned Flory as Sean's cranky dad Joe, Marlene Schmidt as Sean's sweet mom Alice, and Barry Atwater (the ferocious rampaging vampire in the classic made-for-TV horror gem "The Night Stalker") as the amiable Sheriff Murphy. John Cassavetes' mother Katherine and Gena Rowlands' mother Lady make an amusing appearance as a pair of snippy old gossiping biddies at a posh restaurant. Alfred Taylor's competent cinematography, the hilariously mawkish cocktail lounge ballad theme song, Tompkins' pleasingly frequent mouth-watering nude scenes, Shorty Rogers' funky, syncopated score, and the startlingly downbeat conclusion add substantially to the overall trashy fun.
Review of The Teacher
The Teacher
(1974)
A choice trashy chunk of 70's Crown International drive-in junk
1 July 2007
Warning: Spoilers