''Sorority Girl'' (also known as ''Sorority House'' or ''The Bad One'') is a 1957

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

exploitation film An exploitation film is a film that seeks commercial success by capitalizing on current trends, niche genres, or sensational content. Exploitation films often feature themes such as suggestive or explicit sex, sensational violence, drug use, nudi ...

directed by

Roger Corman Roger William Corman (April 5, 1926 – May 9, 2024) was an American film director, producer, and actor. Known under various monikers such as "The Pope of Pop Cinema", "The Spiritual Godfather of the New Hollywood", and "The King of Cult", he w ...

. It stars Susan Cabot as Sabra, a

sociopath Psychopathy, or psychopathic personality, is a personality construct characterized by impaired empathy and remorse, along with bold, disinhibited, and egocentric traits. These traits are often masked by superficial charm and immunity to st ...

who plays a very disruptive role in a

sorority In North America, fraternities and sororities ( and ) are social clubs at colleges and universities. They are sometimes collectively referred to as Greek life or Greek-letter organizations, as well as collegiate fraternities or collegiate sorori ...

, with

Barboura Morris Barboura Morris (born Barboura O'Neill; October 22, 1932 – October 23, 1975) was an American actress and writer. She is most remembered for her roles in American International Pictures productions. Early years Morris was born Barboura ...

Dick Miller Richard Miller (December 25, 1928 – January 30, 2019) was an American character actor who appeared in more than 180 films, including many produced by Roger Corman. He later appeared in the films of directors who began their careers with Corm ...

and

June Kenney June Claire Sebastian ( Kenney; July 6, 1933 – June 25, 2021) was an American actress known for her work in B movies in the late 1950s. Early life June Claire Kenney was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the only child of Frederick Kenney, a buil ...

. It was released by

American International Pictures American International Pictures, LLC (AIP or American International Productions) is an American film production company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, AIP was an independent film production and distribution c ...

as a

double feature The double feature is a Film, motion picture industry phenomenon in which theaters would exhibit two films for the price of one, supplanting an earlier format in which the presentation of one feature film would be followed by various short subjec ...

with ''

Motorcycle Gang An outlaw motorcycle club, known colloquially as a biker club or club (in Australia), is a motorcycle subculture generally centered on the use of cruiser motorcycles, particularly Harley-Davidsons and choppers, and a set of ideals that purpo ...

''. In England, it was known as ''The Bad One''. The film was remade in 1994 as ''

Confessions of a Sorority Girl ''Confessions of a Sorority Girl'' (also known as ''Confessions of Sorority Girls'') is a 1994 American television film that debuted on Showtime on July 29, 1994. Directed by Uli Edel, the stars include Alyssa Milano and Jamie Luner. The film ...

''.

Plot

A spoiled rich girl named Sabra Tanner (who feels ignored by her rich mother) teases and harasses her college schoolmates even though she does not know why she wants to hurt all the people around her. Her sociopathic antics bring bad consequences for her when her actions drive one of her classmates to suicide. Realizing she is completely ostracized, Sabra walks into the ocean to drown herself.

Cast

* Susan Cabot as Sabra Tanner *

as Mort *

(credited as Barboura O'Neill) as Rita Joyce *

as Tina *

Fay Baker Fay Baker (born Fay Schwager; January 31, 1917 – December 8, 1987) was an American stage, film and television actress and writer. Using the pen name Beth Holmes she wrote the novel ''The Whipping Boy''. She also published, under her own name, ...

as Mrs. Tanner * Barbara Cowan (credited as Barbara Crane) as Ellie Marshall * Jeane Wood as Mrs. Fessenden, the housemother

Production

Corman stated that the script was developed by AIP. He did not like it and had some of it rewritten, although not as much as he wanted. Filming started on July 15, 1957 at Ziv Studios. Some scenes took place at the mansion of

Ruta Lee Ruta Lee (born Ruta Mary Kilmonis; May 30, 1935) is a Canadian-born American actress and dancer of Lithuanian descent. She was born in Montreal, Canada, to Lithuanian immigrant parents. Ruta Lee appeared as one of the brides in the musical ''Se ...

in Laurel Canyon. Susan Cabot later recalled working on Corman's films:

We would have some sort of a script, but there was a lot of, "Who's going to say what?" and "How 'bout I do this?" — plenty of ad-libbing and improvising. But Roger was really great in a way; he was very loose. If something didn't work out, he changed it right away. He gave me a great amount of freedom, and also a chance to play parts that
Universal Universal is the adjective for universe. Universal may also refer to: Companies * NBCUniversal, a media and entertainment company that is a subsidiary of Comcast ** Universal Animation Studios, an American Animation studio, and a subsidiary of N ...
would never have given me — oddball, wacko parts, like the very disturbed girl in Sorority Girl. I had a chance to do moments and scenes that I didn't get before.

Corman later recounted filming an emotional scene with Cabot, first via a

medium shot In a movie a medium shot, mid shot (MS), or waist shot is a camera angle shot from a medium distance. Use Medium shots are favored in sequences where dialogues or a small group of people are acting, as they give the viewer a partial view of t ...

, then via a

close-up A close-up or closeup in filmmaking, television production A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, s ...

, and that her performance in the scene wasn't as strong using the latter. This prompted him to learn more about acting, so he enrolled in acting classes given by

Jeff Corey Jeff Corey (born Arthur Zwerling; August 10, 1914 – August 16, 2002) was an American stage and screen actor. He was blacklisted in the 1950s and became an acting coach for a period, before returning to film and television work in the 1960s. ...

, where he met

Jack Nicholson John Joseph Nicholson (born April 22, 1937) is an American retired actor and filmmaker. Nicholson is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of the 20th century, often playing rebels fighting against the social structure. Over his five-de ...

and

Robert Towne Robert Towne (born Robert Bertram Schwartz; November 23, 1934 – July 1, 2024) was an American screenwriter and director. He started writing films for Roger Corman, including '' The Tomb of Ligeia'' in 1964, and was later part of the New Hollyw ...

Release

''Sorority Girl'' was issued on a double bill with ''Motorcycle Gang''. ''

The Christian Science Monitor ''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in Electronic publishing, electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 ...

'' said the film was a "sad hodgepodge of a story".

References

External links