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Schoolgirl Hitchhikers AKA Jeunes filles impudiques AKA Girls Without Shame AKA High School Hitch Hikers (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray ALL - America - Powerhouse Films Review written by and copyright: Rick Curzon (6th May 2025). |
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The Film
 Joëlle Cœur (The Demoniacs) and Gilda Arancio (Tender and Perverse Emanuelle) star in Girls Without Shame (Jeunes filles impudiques), Jean Rollin’s first foray into the world of erotic cinema, made under the pseudonym ‘Michel Gentil’. Two curious young women, Monica (Cœur) and Jackie (Arancio), find an abandoned old house whilst out hiking. Retiring to bed, they soon find that the house is a hangout for a criminal gang who suspect them of stealing their loot... Restored in 4K from the original negative, Girls Without Shame (aka Schoolgirl Hitchhikers) features a score by regular Rollin composer Pierre Raph (Requiem for a Vampire) and supporting turns by Willy Braque (Lips of Blood) and Rollin himself, and sees the director successfully transfer his trademark images and themes to a new genre. This edition also includes a new restoration of Hubert Lacoudre’s rare 1972 short film Sexana, an erotic spin on Alice in Wonderland, also starring Cœur.
Video
Jean Rollin does his unique variation of a the American roughie, sexy crime film. We have two young women in a relationship who whilst hitchhiking hold up in what they think is an empty house but it contains some crimmos who've scored some diamonds that have gone missing and they think the women have hidden them. Cue sex and torture with the former taking it about as close to the edge before being hard as Rollin can and the later being very off putting and negating much of the intended erotic impact ... although there is a certainly lightness of touch in the scripting and scoring. Overall, pretty dull and at times unpleasant; one of the least of Rollin's oeuvre, alas. It picks up a bit when the women fight back and a shootout kicks off but it's not staged or directed with much zeal. The goofy music tries to lend it a more comic edge but doesn't quite succeed due to the brief unpleasant aspects; it's an exploitation film after all. Girls Without Shame is more of a mild roughie than the titles would suggest (English title: Schoolgirl Hitchhikers). From the booklet: Girls Without Shame was scanned, restored and colour corrected in 4K HDR at Renasci Films, using the original 35mm negative. Many thousands of instances of dirt were removed, scratches, stains and other imperfections eliminated, and a number of torn or damaged frames repaired. No grain management, edge enhancement or sharpening tools were employed to artificially alter the image in any wayGirls Without Shame is offered in three versions, all essentially the same to the second; it's just the opening nd closing credits and titles which change. It's generally as well lensed as Rollin's other films from around this time albeit far less ambitiously. We have the usual impressive use of locations and real life interiors with detailed set dressing and his use of landscapes is just as impressive. Colours are warm generally, especially the copious amounts of flesh on display with a range of tones depending on each individuals exposure to the sun. Mostly pale complexions for the bodies (the naked leads ... this is a soft-core flick after all) and slightly redder, darker for faces (Willy Bracque) and arms. Some are ruddy ... in others words, naturalistic. Primaries are pretty striking when the appear, mainly items of clothing and fabrics draped about the old house. There's lots of velvety browns, cool greens and pale blues on display. In other words the production design looks generally gorgeous in a slightly run down way and this top notch 4K restoration makes this crime film / skinflick hybrid look far better than it's ever done before (I assume, not seen it before) or probably has any right to. Black levels and contrast are as well handled as the other Rollin films in the Powerhouse Film's Indicator Series library although there are some mildly blown out highlights, mainly the white car, but that is more down to the way the car was lit (dull overcast day with a washed out wintry sky (exteriors look very cold). Grain is present from first frame till last and gairly course most of the time, probably down to the film stocks used and the expedient shooting. A strong transfer of difficult material that presents the film on it's best behaviour ('A-') 1080p24 / AVC MPEG-4 / BD50 / 1.66:1 / 79:20
Audio
French DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 (48kHz) English DTS-HD Master Audio 1.0 (48kHz) Subtitles: English HoH (French track), English HoH (English dub track) The soundtracks are pretty standard mono tracks one hears a great deal from low budget Eurohorror from the early '70s. Sound design is basic with unimpressive dynamic range and being from analogue sources theres mild hiss most noticeable when music and talking stops and we have silence. The score is well handled and dialogue is always clear; I watched in the original production sound French, the only way really as the English dub is reasonable for what it is but it is neither bad enough to laugh, nor good enough to replace the French. Subtitles are excellent and the soundtracks are about as good as can be without any pops, clicks or distortions ('B').
Extras
Audio commentary with film historian David Flint (2025) Flint has been on the cult film scene for a long, long time and his specialism is indeed adult cinema of the '70s, which he informs is in the first few minutes. The most interesting aspect is Flint discussing the ubiquity of the sexualising of school girls across all of society as it was just accepted back then sadly. Frankly, this is an essential track by an enthusiastic film historian and watching the film with his comments is of much greater interest to me than the film itself. There's everything one could want to know about this film contained in this excellent track. Presented in lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 mono (48kHz, 192Kbps) "Mental Territory with Nicolas Stanzick" 2025 interview (24:40) A solid overview of Rollin and his career, why he made the films he did including his soft and hardcore sex films, his use of his different names on different projects and how his cult star - always present to an extent - has risen in the last thirty years or so. I first came across his work in David Pirie's The Vampire Cinema (1977) when I bought a second had copy circa 1985. Presented in 1080p24 1.78:1 with lossy French Dolby Digital 1.0 (48kHz, 192Kbps) with optional English subtitles. "Joëlle Coeur's Four Years of Cinema" 2025 interview with film historian Christophe Bier (29:11) I first saw Coeur in Bacchanales Sexuelles (in English territories: Fly Me the French Way) on the 2002 US DVD bought at a Leed's comics fayre in the early heyday of DVD when I was discovering the Rollin films. Coeur certainly made an impression, a force of nature in her four years of filmmaking and probably the best of her performances (that I've seen at least) was in Rollin's Demoniacs (1974) in which she portrays a devilish, sex-obsessed, sadistic pirate and wrecker. Film historian Bier gives us a very entertaining and informative overview of her film career - twenty film roles, incredibly made in a brief four year career! Presented in 1080p24 1.78:1 with lossy French (and a little English) Dolby Digital 1.0 (48kHz, 192Kbps) with optional English subtitles. Theatrical Trailer (1:25) Vintage promo presented in 1080p24 1.66:1 with lossy French Dolby Digital 1.0 (48kHz, 192Kbps) supposedly an English subtitle track but not ... the trailer is just music and sound effects, no speaking although onscreen titles are translated. It sums up the schizo nature of the film with cutting between goofy, erotic moments and violence. Girls Without Shame Image Gallery: Original Promotional Material (113 images) Surprisingly full still gallery in HD. "Sexana" 1972 short film by Hubert Lecoudre: - Play with a new score by Peninsula (16:34) - Play silent (16:34) From the booklet: Sexana was scanned in 4K by La Cinémathèque de Toulouse, using an original 8mm distribution print. The score by Peninsula was recorded at Karma Studios, London, in 2023–24. Produced and mixed by Tom BlackfordA relic from the days of when cinemas would play short films and certain cinemas would play erotic short films, or they could be rented and / or bought from sex shops. This is in pretty ropy condition with age-related damage evident from the off and the image is very soft which is no surprise due to the source being a vintage 8mm print and not a negative. I'm not sure what the original source format was but I'd bet it was 16mm rather than 35mm. It can be watched with a new '70s style score by Peninsula recorded in 2023-24 which is very good. Presented in 1080p24 1.37:1 with a lossy English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo (48kHz, 192Kbps) and no subs are needed as it's silent or with music. A fairly odd lesbian S&M sex fantasy. "Sexana: From Midnight to Midday with Nicolas Stanzick" 2025 interview (10:29) Stanzick gives us the lowdown on this curio, how it came to be, Joelle Coeur's involvement, how this short was also seen in Baby Love (1974), how it was linked to the French genre magazine Midi Minuit Fantastique and it's genre influences etc. Presented in 1080p24 1.78:1 with lossy French Dolby Digital 1.0 (48kHz, 192Kbps) with optional English subtitles. Sexana Image Gallery: Original Promotional Material (12 images) Comes with an 80-page liner notes book with a new essay by Lucas Balbo, material from the film’s pressbook, an archival article on the French sex film industry featuring an interview with ‘Michel Gentil’ (Jean Rollin), an archival interview with Willy Braque, new writing on Sexana and full film credits An excellent, informative hardcopy companion to the films in this set.
Packaging
Not sent for review.
Overall
One of Jean Rollin's lesser films, where he was trying his hand at more conventional exploitation cinema (soft-core + crime) gets the deluxe treatment from Powerhouse Films delivering this movie's definitive home video incarnation and a new 4K restoration. This Blu-ray could only look better on the 4K version released concurrently with the added benefits of HDR (Higher Dynamic Range); I'm sure the naked bodies and freckles in the faces will stand out much more! Extras are comprehensive and high quality. A must have for Rollin and sexploitation buffs but the usual horror crowd and general cineastes will probably skip it. In any case, a top notch release and highly recommended ('A-').
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