Katie Saylor emerged in the 1970s as a notable figure in cult cinema, appearing in Invasion of the Bee Girls (1973) and The Swinging Barmaids (1975). In Invasion of the Bee Girls, she plays a pivotal role that intertwines with the film's bizarre narrative of alien influence and female empowerment. Her performances capture the essence of the era's exploitation films, blending camp with a hint of social commentary. Saylor's work in these films contributes to the ongoing conversation about the representation of women in genre cinema.
The Swinging Barmaids
A cop goes after a psycho who is killing cocktail waitresses. Manages to be both sleazy and breezy, which was a fine line often walked in the 70's like no other decade. TV actor Bruce Watson plays a psycho who becomes obsessed with a group of barmaids at a burlesque club and starts killing them off and posing their lifeless bodies so he can photograph them. William Smith, in one of his 270 career roles, plays the chain-smoking, mustached cop trying to track him down in a sea of brown and yellow interior set decorating. Dyanne Thorne of Ilsa fame also shows up. The movie title is a bit misleading... this is more horror oriented than it looks. There's a psycho killer on the loose again, and this time he has an appetite for barmaids. Smith is a tough cop who's determined to stop the bloodshed and make the world safe again for girls. Will the killer strike again? Will the barmaids swing again? Will the audience wake up in time to see the ending? As the reviewer at Critical Condition says, “nothing special, but it’s not a bad way to spend 88 minutes of your life.” This flick is kind of bizarre. It’s a serial killer flick that’s not really high on the gore or suspense. It’s a sexploitation flick without much titillation. It’s a William Smith movie where he’s kind of unthreatening (until the end when he’s as badass as you want him to be). None of that means it’s a lame movie. Not at all.
