''Candy Stripe Nurses'' is a 1974 American

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

written and directed by Alan Holleb, and starring

Candice Rialson Candice Ann Rialson (December 18, 1951 – March 31, 2006), also known as Candy Rialson, was an American actress known for her starring role in ''Hollywood Boulevard'' (1976). According to one obituary, "although never reluctant to take her c ...

. Produced and distributed by

New World Pictures New World Pictures (also known as New World Entertainment, New World Communications Group, Inc., and New World International) was an American independent production, distribution, and (in its final years as an autonomous entity) multimedia com ...

, it was the last in their popular "nurses cycle" of films that commenced with ''

The Student Nurses ''The Student Nurses'' is a 1970 American film directed by Stephanie Rothman. It was the second film from New World Pictures and the first in the popular "nurses" cycle of exploitation movies. It has since become a cult film. Plot Four young women ...

'' (1970).

Plot

Three high school girls work as volunteer candy stripe nurses at Oakwood Hospital. Free-loving Sandy (Candice Rialson) meets a famous rock star, Owen Boles ( Kendrew Lascelles), and tries to cure him of his sexual problems. Uptight Dianne (Robin Mattson), who wants to be a doctor, has an affair with Cliff (Rod Haase), a star college basketball player who is being given speed by one of the hospital's doctors, and tries to expose the malpractice. Juvenile delinquent Marisa (Maria Rojo) has an affair with Carlos (Roger Cruz), who is falsely accused of taking part in a gas station hold up, and tries to prove his innocence.

Cast

as Sandy *

Robin Mattson Robin Mattson is a retired American actress. She is best known for her roles on the daytime soap operas ''General Hospital'', '' Santa Barbara'', and ''All My Children''. Career Daytime television Mattson made her daytime debut as troubled teen ...

as Dianne *

María Rojo María de Lourdes Rojo e Incháustegui, commonly known as María Rojo (; born August 15, 1943), is a Mexican actress and politician. She was Senator of the Republic in the upper house of Mexican Congress. She debuted during the Golden Age of M ...

as Marisa *Roger Cruz as Carlos *Rod Haase as Cliff Gallagher *Richard Gates as Wally *

Don Keefer Donald Hood Keefer (August 18, 1916 – September 7, 2014) was an American actor known for his versatility in performing comedic, as well as highly dramatic, roles. In an acting career that spanned more than 50 years, he appeared in hundreds of ...

as Dr. Wilson * Kendrew Lascelles as Owen Boles *

Tara Strohmeier Tara Lorraine Strohmeier (born April 12, 1955) is an American former actress who appeared in memorable B-movies in the 1970s, many of them made for drive-in theater business and have since acquired large cult followings. Her biggest roles were in ...

as Irene

Production

Director Allan Holleb had recently graduated from UCLA.

Julie Corman Julie Ann Corman (born ) is an American film producer. She is the widow of film producer and director Roger Corman. Life and career Corman was born Julie Ann Halloran in 1942. In 1970, she married film director and producer, Roger Corman, with ...

gave him the job on this film after being impressed by a short film he had made, ''Heavenly Star''. Holleb later said "I found out they had taken a poll at a local high school. They sent someone out with a list of 30 or so titles and ''Candy Stripe Nurses'' got the most votes...They wanted a little social consciousness, a little romance, a little comedy and a little sex. Another requirement was they wanted a sex clinic. I don't know why!" The lead role went to Candice Rialson. "Candice just stood out," recalled Julie Corman. "It wasn't like we were down to the wire and needed someone at the last minute. We really wanted her from the beginning." One of the leads is credited as "Maria Rojo" and is commonly assumed to be the famous Mexican actress of the same name. However this is reportedly not true and it is a different actress. A small role was given to

Sally Kirkland Sally Kirkland Jr. (born October 31, 1941) is an American actress and producer. A former member of Andy Warhol's The Factory and an active member in 1960s New York avant-garde theater, she has appeared in more than 250 film and television produ ...

who Holleb says was a friend of Julie Corman's who also worked on casting. The movie downplayed the political element that featured in earlier nurses films in favour of humour, although it was still there.

Shooting

The film was shot at a hospital in Burbank. Holleb says Julie Corman gave the board of directors an expurgated copy of the script under the title of ''Angels of Mercy'' to get permission.

Barbara Peeters Barbara Peeters, also known as Barbara Peters, is an American director and screenwriter of television and film. She is best known for her collaborations with producer-director Roger Corman on films such as '' Humanoids from the Deep'', and direct ...

was second unit director.Christopher T Koetting, ''Mind Warp!: The Fantastic True Story of Roger Corman's New World Pictures'', Hemlock Books. 2009 p 66 According to Corman biographer Beverly Gray, it was Peeters who shot the sex scene in the gym involving Robin Mattson. Holleb says the hospital was at 95% capacity during the shoot, leading to frequent clashes between staff and crew. He says while shooting a scene in a linen closet with a topless Candice Rialson, someone from the linen service came in and saw her. Then an un-expurgated copy of the script was found and the unit was kicked out of the hospital. They had to move to another location, a former clinic, which did not match the original hospital. Holleb got the art director to put up a sign saying "this way to the new west wing" to justify the completely new look.

Release

The film was released on a double bill in some cities with ''

The Swinging Cheerleaders ''The Swinging Cheerleaders'' is a 1974 comedy-drama film written and directed by Jack Hill (who was credited for writing the film as Jane Witherspoon). The film was released under the titles ''Locker Room Girls'' and ''H.O.T.S. II''. It is the ...

''. It was the last in the New World cycle of "nurse's pictures." Holleb later joked, "I like to think I killed the genre." ''Diabolique'' magazine said that "Rialson is vivacious and cheerful, delivering comic lines with aplomb and seeming almost wholesome as she constantly takes her clothes and off hops into bed with various men – she makes nudity and sex appear like natural, clean fun, never sleazy; you only wish she had a better storyline." ''Screeem magazine'' argued the film "showed that the nurse genre was all but played out: the three protagonists hardly interact with each other, and the medically-related aspects of the film's plot are minimal (the heroines aren’t even full-fledged nurses this time)."

References

Notes

External links

* {{nurses cycle 1970s exploitation films 1974 films 1970s English-language films Films about nurses Films produced by Julie Corman Teensploitation American exploitation films 1970s American films Three girls movie