Switchblade Sisters

"So Easy to Kill, So Hard to Love"

1975 1h 31m EN

😐

6.3

MID

🥫

57%

ROTTEN

⭐

6.5

IMDB

★6.3TMDB · 103🥫57%Rotten Tomatoes★6.5IMDB · 4,415

ActionCrimeDrama

Synopsis

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The leader of an inner city girl gang is challenged when a new girl moves into the neighborhood.

“So Easy to Kill, So Hard to Love”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Robbie Lee
Lace
Joanne Nail
Maggie
Monica Gayle
Patch
Asher Brauner
Dominic
Chase Newhart
Crabs
Marlene Clark
Muff
Kitty Bruce
Donut
Janice Karman
Bunny

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Jack Hill
Writers: F.X. Maier, Jack Hill, F.X. Maier
Languages: English
Countries: United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

51 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Jack Hill, shot by Stephen M. Katz. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Les Baxter. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Morton Tubor shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Robbie Lee and Joanne Nail and Monica Gayle carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "So Easy to Kill, So Hard to Love".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0073778 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Jack Hill directs. Stephen M. Katz behind the camera. Les Baxter scores. Morton Tubor cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

151 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Jack Hill, shot by Stephen M. Katz. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Les Baxter. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Morton Tubor shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Robbie Lee and Joanne Nail and Monica Gayle carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "So Easy to Kill, So Hard to Love".
7IMDB entry: tt0073778 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 12 themes, including "high school", "1970s", "gang war", "exploitation".

The technical file

Cinematography: Stephen M. Katz
Original score: Les Baxter
Editing: Morton Tubor
Production design: Robin Royce
Costume design: Jodie Lynn Tillen
Makeup / hair: Gerald Soucie
Stunt coordinator: Bob Minor
Runtime: 91 min · 1h 31m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Switchblade Sisters (1975)
Rotten Tomatoes: 57% 🥫 Rotten
IMDB rating: 6.5/10 · 4,415 votes
MPAA: R
US box office: $51,264

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Jack Hill

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Community reviews

What people are saying

JPV8522021-04-18
★ 6/10
A little uneven at times but still engaging 1970s exploitation thriller with fine performances from Joanne Nail and Robbie Lee and the dialogue was pretty sharp. It's one of those movies that takes a bit to accept with a bunch of juveniles being part of an organized gang, plus you have one scene of rape that kind is never dealt with. As a whole the movie was okay. 3.0/5
Wuchak2025-06-26
★ 6/10
A gang of high school girls who are “immoral, shameless and impudent” A new girl in a neighborhood of Los Angeles joins a female gang that regularly pulls out switchblades in their activities. As she becomes the bestie of the leader, this naturally doesn’t sit well with the associate. Meanwhile the corresponding male gang is having a turf war with a bigger group in the area. “Switchblade Sisters” (1975) is an exploitation film originally titled “The Jezebels” and helmed by Jack Hill, the writer/director of the previous year’s surprise ‘B’ hit “The Swinging Cheerleaders.” This one’s less serious, filled with hammy acting/dialogue and over-the-top violence, not to mention some off-putting sordid bits, such as a rape sequence that the girl just shrugs off and acts like never happened. Why Sure! The emphasis is on the degeneracy of young Americans after the decline of religious faith and loss of a moral compass. It meshes the shocking elements of “The Wild Angels” with the comic book she-devils of “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!” except that the girls come across way too harmless here. For instance, the leader of the gang, Lacy, is played by winsome Robbie Lee who’s only like 5’1”. She was 20 years-old when this was shot in late 1974, but looked 17. This isn’t helped by her sweetly feminine voice. Joanne Nail as Maggie was 27 during shooting and also somewhat petite; and not very convincing as a kick-axx rival of Lacy. Meanwhile Monica Gayle plays Patch, who’s basically the Lago character of the tale (Hill said he was influenced by Shakespeare’s “Othello”). I shouldn’t fail to mention Janice Karman as the peripheral Bunny, who underplays the material and comes off more realistic than the others. Coppola's “The Outsiders” is a good option if you want a believable portrayal of Caucasians youth gangs in Big City, America (albeit the story take place nine years before the events of this film, which was shot in late 1974). But, if you can acclimate to Caucasian high schoolers using machine guns at a skating rink, this flick entertains. (I got into a couple of fights at the local skating when I was in my teens, inside and outside the building, but no one ever broke out freakin’ machine guns). Despite the sometimes laugh-out-loud lines, you get drawn into the characters and their melodramatic tale. I’m sure it influenced “The Warriors,” which came out four years later, it’s just eye-rolling by comparison. Yet, it entertains; and entertainment is the name of the game in cinema. It runs 1 hour, 30 minutes, and was shot in Los Angeles, Eagle Rock (Jobo’s Burger Palace), Glendale (roller skating rink) and the backlot of the studio in Culver City (the final action sequence). GRADE: B-