Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Russ Meyer directs. Walter Schenk behind the camera. Paul Sawtell scores. Russ Meyer cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 183 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
• 2Shot for just $0.0M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
• 3Earned back only 80% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
• 461 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
• 5Directed by Russ Meyer, shot by Walter Schenk. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 6Original score by Paul Sawtell. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 7Editor Russ Meyer shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 8Tura Satana and Haji and Lori Williams carry the top of the cast.
• 9Marketing tagline: "SUPERWOMEN! BELTED, BUCKLED and BOOTED!".
• 10IMDB entry: tt0059170 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 11Released under 15 different titles around the world.

The technical file

Cinematography

Walter Schenk

Original score

Paul Sawtell

Editing

Russ Meyer

Makeup / hair

George Costello

Runtime

83 min · 1h 23m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Budget

$45,000

Box office

$36,122

Return

80% of budget

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

NR

IMDB

Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) ↗

Also by

Russ Meyer

• 
  The French Peep Show

  1954 · ★ 9.0
• 
  Mudhoney!

  1965 · ★ 6.2
• 
  Beyond the Valley of the Dolls

  1970 · ★ 6.1
• 
  Motorpsycho!

  1965 · ★ 6.0
• 
  The Seven Minutes

  1971 · ★ 5.8
• 
  Supervixens

  1975 · ★ 5.7

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! 1965 - In Color

  Clip
• 

  ▶
  Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! (1965) ORIGINAL TRAILER [HD 1080p]

  Trailer

Community reviews

What people are saying

• Wuchak2021-09-22
  ★ 5/10

  Awesome 60's go-go women, music and thrills, but childish script and melodramatics Released in 1965 and conceived & directed by Russ Meyer, "Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!" is a campy melodrama/crime thriller starring Tura Satana as a sneering vixen who, along with her two go-go dancing pals (Haji & Lori Williams), entertain themselves in their spare time by hot rodding in the desert. After a mishap wherein the trio apprehend a winsome bikini girl (Susan Bernard) they smell easy money at a remote ranch in the desert, inhabited by a rich old man (Stuart Lancaster) and his two sons (Dennis Busch & Paul Trinka). Ray Barlow plays a "nice boy" desert racer while Michael Finn is on hand as a gabby gas station attendant. The movie has a big reputation as a cult flick and Meyer's definitive film, along with 1970's "Beyond the Valley of the Dolls," so I was very interested in finally viewing it. The first 20 minutes or so are fun and entertaining in a swingin' 60s kind of way, highlighted by the voluptuous female cast in which Meyer takes full advantage in illustrating their beauty (no nudity). The music, cars, apparel and thrills are additional highpoints. Unfortunately, once the women happen upon the ranch with the mad "Ben Cartwright" and "Hoss" & "Adam" (sorry, no "Little Joe") the lousy writing and corresponding eye-rolling histrionics manifest. It's as if Meyer and fellow writer Jackie Moran were attempting to make a mid-60s desert version of one of Tennessee Williams melodramas, but didn't have the writing expertise or professional cast to pull it off. As such, the story loses the viewer's interest and you're left to laughing at the exaggerated antics and trying to enjoy the attractions noted above. Being shot in B&W doesn't help matters. For a better movie that treads similar terrain (albeit with a wholly different plot) I suggest the contemporaneous "Village of the Giants," which was released a mere 2½ months after "Faster" and is in glorious color. The women are just as good, if not better, and the music is superior, not to mention it lacks an utterly scornful one-dimensional she-devil (don't get me wrong, Tura's great, but her character is so one-note disdainful it gets old after 25 minutes and you just want someone, ANYONE, male or female, to knock her silly). "Village" also doesn't pretentiously try to be a serious 60's tragedy à la "A Streetcar Named Desire" in the desert. The movie runs 83 minutes and was shot in the Mojave Desert (Lake Isabella, Lake Cunniback, Johannesburg, Randsburg & Ollie Pesch's Musical Wells Ranch) and Van Nuys (The Pussycat Club), California. GRADE: C+

  Read full review ↓
• voyvoyyy2025-12-01
  ★ 10/10

  60 years later, no movie has achieved the same level of Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, the greatest movie ever amd forever. It delivers on everything it promises as an action sexploitation movie and more! Hot chicks, car racing, murder and an infinite arsenal of funny lines. The way this film is shot is incredible!! These women look like goddesses!! No movie made in the future will be better than this but we can hope...

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• EV

  Eve Productions Inc.

Key crew

• EditorRuss Meyer
• ProducerEve Meyer
• ProducerRuss Meyer
• Visual EffectsOrville Hallberg
• EditorCharles G. Schelling
• Sound EditorRichard S. Brummer
• Sound RecordistCharles G. Schelling
• Sound Effects EditorRichard S. Brummer
• Original StoryRuss Meyer
• Associate ProducerFred Owens
• Associate ProducerGeorge Costello
• Set DesignerGeorge Costello
• Stunt DoubleRichard S. Brummer
• Production AssistantGilbert Haimson
• Assistant DirectorGeorge Costello
• Key GripFred Owens
• Production AssistantRichard S. Brummer
• Assistant CameraGilbert Haimson
• GafferFred Owens
• Production ManagerFred Owens
• Property MasterGeorge Costello
• Second Unit DirectorWilliam E. Tomko
• Music DirectorIgo Kantor
• Makeup ArtistGeorge Costello

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• sports car
• kidnapping
• go-go dancer
• killing
• eroticism
• campy

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1965-08-06NR

Also known as

International titles

• Oi agriogatesGR
• The MankillersUS
• The Leather GirlsUS
• Brže, mačkice! Ubij! Ubij!RS
• Szybciej, kotku! Zabij! Zabij!PL
• Gyorsabban cicamica, ölj, ölj!HU
• Mais rápido, gatinha! Mate! Mate!BR
• The MankillersNL
• PussycatNL
• Faster Pussycat! Wham! Bang!NL
• Faster, Pussycat! Go! Go!NL
• 더 빨리, 푸시캣! 죽여라! 죽여!KR
• 빨리, 푸쉬캣! 죽여! 죽여!KR
• ファスター・プシィキャット!キル!キル!JP
• 小野猫公路历险记CN