PR in the Philippines

(SeaPRwire) –   Back in 1971, Gene Roddenberry, the architect of Star Trek, both wrote and produced a movie titled Pretty Maids All in a Row. If you are a devoted Star Trek fan who is unfamiliar with this work, there is a clear explanation: aside from the occasional daring costume from the franchise’s original designer, William Ware Theiss, this movie shares almost no resemblance to the beloved 1960s television show.

While the original Trek may have utilized sexploitation under the guise of advancement, Pretty Maids All in a Row takes a different approach. It functions as a surreal sex comedy that doubles as a murder mystery within an unconventional high school coming-of-age narrative. Drawn from Francis Pollini’s 1968 book, the movie’s main failing is its lack of clear direction. It struggles to define whether it is a dark satire of sexist horror clichés or simply an exploitation of those tropes in an attempt to create art.

Five decades after it hit theaters, Pretty Maids All in a Row embodies a version of 1970s pop culture that is often ignored by those feeling nostalgic for the era. It is a gritty and reckless film that might have held the potential to be interesting under different circumstances. As it stands, it serves as an intriguing cultural oddity that provides Roddenberry experts with a bizarre contrast to the humanitarian legacy he is celebrated for.

Pretty Maids All in a Row stands as the only feature film screenplay credited to Roddenberry. He did not pursue the adaptation of the novel; rather, it was a freelance job he accepted out of financial desperation. According to his authorized biographer, David Alexander, Roddenberry considered the source text to be a “vulgar book.” His goal in crafting an exaggerated satire was “to rewrite so that it has some meaning and some statement about the world around us today.”

The narrative follows high school football coach Michael “Tiger” McDrew (Rock Hudson), who is seducing and killing his female students. Simultaneously, a student named Ponce de Leon Harper (John David Carson) becomes involved in an affair with a substitute teacher, Miss Smith (Angie Dickinson), in a storyline that strongly echoes The Graduate. Amidst these events, Police Chief Surcher (Telly Savalas) investigates the killings, a role he played two years before finding fame as Kojak. This detail likely contributed to Quentin Tarantino listing the movie among his top ten favorites in 2012. The film carries a grindhouse aesthetic, offering glimpses of a potentially provocative classic buried within a confused production.

Directed by Roger Vadim, the director behind Barbarella, the film gives the impression that its sexism is intended to be ironic. Alternatively, Roddenberry’s correspondence suggests the movie aims to critique corruption within American institutions, specifically the sexism prevalent in locker rooms. However, the film’s lecherous atmosphere seems to taint nearly every male character. In a letter from the summer of 1971, Roddenberry confessed to a friend, “No, don’t see Pretty Maids. There is nothing worse than writing something you hope is pretty witty and having the director not quite pull it off.”

The following year marked the beginning of a new chapter in Roddenberry’s life with the inaugural Star Trek convention, and the rest, as they say, is history. Pretty Maids All in a Row was always going to be a minor footnote in Roddenberry’s professional journey. However, in 1971, he was fortunate that it did not become the defining mark on his grave.

Pretty Maids All in a Row is available to rent on Prime Video, Apple, and various other digital platforms.