FireFan This is a good film about a hopeful, musically-inclined girl whose gifted talents are under estimated because others seek to take advantage of her in the tough, competitive entertainment world. The main actress Monica Gayle plays an innocent country girl fan who is attractive, intelligent although somewhat naive, and intent on becoming a country music star but those attempts are constantly thwarted by manipulative and pretending admirers in the big city of Nashville. It seems almost a semi-comical show with its amount of inferred sexual exploitation that a viewer could believe might be an exaggeration, but maybe not. Jamie gets manhandled time and again but she seems to withstand the pressure with a hard optimism, and stubborn determination. She meets some new and possibly friendly people, and some well-meaning, but there is truly not any good to come of her urgent cause. Are they sincerely wanting to help her? But she's only just a lonely, simple country girl after all. The show contains some playable easy listening music that also features an appearance by 1970's country singer Johnny Rodriguez and has a nice quality resolution picture. The plot has a smooth moving yet easy to follow story that kept my interest but the show ended with an unclear and baffling ending. This is an interesting and worthy film that is fun to watch if only just to witness actress Monica Gayle's high-spirited efforts and loveliness which will have you rooting for her even though it leads into an unknown future. Fans of country music and mature audiences could really stay tuned to it!

lazarillo This movie teams up two underrated talents from the 1970's. The first is director Gus Trikonis (the former Mr. Goldie Hawn) who directed big-screen exploitation flicks like "Swinging Barmaids" and "The Student Body", underrated horror fare like "The Evil", and superior made-for-TV movies like "The Darker Side of Terror". The second is actress Monica Gayle, a breath-taking natural beauty who spent a good portion of all her movies modeling her luscious birthday suit, and as a result perhaps was never really given her due as an actress. With the possible exception of "Strawberries Need Rain", this is her best film.Gayle plays "Jamie", a sixteen-year-old runaway, who comes to Nashville to try to make it as a songwriter. Her character is not unlike the actress herself in that while she is actually genuinely talented, none of the loutish male agents and producers she interviews with seem to notice because they are all too busy trying to dip their wicks in her. One washed-up country music celebrity finally does take advantage of her MUSICAL talents, but he too eventually becomes possessed by her irresistible, nubile charms and for awhile this kind of turns into a low-budget, country-music version of "A Star is Born".This is not exactly a feminist film. "Jamie" is forcibly raped twice, taken advantage of my every man she meets, and at one point even ends up in a juvenile detention center after she's caught in a massage parlor bust (while a client is giving HER a massage). And, of course, in the camp she falls prey to the stereotypical lesbian guard. Despite all the exploitative elements though, Trikonis crafts a fairly realistic movie that does really show the seedy side of Nashville. It's not "Coal Miner's Daughter", but it's not exactly trying to be either. It's also not Robert Altman's "Nashville", but I found it a lot more fun to watch. And I actually thought it was quite a bit BETTER than the 70's version of "A Star Is Born" (with the insufferable Barbra Streisand). The country music songs are quite good (although unlike Sissy Spacek, Karen Black, and a lot of the actresses in the aforementioned movies, Gayle's singing was quite obviously dubbed). I hadn't heard a lot of the songs before, but there is a good cover of the Bob Will's classic "Faded love". I'd definitely recommend this one.

The_Void Nashville Girl falls somewhere between an exploitation flick and a drama, but I'm not surprised that this is often considered an exploitation classic; as there are more than enough exploitative elements and the drama itself is interesting also. The film takes place in the Deep South and primarily focuses on the country music industry, although lots of other things come into play too. The main reason this film is so good is because of the way the narrative works; so many things happen in this film and it really doesn't become boring even for a minute, which is definitely much to its credit. The main character is Jamie Barker; a young country girl living in a no good town. She's out skinny dipping one day and attracts some unwanted attention from a no good hick type who proceeds to go ahead and rape her. The young girl is upset and confused and after an argument with her parents, decides to go to Nashville in order to find fame and fortune. So she sets off hitch hiking and gets a lift with two truckers before eventually reaching Nashville and finding that the way to the top is not always paved with gold.Monica Gayle takes the lead role and does excellently with it. She really convinces as the naive young girl at the film's centre and her likable persona is a real credit to the film. There's really nothing wrong with her performance and I'm surprised the actress didn't go on to make more films. Gus Trikonis (who would go on to direct the low budget horror The Evil a couple of years later) directs this film well; creating just enough of a sleazy atmosphere to please exploitation fans. The way that Nashville is portrayed is gritty and sleazy and while there's not much actual sleaze in the film, the atmosphere is a benefit to it. I can't say I'm a fan of this sort of music; but the songs featured are catchy enough and well sang. I don't know if Monica Gayle did her own singing; I'd like to think so, but she probably didn't. Anyway, this film is engrossing for its entire ninety minute runtime and it all boils down to a satisfying conclusion. Overall, Nashville Girl is an excellent little film that could do to be better known. Fans of seventies thrillers will want to check this little flick out!

Woodyanders You know you're in for a four-star 70's drive-in sleazy treat when barely two minutes into the picture the luscious and adorable Monica Gayle, a lovely sprite actress who appeared in trashy films for such B-movie luminaries as Jack Hill, Harry Novak, Gary Graver and Larry Buchanan, peels her clothes off to go skinny-dipping while the opening credits are still rolling. Of course, some vile, scummy degenerate hillbilly dude comes along and savagely rapes poor Monica, thus giving her a credible excuse to run away from home with acoustic guitar in tow and go to Nashville to make it as an honest-to-goodness country music star. The ever perky and appealing Gayle, as naive, but feisty and determined Loretta Lynn-like 16-year-old Kentucky hick chick Jamie Barker, receives a ride into town from gruff trucker Leo Gordon and promptly learns that the only way to really make it in Nashville is by making love with the right powerful music biz people. Pretty soon Jamie is gladly hopping in the sack with every lecherous older man who's got the hots for her. Alas, Jamie runs low on cash and is forced to work at a seedy massage parlor as a receptionist. And, wouldn't you know it, Jamie gets arrested and has to do hard time at a prison work farm where one of the predatory lesbian guards sexually assaults her in the shower! Fortunately, Jamie gets paroled and befriends nice guy session musician Kelly (amiably played by "Flash and the Firecat" 's Roger Davis), who introduces her to country music superstar Jeb Hubbard (burly Glen Corbett), an overbearing jerk of a control freak with a fatal weakness for young girls. Hubbard makes Jamie his protégé, renames her Melody Mason, and turns her into the major league star she always dreamed of being. But this overnight fame and fortune comes at a terrible price, with Jamie becoming increasingly lonely, cynical, arrogant and disillusioned as her innocence gets irrevocably shattered.Boy, talk about a wildly colorful and eventful never-a-dull-minute busy narrative! Better still, along with the abundant Gayle nudity, Gus Trikonis' brisk, get-right-to-the-point efficient direction, several astounding scenes featuring Gayle singing both in the recording studio and on stage with a (dubbed?) strong, brassy contralto voice, a standard rags-to-riches story that becomes more delightfully lurid and melodramatic as the movie progresses forward (in fact, this entire picture plays like a tightly streamlined $1.98 discount version of "Coal Miner's Daughter"), a cameo appearance by mid-level country-and-western singer Johnny Rodriguez as himself, and a funny performance by late, great character actor Jesse White as a greedy dirtbag music publisher, this fabulous grindhouse gem even comes complete with a sincere cautionary morale: Country music superstardom ain't exactly what it's cracked up to be. Now, that's precisely what prime 70's exploitation cinema is all about: sex, bare skin, scuzzy plot twists and, most importantly, a redeeming pertinent social message, too!