Schoolgirl Hitchhikers (Jeunes filles impudiques; "Michel Gentil" [Jean Rollin], 1973)

Two young hitchhikers, brunette Monica (Joëlle Coeur) and blonde Jackie (Gilda Arancio, credited as "Gilda Stark") decide to rest at a seemingly deserted villa. The two girls, who are in a lesbian relationship, have sex. As it happens, a petty gangster named Fred (Willy Braque, sporting a scar and a handlebar mustache) is hiding out in another room of the villa. Monica encounters Fred, and they have sex themselves, with Jackie soon joining them. The girls leave the following morning. Fred's accomplice Béatrice (Marie Hélène Règne) arrives, wishing to see the jewels he has stolen, but they find them missing from the safe where Fred stored them. Convinced that Monica and Jackie stole them, the crooks kidnap the couple from their campsite. While Fred and Béatrice torture Jackie, cutting her hair and doing something with a large pair of pliers offscreen, Monica escapes from Béatrice's henchman (François Brincourt), and enlists the aid of a private eye named Harry (Pierre Julien) and his pigtailed secretary (Reine Thirion).

Jean Rollin is without a doubt one of the most famous names in French sex cinema. His works include both softcore and hardcore productions, and many of his films feature female vampires. This film was made under Rollin's frequent nom de plume Michel Gentil (Rollin's full name was Jean Michel Rollin de Gentil). I've only seen one other Rollin film, Requiem for a Vampire, when it was on Netflix Streaming way back when they had a good selection of grindhouse cinema. Based on these two films, Rollin's work is long on sex and short on plot. Schoolgirl Hitchhikers (aka High School Hitch Hikers) is reasonably entertaining, but nothing special, and not particularly titillating. It's definitely softcore - both the female leads get full-frontal, but Fred keeps his pants on during sex scenes. Béatrice is clearly masturbating while watching Monica and Fred in the act through a window, but she's only shown from the waist up. Most of the performances are decent, though none are really exceptional. Pierre Raph's music includes a jazzy trumpet, a whistling tune that sounds more fitting for a Boy Scout jamboree, and some groovy sitar music. I was pretty amused by one pair of scenes: Fred has sex with Harry's secretary, who is naked, but she pistol whips him, although he gets the upper hand. When he brings her down again as a hostage, she's fully clothed! Thoughtful of him to let her get redressed. Also watch out for Rollin's uncredited cameo at the end of the film. Jean may not have been the Godard of sexploitation, but he did at least make his films entertaining, so kudos to him for that.