TO SEVER IN BLUE JEANS

Reiko Ike chops off her enemies’ heads so they can be topless too.

Sometimes you just have to have a little Reiko Ike, so we brought her back today on a poster from her 1971 sword opera Sukeban burûsu: Mesubachi no gyakushû, aka Girl Boss Blues: Queen Bee Strikes Again, aka Girl Boss Blues: Queen Bee’s Counterattack. In this first installment of the Girl Boss series, Reiko plays the leader of the Athens girl gang, who use thier bodies to engage in blackmail for profit. She breaks in a fresh young gang member, finds heself in a rivalry with a newly arrived veteran criminal played by Yukie Kagawa. Disobedient Kagawa instigates a blackmail plot—without Reiko’s permission, uh oh—that has the potential to rock Japanese society.

There’s even more going on here plotwise, but the main thing is that, as usual, Reiko finally decides to make a big score and a lot of violence results. While this isn’t the strongest of director Norifumi Suzuki’s films, it’s pretty entertaining. It’s got the requisite portions of sex, violence, and audacious shock. Oh, and we should mention it has a famous group sex-on-motorcycles scene you should probably see. For fans of the genre, that’s probably more than enough by itself. But in case it isn’t, Ike’s gang includes Miki Sugimoto, Yayoi Watanabe (both below), and other hotties. Sukeban Blues: Mesubachi no Gyakusyû premiered in Japan today in 1971.

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HISTORY REWIND

The headlines that mattered yesteryear.

1959—Dark Side of Moon Revealed

The Soviet space probe Luna 3 transmits the first photographs of the far side of the moon. The photos generate great interest, and scientists are surprised to see mountainous terrain, very different from the near side, and only two seas, which the Soviets name Mare Moscovrae (Sea of Moscow) and Mare Desiderii (Sea of Desire).

1966—LSD Declared Illegal in U.S.

LSD, which was originally synthesized by a Swiss doctor and was later secretly used by the CIA on military personnel, prostitutes, the mentally ill, and members of the general public in a project code named MKULTRA, is designated a controlled substance in the United States.

1945—Hollywood Black Friday

A six month strike by Hollywood set decorators becomes a riot at the gates of Warner Brothers Studios when strikers and replacement workers clash. The event helps bring about the passage of the Taft-Hartley Act, which, among other things, prohibits unions from contributing to political campaigns and requires union leaders to affirm they are not supporters of the Communist Party.

1957—Sputnik Circles Earth

The Soviet Union launches the satellite Sputnik I, which becomes the first artificial object to orbit the Earth. It orbits for two months and provides valuable information about the density of the upper atmosphere. It also panics the United States into a space race that eventually culminates in the U.S. moon landing.

1970—Janis Joplin Overdoses

American blues singer Janis Joplin is found dead on the floor of her motel room in Los Angeles. The cause of death is determined to be an overdose of heroin, possibly combined with the effects of alcohol.

Classic science fiction from James Grazier with uncredited cover art.
Hammond Innes volcano tale features Italian intrigue and Mitchell Hooks cover art.

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